911mhawk

Thanks gentlemen, lots of great help from you guys here!

I'll work with you next time Peter, Apex got it en route to me for this weekend.
Will try it out in my wet weather car - e39 M5

ProCoach

No problem, Andrew and his team are great. Have fun!

Matt Romanowski

Apex and Andrew have a great FB page, videos, and weekly shows. Their support there is excellent. If you have an Apex, that is the place to be.

ProCoach

I like Andrew and his crowd because they do good case studies.

Valuable for folks who are learning to make sense of squiggly lines generated by all kinds of different hardware, Apex Pro, AiM, VBOX, MoTeC, Race-Keeper, Race Technology, PPTA, Cosworth, all of it. Pretty cool!

Matt Romanowski

Certainly. The Beginner and Advanced (5,000+ members!) groups are great too.Tons of good info going on FB and the web.

Martin S.

Check out YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp1...N70HBFw/videos

Most all APEX Pro questions and concerns will be answered. When in doubt, on the subject of Data Logging, all you need to do is the following:

• Read Matt Romanowski's and or Peter Krause's comments,***
• Check out the videos on the above-cited YouTube channel,
• Buy*** some sort of Data Logger to "get with the program." Getting comfortable with the interpretation of data takes some practice.

*** Matt and Peter are data logger dealers. They subscribe to an often ignored concept, Post Sale Support.

I have a SOLO 2 DL/SmartyCam, got to have my video. The video is overlayed with CANbus derived data from the SOLO 2 DL. I also have an APEX Pro, for data unique to the APEX Pro, APEX %age. This is a M.L. calculation of the available grip of the tires, and the percentage being utilized by the driver. You get an 80% or better score on a lap, you are nailing it.

911mhawk

I put the APEX Pro in my e39 M5 yesterday and went out for five 20 minutes sessions. First impression is what a great device for ease of set-up and intuitive feedback!
Spent all of 20 minutes to read the instructions and watch a youtube video w/Andrew and went to the track to figure out rest while using it.

OBD device was not sending data so I missed out on that (probably some setting I need to figure out).
I can't seem to send myself a .csv file using the Exports as CSV option, they export as some proprietary looking Apex file?

So I couldn't get one into Track Attack last night to really look at on a large screen (yep, I've paid for subscriptions on both Apex Pro and Track Attack).
Looks like there may be some connection with Track Addict too, I have a paid version of this too, all on my iPhone 11, other than the Track Attack on WIN PC.

Overall, I'm really looking forward to trying this device out on my 996, which is more challenging to play with the limits on:

What do you guys recommend for video capture and telemetry App in conjunction with the APEX Pro?
I've used Harry's and Track Addict with my older Sony HDR-AS200v camera but never bothered to overlay in video.
Figure this is the season I'll get up on these things, thanks for all you guys' help!

Martin S.

I agree one can easily, learn to set up and install the APEX Pro in 20 minutes and watch a video or two, you'll be competent. Your experience re.
APEX Pro ease of use mimics mine. I borrowed a unit from my local AiM dealer, after the first session I was sold...I bought a unit.
I didn't try the LED display right away, mystery lights to me initially. But the next time I went back to the track, I had decided to try to utilize
the LED display. Slowly but surely, over the course of a weekend, I "got it", had many an " a ha" moment. The APEX % scores turned
out to be invaluable. I was so enchanted with the unit I went on to write a 3-page article that was published in Speed Secrets last October. I had help editing
the article from Peter Krause and Ross Bentley.

Re. "OBD device was not sending data so I missed out on that (probably some setting I need to figure out).
I can't seem to send myself a .csv file using the Exports as CSV option, they export as some proprietary looking
Apex file?", I'd get in touch. with the vendor who sold you the unit. As I recall, you may have purchased direct. Call
APEX Pro. Call them, email them, they'll have answers.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

FFaust

I got an Apex Pro last season, but returned it at the end due to a charging issue. I will probably get another this year.

