6
Any Track Rats Still Active?
- Thread starter jay745
- Start date
Mk6Autobahn
Autocross Champion
Not that I’ve been lucky enough to use it on the track yet but...
I’ve had fun experimenting with TrackAddict, it works real well and you can use their other app I believe RaceRender to overlay external action cam video onto the data. If not, you can just use TrackAddict to record video and data with your phone no problem. Both are free, for Android and iPhone.
TrackAddict can be used for established race tracks, autoX, drag strips, rally, etc. Pretty cool
MrFancypants
Autocross Champion
I downloaded RaceChrono to my phone. Free version, so data was somewhat limited. It appeals to my apparent need to have spreadsheets in my life to study, so I‘ll probably upgrade to something that correlates ECU data with lap timer data.
1ashchuckton
Autocross Champion
Man what a world we now live in. No such thing as GPS & a lap time was my wife sitting on the pit wall with a stop watch.
I had a Jansport 4 person tent that was easy to set up. It had external fiberglass poles. I never used it at the track, just on family camping trips. At the track I'd always stay in a nearby fleabag motel. Unless it was Mid-Ohio, I'd be home in 50 minutes. At Nelson I'd stay at dad's place.
My buddies & I would split up the gear so our load was less.
Have fun at Gingerman.
I had a Jansport 4 person tent that was easy to set up. It had external fiberglass poles. I never used it at the track, just on family camping trips. At the track I'd always stay in a nearby fleabag motel. Unless it was Mid-Ohio, I'd be home in 50 minutes. At Nelson I'd stay at dad's place.
My buddies & I would split up the gear so our load was less.
Have fun at Gingerman.
jay745
track sl00t
Those phone apps are pretty cool. I used to use harrys laptimer which allowed you to overlay data onto your video. You should get a stand alone gps module though, your phone gps is only accurate to about 15 feet. A gps lap timer or stand alone gps module will get you within 3 inches which is what you need to use it to improve your driving.
I do wish I had a better laptimer. I have the original AIM Solo which is gps only. They have better ones that show your brake force, throttle input, RPM etc. Eventually I'll upgrade but what I have now is fine.
What a time to be alive. I love technology and how it can improve driving. When I first got into going to the track 5 years ago or so I had an excellent instructor that put data in my car (once I reached intermediate level) and he had me take different lines on the same corners then we'd go look at the data and I'd make notes on a track map what line I should be taking. By the end of the day I went from a 3:02 at Autobahn CC (full course) to a 2:47 by doing that.Man what a world we now live in. No such thing as GPS & a lap time was my wife sitting on the pit wall with a stop watch.
I had a Jansport 4 person tent that was easy to set up. It had external fiberglass poles. I never used it at the track, just on family camping trips. At the track I'd always stay in a nearby fleabag motel. Unless it was Mid-Ohio, I'd be home in 50 minutes. At Nelson I'd stay at dad's place.
My buddies & I would split up the gear so our load was less.
Have fun at Gingerman.
I've stayed in some fleabag motels on occasion when venturing out for track days. My girlfriend and I called em toot motels though
And thanks I'm looking forward to Gingerman, haven't been there in 2 years. It's a fast track but I think it gets a little boring. It's pretty flat, after driving tracks with elevation changes, flat tracks just don't do it. I'm a sucker for blind corners too, dunno why I just think they're so much fun. Grattan is full of elevation changes and blind corners.
ChrisAttebery
Drag Racing Champion
I'm using Harry's with a OBDLink MX+. I figured that I could add a GPS module later if I wanted better accuracy.
I think having GPS, accelerometer, throttle and brake would be the minimum to really learn where you could improve. I guess with just GPS and accelerometer you can see how fast and how many G you're pulling in each corner.
I think having GPS, accelerometer, throttle and brake would be the minimum to really learn where you could improve. I guess with just GPS and accelerometer you can see how fast and how many G you're pulling in each corner.
