Cheap Datalogging

[Sky Render]

Anyone else heard of this? It's a $5 app that turns your phone into a video recorder and data logger for racing.

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/id/2623/tested-trackmaster-by-trackaroo.aspx

 

[BMR Tech]

I have never seen that one. I use the Torque app for Android, and it works pretty well.

 

[NEMustang]

Anyone else heard of this? It's a $5 app that turns your phone into a video recorder and data logger for racing.

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/id/2623/tested-trackmaster-by-trackaroo.aspx

I've used it for a while...works pretty well. It also automatically posts the data to a web site.

HOWEVER, backup your data. I had a corruption issues that caused me to lose two years worth of data....this have been fixed, but Jeff (from trackaroo) does not backup anything!!

 

[Whiskey11]

I use an app called ACMeterPro which is $0.99 on Android Market Place. Its just a simple accelerometer/g meter that can export to .csv which can be turned into spreadsheets. It measures all the lateral, longitudinal and vertical g forces as well as pitch and roll g forces which is interesting. I don't see the need for a data overlay for autocross, maybe if I did some roadcourse stuff I would.

The program records about 2500 data points in a 75 second run so the graphs show them all and the hysterisis (however that is spelled).

Here is an example of the data plot showing the lateral and longitudinal g forces over the run in linear format (g force vs time):

And the corresponding G cicle (acorn?):

The light grey circle represents 1g. The run above recorded a peak lateral g of 1.28g but I think it might have been a spike due to the phone moving then stopping suddenly in a transition. Not sure thoguh but I am frequenting above 1.2g on most corners on 245/45/18 tires!

 

[Sky Render]

Personally, I prefer the data overlay and map data, because looking at those graphs does nothing for me.

 

[Whiskey11]

Personally, I prefer the data overlay and map data, because looking at those graphs does nothing for me.

It does something for you if you are willing to do some reading into the data.

I didn't enjoy statistics in college but the experience has helped out some. The graph shows the entire run so you can see what corner(s) you were not at the limit of traction. When I can't remember a certain corner I rewatch the video while looking at the linear plot vs time and it helps me understand why a corner was not at peak vs the other corners which can then be analysed into the various causes for the lower lateral g's. The G circle is nice because you can see how much time is spent in pure cornering/braking/acceleration vs time spent at some combination of those.

Yes it requires more work than an overlay but I don't see the need for an overlay on an autocross run. Most folks watch my fastest run videos if they watch any at all and I doubt they care too much about my peak lateral g's yo!

 

[neema]

there's also Harry's GPS Lap Timer for around the same price $8 for iphone. I'd recommend a GPS signal booster for more accuracy though. I have completely useless data from my last trackday; however, it looks like others have had great results with it.

 

[VTXFrank]

There's a guy named Vince Illi that's a member here. Can't recall his screen name atm though. Not enough caffeine yet.

 

[JAJ]

There are a couple of young guys I keep running into at track days in northern Washington State that are developing an Android app for track days. It does an amazing array of things, but it's not released yet. It's more about vehicle dynamics, video and lap times and not about OBDII data logging though. I believe the guys are building it in the evenings, weekends and holidays and it's not remotely related to their day jobs at a large (really, really large) software company near Seattle.

 

[a50cobra]

SoloStorm

There are a couple of young guys I keep running into at track days in northern Washington State that are developing an Android app for track days. It does an amazing array of things, but it's not released yet. It's more about vehicle dynamics, video and lap times and not about OBDII data logging though. I believe the guys are building it in the evenings, weekends and holidays and it's not remotely related to their day jobs at a large (really, really large) software company near Seattle.

This may be the app you are referring to.
http://www.petreldata.com/

However, I don't think it may qualify as "cheap" compared to other apps available. Mike, the developer, originally wanted to release the app for $200. But before you write him off as KrAzY, I will tell you that this program is MUCH better than the Trackmaster/Trackaroo app for the specific purpose of autocrossing. I have used both and SoloStorm was much easier to use. It also provided instant feedback.

