Hello All,

In the past year I have made a great effort to look at my track data to learn where there is room for improvement. I would love to hear what others look at in their data to review track sessions. Hopefully we can leave this as a data analysis thread and just focus on the intrepretation of data and not a comparison of data acquisition systems. My intention would be for us to share ideas of what to look for in the data. The systems you can get nowadays sure do offer a wealth of info that could help us reduce lap times!

So lets hear how you rip apart your data!

 

Depends on the level of the driver.

First/Easiest thing I do is look at a Speed vs. Distance trace.

I go from there depending on what I see.

First thing I look for is consistency. I believe that before a person can methodically go faster that they need to be consistent.

Once the laps are consistent I go for low hanging fruit. Spots where the driver is coasting, good transisitions to brakes, etc.

From there I get more driver dependant.

 

Mike, did you get a chance to attend my class at the Glen?

 

Hey, yes I did! I must say that was a fantastic event and the info you put together was fantastic. I also enjoyed our continued conversation at Monticello about your program you did at the Glen. For those who know Van and have a chance to see one of his data analysis presentations, it is well worth the time.

I am hoping to spur some discussion here on Rennlist about data analysis as I do not see much talk about it here. Maybe I missed some stuff along the way. However, I know there are a lot of fantastic drivers here that could help others.

 

Great topic. As we can all see more and more of us recognise that to make quantum improvements we need to address these systems and all the info that they provide. I have just bought and installed a DL1 and now want to reap the benefits from having a good system on board. From what I've read in here and elsewhere, small steps are a good idea as too much info will overwhelm all but the really smart guys and I'm nowhere near them.

 

IMO a great deal of value can be extracted from even the simplest of data syysttems. For example, speed/distance and accel/braking G's can give a close approximation of throttle & brake timing & amount, to dispel the fibs we tell ourselves that "I was flat all through the esses" or "I don't coast before I brake", etc. Obviously, throttle & brake position sensors are much more accurate but much more expensive & complicated. Lateral G's give us a sense for what we are doing with the steering wheel, and when, in comparison to throttle and brake. An RPM sensor is very useful for seeing how well the driver is using the car's powerband, and whether there is overbraking.

Then, comparisons between laps and/or various drivers are very valuuable, especially time gap vs. distance (to use TraqMate's term) between drivers, to analyze where one is losing time versus a faster driver, and where they are strong. This enables the driver to focus on their weaknesses rather than just trying to boil the ocean.

Et cetera.







Professional Racing and Driving Coach

 

One added thought - in addition to identifying the low-hanging fruit, I find it's also useful/important to point out to a learning driver where they are pushing hard enough already, and shouldn't try going faster (at least right away). This is where a comparison to a more experienced driver is handy.

It's the old "can't just go faster everywhere" - there can be some corners where the student's already going fast enough, and either needs to maintain pace (so as not to start going off) or back down a bit, start focusing on corner exit instead of corner entry to find time.

Had an amusing round of this with my wife last race weekend... no matter how many times/different ways I told her to go slower and softer into turn 1 (at Waterford Hills, for those keeping score), she kept trying to go in harder and deeper... locking up brakes, sliding it in, etc... complete opposite result of what I had intended. Clearly my analysis skills are better than my communication skills... LOL

 

This is a very good point.

Another thing I just started doing is to take my laptop with me and try to make time to look at data from sessions during the weekend rather than wait until I get home and say "doh!" to all the things I should have been working on while I was there and now have to wait til next time to work on. A couple of us driving the same class of car shared data between runs while we were at the track this past weekend at TWS. Great exercise.

 

Great thread; thanks for starting it.
Question for VR and Joe - what does the Speed v Distance trace tell us?
Thanks

 

Well, for one thing, it tells us how quickly we are getting into & out of corners. For another thing, if you are smart & have a clear goal for each session, it can tell yo whether what you are doing (for example, a different line in a specific corner) is working or not. Just 2 examples.







Professional Racing and Driving Coach

 

I am no expert, far from it. But I can say that data analysis has helped my lap times tremendously. It has also helped me understand first time tracks quicker.

When I get to a track for a race weekend, I first focus on driving a bunch of laps to get a solid, representative data baseline (after car is set-up properly that is).

Then I find my best lap and look for throttle application and brake pressure patterns and watch video (I also look at circle of traction graph to some extent) to see where I may have left time on the table. This allows me to go out there and drive "proper" laps.

And then I find areas to push more by comparing my faster "proper" laps to one another (the notion of fastest theoretical lap somewhat comes in the play here...)

;-) I can't omit to say that having a pro data guy such as Jerry Austin as part of Dan J's crew for Club Race weekends really changes everything. He peels the proverbial onion until we find the actionable opportunities for lap time improvement.

 

"Distance" refers to where you are on the track - as opposed to "time" which is when.

"Speed" is velocity.

Speed vs distance is what is your velocity in relation to position on the track.

Examples would be:
-The maximum velocity (in MPH) you reach before a braking zone
-The minimum velocity in a corner

 

Thank you Van (and Dave). I'm headed up to LCMT tomorrow so this discussion is especially interesting.

 

Fantastic!!!

Glad to see that people are responding to this thread. It is so important to stop using these items as $1000+ lap timers and get your value out of the available data!

 

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