1ashchuckton
Autocross Champion
When I hit the track there was no such thing as a HPDE track day. If you wanted to hit the track you built or rented a race car, it was the only way forward.
It's been 10 years since I've been on track. What a hoot & what an eye opener. My street car was so much faster than any race or rally car I've driven. First session I kept trying to throw the car off track. Took a while to acclimate to the different faster car.
My wife did a couple of those track days with me, but decided she'd had enough. The last day she did she managed to do a couple of 360 spins & was nearly taken out by one of our friends in another car. I did a few track days after she stopped, but it wasn't fun without her.
Once again have fun at Gingerman. Not my favorite track, but it is fast. I like tracks with hills too. Big fun when I got it right & slid over the top giggling like a school girl all the way.
More old fart rambling, sorry....
It's been 10 years since I've been on track. What a hoot & what an eye opener. My street car was so much faster than any race or rally car I've driven. First session I kept trying to throw the car off track. Took a while to acclimate to the different faster car.
My wife did a couple of those track days with me, but decided she'd had enough. The last day she did she managed to do a couple of 360 spins & was nearly taken out by one of our friends in another car. I did a few track days after she stopped, but it wasn't fun without her.
Once again have fun at Gingerman. Not my favorite track, but it is fast. I like tracks with hills too. Big fun when I got it right & slid over the top giggling like a school girl all the way.
More old fart rambling, sorry....
jay745
track sl00t
You can pretty much see the acceleration and braking with the longitudinal acceleration measurement(G's), the only thing that hooking into the ecu would show is the percentage of throttle/braking used.
For example here is two different laps green and blue, the top graph is longitudinal g's and bottom is the gps speed at the same reference point on track. You can see I took different lines during these sections which caused me to have a higher speed vs the other. Towards the end I was also a little choppy getting back on the throttle or may have been giving maintenance throttle vs full which resulted in a higher speed track exit. You really need to be watching video and looking at the data at the same time for reference but it gets the job done. I get lost in this stuff though I have to admit... still learning how to make the best use of the data.
Ramble away
Cars have definitely changed and I see why HPDE didn't exist... a normal car would be dangerous on the track. These days you can get away with a lot more minimal modifications to be able to drive street cars on a track. Or go and waste tons of money on a gti to make it a track car like I did (not recommended ) The feeling of cresting a hill and giggling is why I do this. SO MUCH FUN
ChrisAttebery
Drag Racing Champion
Fresh Meat! These feel much stickier than the Direzza IIs that came off. I'm pretty sure they were aged out.
I'm signed up for Laguna Seca on July 26th. I'm hoping to go again on August 25th.
I'm signed up for Laguna Seca on July 26th. I'm hoping to go again on August 25th.
jay745
track sl00t
Awesome! Laguna Seca is a dream track for me, I hope I get the opportunity to drive it someday. That's an expensive trip for me though, I'd have to get a trailer/truck for sure before being able to do that.
ChrisAttebery
Drag Racing Champion
I just got informed that I didn't make the cut on the waitlist for Sunday. Oh well, that will give me more time to put a couple heat cycles into the tires.
Ronnie_B
Go Kart Champion
I’m using Harry’s LapTimer and OBDLink MX+ as well, but I will say it’s not very accurate. I’ve noticed significant differences in lap times between HLT and manually timing video footage. It appears my phone app lags behind and doesn’t update as frequently as it should. I’m looking at upgrading to an AIM Solo or possibly a VBOX, price is definitely a factor though.
Here’s my best lap at VIR last month. Car needs an oil cooler before I hit the track next, temps reached 275F by the end of a 30 minute session.
Here’s my best lap at VIR last month. Car needs an oil cooler before I hit the track next, temps reached 275F by the end of a 30 minute session.
you need a Bluetooth gps, ie a garmin glo 2 to have any hope of the lap timer being accurate. i just tested mine over the weekend, within a hundredth of a second of accuracy
Ronnie_B
Go Kart Champion
Do you run any additional apps on your phone to use the Bluetooth GPS? Also where do you have your GPS mounted?