RudyP

Wow - that is quite an endorsement. I have only had my Catalyst for 3 track days so far but you are making me realize just how much more potential there is in the thing. I was a bit skeptical of the quality of the coaching but based on your feedback (and much greater experience than me) - it was probably mostly because I haven't been on a track in nearly a decade and this was my first time at Sonoma so I'm still very much coming up the learning curve. Still a good 3-4 seconds off what the car can do and not super consistent yet.

ProCoach

I'm just a very experienced observer of driver performance and behavior over the last forty years.

Most drivers, up to and including World Driving Champions, that I have worked with have the same challenges as infrequent track day and HPDE drivers.

They all have isolated moments of brilliance, moments where they go beyond what they've been doing, even if it feels a little sketchy doing it.

In AiM, VBOX, MoTeC and Cosworth, I am spending more (AiM/Cosworth) or less (VBOX/MoTeC) time trying to find those isolated moments of brilliance, trying to figure out what it was that MADE those moments special and most importantly, what my client/colleague needs to do to duplicate those more often. THIS is what makes people quicker, at least for me.

As a club-level, track day, HPDE and entry level pro driver coach, who has pioneered and relied on OBJECTIVELY created and logged data to make informed and educated decisions on what drivers should do next, I've been impressed with the Garmin. It's the next best thing to having a pro coach or instructor in the car.

Is it perfect? No. Is the advice ALWAYS on point? No. Balance with common sense. But it will steer you in the right direction without the incredibly steep learning curve that is present for turning squiggly lines and colored maps, and even intelligent video (video with information on it), into actionable steps to improve.

Good luck!

dgrobs

You sir, are Superman.

ProCoach

Nope. But you get around and are the hero of many!

burnergt4

This is such a great feature, I had no idea it existed! Would've been great to have at my last track day to actually be able to look at the accel/decel and cornering graphs to see where I could be making up time. Really cool that Garmin is building on the product like this to make it richer over time.

Papamurphdog

Ran my first event with the Catalyst finally installed and I am really happy so far! I'm still reading this string for tips and pointers on how to use it, but it was pretty intuitive right out of the box and I can't wait to learn more (read on for and installation tip at the end). I was at Road America for the Chicagoland HPDE event over the labor day weekend (thanks Atlanta Speedwerks!) and the Catalyst was more than helpful. It was only my second time at the track, so I still have a lot to learn there, but, last year I was in the mid 40's with a 42 as a PB, and this year I was running consistent 37's with a few 38's and a PB of 36:14 (and a theoretical 34.50 as optimal)l! Some of that was a fresh set of sticker Nitto 01's and not being a noob, but I also credit the Catalyst for helping me visualize landmarks and using the traces to help me focus on how to improve in various sectors. I'll be running it next weekend at the Chin Road Atlanta event for the first time, so it will be real interesting to see how it helps me improve at my home track (I'll report the news). Installation tip: I installed the Rennline magnetic phone mount long ago, and wondered if I could adapt a 1" ball to the mounting plate, so I could attach only one arm of the supplied mount to the Catalyst, and sure enough it worked! (I'll take some photos when I can). The Rennline mounting plate is a little thin for the task (the unit weighs a lot more than the little phone magnet), but it worked just fine and it still has a clear view of the sky, so it's a really clean set up and easily reachable while harnessed. Current plan is to fabricate a stronger plate (so ZERO jiggling) and replace the RL plate over the winter. Not sure if this was an original thought, but I figured I'd share with the group anyway. Hope to see some of you at the RA event!

DoxCroc

Hi Rick,

By the end of the weekend, I couldn't keep up with you. Nice driving.
I posted photos of that mounting technique last year. If you come up with a sturdier solution that eliminates the "jiggling" post it and send me a PM if you could. For now I've tried to dampen the vibration with rubber sticky pads jammed under both sides of the phone mount with only partial success.
Mike M
https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-a...l#post17599612

Papamurphdog

Thanks Mike! It was a great weekend running with you and the others. Can't wait for next year there! (All; you should make it up to Road America next year). Thanks for the "Ah ha" on the link! Yup, that's exactly what I did. Works great, but jiggles, as you know. I'm going to pop off the center console side cover and poke around for other mounting hole ideas, so maybe, I can run the CAT mount and the Phone mount, one one higher than the other (CAT on top), so I don't have to swap out for my phone. But regardless, I'm going to fab the same or very similar bracket out of thicker stock, and once perfected, see If I can do it CNC with billet aluminum, so ZERO jiggling, and can be small batch produced. (Hey Peter, not looking to make this a for-profit thing here. Happy to share the design with you once it works.)

sf_c63

Thanks for the info shared in this thread. It convinced my friends and I to each pick one up and try using during our most recent HPDE. Here’s the results:

sf_c63

For those who can’t connect the Catalyst to the car audio (No Bt or aux in) what workarounds do you have in place for the audio coaching? I dash mounted a BT portable speaker above me but it was still hard to hear it.

I guess I can try an Apple AirPod in the ear but feels weird driving with headphones.

ProCoach

Just one is a lot less disconcerting.

txhokie4life

I used a Garmin and my AirPods in a race earlier this year -- worked great -- I have a Roux helmet with embedded audio -- and I could communicate with the pits just fine -- AND hear the garmin as well.

Car noises came through just fine as well.

dsddcd

Here is another feature many of us have been waiting for! I certainly can't tell all the secrets but I can say that Garmin's team is still VERY hard at work developing the Catalyst and this is proof!

As a coach Garmin's new App and Leader Board this feature made my life MUCH easier. For intermediate drivers we can very quickly do a speed trace with time delta via the Catalyst App. Using an Ipad the data is clearly presented and I can quite easily see data from students Catalyst in one place. Note that you have the choice to share your name and likeness, as well as sharing data, privacy was one of the main objectives while developing this update.

All you have to do is create or sign into your account!






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sonorous

It's like Strava for motorsports, I love it! Just checked and I am currently the leader at my track. That won't last long, just like on Strava...

ProCoach

Thank, Scott! Yes, this is a game changer! Very powerful feature.