gums

A buddy of mine is building a 944SuperCup. Trust me; it will be magnificent. We are putting a system in that will replace rear and side view mirrors. It will be a wide angle parking camera on the back with an LCD screen on the console. I think it's brilliant. What do you guys think? Will it pass tech? Why has no one thought of this before?

Lemming

What if there is a problem with the electronics and it shuts down in the middle of a race?

Marc Shaw

What if your rear-view mirror falls off? Stuff happens. Seems like a cool idea to me.

Marc

GaryM05

I think that'll be pretty cool. The ALMS GT2 Corvette uses a system like this, as does the older Panoz GT2 car, and I believe also some of the newer prototypes.

Keep us posted on how this goes; it'll be interesting to find out if off-the-shelf electronics are sufficient for something like this, or if the noise/heat/vibration/etc of the racecar environment doesn't require some more hardened components (especially for the display.)

Matt Romanowski

Some rule books call for mirrors...

mglobe

True but there is lots of evidence to suggest that actually looking in the mirrors is not required.

I think the video system is a very intersting idea. I've thought about it myself. I'll be interested in hearing how it works.

krystar

you will need very good camera's that can handle a wide dynamic contrast range. you know alot of common track videos on a bright sunny day will show either blue sky and dark track, or show blinding white sky with visible track.

you'll also need high contrast ratio and high output LCD's placed so that sunlight glare and just general brightness of the day doesn't flood it.

also if you run any dusk or evening endurance races, you'll have to account for car's behind you having headlights on.

Bryan Watts

Makes sense for cars that have trouble seeing out of the back...not so much for a 944. I'd much rather have a mechanical system than an electrical system for something like a mirror if I had the choice. Glare and all sorts of other issues will come into play.

And yes, this has been done in numerous race cars that have limited rearward visibility out of the rear window.

944 SuperCup runs with NASA, right? I'd check the rules before going through the expense.

adrial

I vote Yes for side view mirrors (drag reduction), No for rear view mirror (what's the benefit outside of Cool Factor?).

gums

I think that would be prudent, and I'd go along with that as well. However, we are also considering petitioning PCA that certain drivers install this system for FRONT view!

Professor Helmüt Tester

IMO, bad idea.

Consider the "human factors" issues ("human factors" are those psycho-visio-physical input>reaction things that are really important to jet fighter cockpit designers, etc. etc.). Yes, the scan can be reversed, so that "right = left", but can your brain interpolate the inputs as fast as with mirrors that obviously correlate (mentally, at least) to "left / right" ?

It's also important to remember that, even with mirrors, you DO get stereo optical vision, where with a camera/monitor system, you are truly two-dimensional. Depth perception goes away. Is depth perception important to you as a driver ? It should be.

Technology can do wonderous things. Some of those wonderous things aren't appropriate in ALL situations.

Chaos

Daytona prototypes and open wheel (F1) racers have no rear view mirrors.

Bryan Watts

Most single seaters (any prototype, sports racer, open wheel car, etc) have no rear view, but they do have side views. The OP mentions getting rid of all mirrors.

924RACR

Adding unnecessary complexity etc.

I had great aero on the 924 by removing the exterior side mirrors and running a full-width wink panel mirror.

KISS.

Marc Shaw

So how have we been doing laparoscopic ("key hole") surgery for years? Depth perception is needed for that and, while it takes a little practice, the ability to discern distances from a camera/monitor system is acquired by most surgeons.

Marc