It's great for run analysis in between runs. It lets you compare up to two runs - logging video, throttle position, RPM, speed, g-forces.

I found that Trackmaster may be better suited for track days/HPDEs. I also found that not having video and throttle position/rpm logged makes the app incomplete. Of course you can buy the Torque app (or get the free/lite version) but you will then find yourself having to get yet another app/software to combine all of that data. I ended up using RaceRender (free version) to combine video (GoPro/phone) + Torque (OBDII) data and Trackmaster (GPS) data.

Can it be done? Absolutely. But be prepared to put in some time to make a nice looking video where you can actually see all the data at once. That is something you will not be able to do at the event or in between runs. But it can be done for "cheap." You will still want to invest in a good Bluetooth GPS (QStarz BT-Q818XT or equivalent - at least 10 Hz ~ $100) because most phone's GPS only work at 1 Hz; and a Bluetooth OBDII reader (Cheapo eBay ~ $25 or a Kiwi ~ $100).

Maybe in the future Trackmaster will incorporate other needed components in the form of an update. That would be great. Maybe SoloStorm will be released at a price considerably lower than his initial price. Either way, you have options. YMVM

 

[JAJ]

This may be the app you are referring to.
http://www.petreldata.com/
...

No, that's not them, although those guys are actually located where I live.

I use a Racelogic PerformanceBox for my track data capture. It gives me everything I need (no video though) and it's all done from a high resolution GPS platform. Racelogic is one of that small collection of UK companies that work with the racing industry there, and the product is excellent. Everything you do is recorded on an SD card and you transfer it to your PC for full professional level data analysis.

If I want to look at engine functions, I use my SCT and secure a laptop in the car. At this point, every track day that I run consumes about three days of offline analysis to understand what I was doing and how I can improve my performance the next time out. I've trimmed 15 seconds off my lap times at my favorite track since May when I got the PerformanceBox.

 

[Thekid760]

I posted another topic on this before I realized this had been started already, my bad.


What do you all use? I've recently been looking into this as I just realized there are cheaper alternatives to the expensive race setups.

I saw the TrackAddict HD one and it looks promising.

Supposedly you just need to invest in the $7 app, an add on GPS for your iphone, OBD2 bluetooth for vehicle data and a mount for the phone.

It sync's the info and video all together. Sound and looks pretty cool.

http://racerender.com/TrackAddict/Features.html

 

[Sky Render]

RaceRender can be used with the data and video output from Trackmaster to make overlayed videos.

 

[a50cobra]

Might want to take a look at "a Lap Recorder HD"
It might be a little outdated and may no longer be supported (no response from app designer). But it is free. And free is always good.
I will be testing it out.

 

[Sky Render]

This is an autocross run from an event last Saturday. I took the video and the telemetry data using Trackmaster and then used Race Render to generate the overlays for the video. I think it's pretty cool, especially the overhead course layout at the bottom left and the G-meter on the right.

 

[Mach2burnout]

So does anybody know anything about the Cantrell Motorsports app "CMS Lap Timer Pro" for iPhone?

Looks like a good app thinking about trying it.


Sent from iPhone

 

[kevinatfms]

are the track apps only for the iphone? i havent really seen any good ones for the android series phone?

 

[Sky Render]

are the track apps only for the iphone? i havent really seen any good ones for the android series phone?

The one I posted at the beginning of the thread is for DROID.

Sent from my toilet using Tapatalk.

 

[Mach2burnout]

are the track apps only for the iphone? i havent really seen any good ones for the android series phone?

There is a couple of apps Ive been looking at for the iPhone. But, the problem I am having is finding a Bluetooth adapter that is compatible.


Sent from iPhone

 

[Sky Render]

EDIT: Somehow tapatalk posted this in the wrong thread.

Sent from my toilet using Tapatalk.