I ended up finding a steal on another forum for a used G2X so I couldn't pass it up. I will have to post back once I get it hooked up and get some logging from a track day...I can't wait :spot:

Data Logging System Suggestions
 

Hello,

I frequently track my car and have been doing that for about 15 events so far. I was told to look into a data logging system once I am at a point where I am not making much improvements based on own observations or other kinda of instructions (like HPDE witn instructor etc).

I am not at that point yet, but I am researching into these options and would appreciate if I could get some suggestions from fellow track junkies.

What am I looking for?
(1) Some kind of a basic data logging system that is not super expensive
(2) A system that allows me to take data out of the system and generate graphs?
(3) A system that can be used at new tracks, I believe some only work on known tracks etc
(4) Some thing that can be used for a couple of years
(5) I am also open to any IPhone apps like MaxQData that uses an external GPS antenna etc. However, I checked their site and it looks like the company is out of business. I am skeptical about making any purchases from them

The obvious question might be - what is my budget? I haven't made up my mind but I probably want to stay lower than 500.

Oh Btw, I did try to use the Search but there is nothing recent. Most of the threads are a good 3yrs old and I am sure technology changed a lot in this time.

As Always, this thread is not just for me. I am going to try and post my findings so that others can refer to it.

did you see this thread?

https://my350z.com/forum/autocross-r...your-unit.html

Thanks Steve, no I haven't. My search terms were "Data Logging" ... Doh!
Let me read that...

merging threads

Just tried RaceChrono last weekend after my MaxQdata quit synching to the Qstarz puck and support is nonexistant it appears. I'm very pleased with the RaceChrono program and it's free! I was able to synch it with the puck quite easily for higher sample rates.

For those who haven’t seen it, here are some screen shots from the RaceChrono software. What is available is 20hz sampling for OBII and 10hz GPS. This is from a 5 hz sampling rate and a tri-axle accelerometer:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...o/Untitled.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...chrono/rc2.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...chrono/rc3.jpg

You can also create a gauge cluster for video overlay. They have about 15/20 templates and you can also make your own.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...hrono2AVI1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...hrono2AVI3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...hrono2AVI2.jpg


I tried to make these gauges look like the ones in the car. It's pretty easy to make your own.


Or you can just keep it simple and only show the text readout:

I did not find anything called RaceChrono on IPhone App store. However, I found one called RacingChrono. They both appear to be the same programs? Can you confirm the same Howard?

Which external GPS pucks are you using with this software?

RaceChrono does NOT work on Iphones so it's not available. Apple in their infinite wisdom decided not to use the GPS standard of NMEA like 99.9999999% of the rest of the word and build there own GPS response protocol.

So no, they are not the same.

Yep read that on RaceChrono website. They say the app is only for Window Mobile phones as IPhone did not support Bluetooth based GPS.

I did not want to spend a lot of money to begin with and was hoping to get away with something cheap to see if I'd use it a lot. Everybody universally seem to be recommending Traqmate because of such a vast majority of people using it. But 8-900 seems like a lot of money, money that I can use to buy seat time :)

Well you can buy a complete system with hardware for $389

lol, forgot to mention they have a 350Z guage pack.

Guage pack as in a software guages that look similar to the ones in 350Z? ? Something can be used in video overlays?

Traqmate questions
 

Assuming I bought Traqmate Complete, how does one do the video overlay of the track data on video that has been shot using my own cameras? I checked Traqmate website and they list Traqstudio - a $200 software to do this. I do understand that it can do a lot more, but what if I do not want to spend money on this software? Can I use my regular video editor (something like Sony Vegas) to do the editing and overlay the video?

It all depends on if Traqmate can output the data as a video, they I can overlay it myself.

yes

Unless something has changed recently you need traqstudio to produce the output video to create an overlay.

Hmm, any free options out there? Reading around it looks like Traqstudio does a lot more and video overlay is just one of it's functions but not its goal. What do you know about something like RaceRender? Can it be used to generate videos?

There are a few that can create the overlay files, just not for traqmate. They keep their stuff proprietary. I think you can export it as a standard datafile though and use a few of the free packages if they can read the columns correctly.

RaceRender is pretty slick and allows you to pull in multiple video sources, do basic video editing, and some basic overlays like track position, speed, etc. Its spartan, but cheap. Download the demo first to see if you like it.

What kind of cheap options do I have if I want to buy a cheap phone that will work with RaceChrono? I know the website states

- Nokia S60
- Windows Smart Phones --> What are the cheapest models that I can buy off Ebay that will work with RaceChrono?