Beyond the beauty and user-friendlyness of the system, what I found, or felt, was that it was like something/someone was watching me to make sure that I was maximizing my driving, just waiting to point out with the colored lights that, hey, you just left x% on the table. By trying to optimize my driving, I found myself paying closer attention to what I was doing... instead of "just driving around", relying on old habits.

That alone was worth the price of admission for me.

ProCoach

Other equipment options do not do what this device will. Plus, the app is substantially more powerful than the last time you've had an Apex Pro. I can bring one to VIR or send one!

ProCoach

Sounds like you have all the right tools. What I would recommend as a video capture app is TrackAttack. You can export the Apex Pro file and sync the raw video from the Sony or a GoPro so you have video and data in the same window. This is what I'm recommending for folks that don't want to go the direction of integrated video/data hardware that does this automatically.

The .csv export is fairly straightforward. Ping Andrew Rains on the OBDII module questions, but BMW traditionally has been limited in information present at the OBDII (as is the 996, as well).

911mhawk

Figured I'd update this and post a video I took the other day to see what the lights are doing while I'm looking up the road.
I put the extra mount in my DD 991s since I haven't put my track back together yet and went out for a local PCA day.
Was interesting to me that the thing is green quite a bit but I think the remaing red left on the table is more than 4 seconds a lap.
I say this because lap times here are 4 seconds slower than ones I was doing in the same car/tires a couple weeks ago when I took it for an evening event.
My overall impression is that it seems pretty darn accurate about helping you seen where you're at relative to traction limit.

ProCoach

Good follow up!

One aspect of the Apex Pro is that it includes a capability no other “system” has, the AI ability to “learn” and adjust the benchmarks on the fly.

That is why I like it as a “driver butt gyro calibrator.” I can talk until I’m blue in the face to people looking at squiggly lines saying “you’re a wuss, just SEND it,” but the lights allow an incremental increase and PROVE there’s margin. Where, for how long and how much, too.

As your demonstrated capability, track conditions, car setup improves, so does the Apex Pro’s capability to show you accurately how much you’re leaving on the table in critical transitions and high-level sustained loadings.

Sales (at least mine) of these have picked up recently, as more folks find conventional logging software and hardware display information an impediment to their incremental and real-time learning. Is it for everyone? No.

But it is a good tool and a great value, for sure.

Martin S.

The 12 LEDs are telling you what potential of the measured grip of the tire is being used. You get 12 LEDs Green in a corner...you are rocking it. The biggest deal is the "real-time" feedback. you get 10 green and 2 red in a corner, you have left tire grip on the table. Next time through that corner, adjust your line to light up an incremental Green, score 11 to 1....The ultimate goal is to get all 12 illuminated Green in a corner..

For me personally, one of the other monster features is easy to capture post-session data review on your i-Phone, no computer needed. With my AiM SOLO 2 DL, I need to lug a computer to the track....I don't need any more "baggage". For me to get the most out of a post session review, I installed a 32" Visio monitor on the inside of my trailer. I hook my i-Phone to the monitor.....big improvement of a i-Phone screen.

Attached is an article I referred to above, published in Speed Secrets last October. I am as enthusiastic about APEX Pro now as I was then. Don't leave home (headed for the track) without one. Immediately you get all your lap times, you get the APEX %age ranking of each lap, you get a speed trace of each lap and can easily compare a lap to a reference lap...you can have the "slow" lap represented as a Red dot, and the "fastest" lap represented as a Blue dot, race each other around the track. For me, it doesn't get any better.

My SOLO 2 DL's sole function these days is to feed data to my SmartyCam. The APEX Pro video channel is awesome.

911mhawk

I've been wondering about the video portion of things, right now I use an older Sony AS-200V but would like to be able to overlay OBD/speed/brake, etc info on videos.
I have the APEX OBD and another OBD Link MX I've used for code stuff on other cars.
Any video reccomendations are appreciated, easier the better, I haven't convinced my 11 yr old to do it yet