kurt M

no problem. you do not want to mount it to the wheel it is intended to be fixed to the car. there is a good range of tilt that it will work in. It needs to be 90 deg from direction of travel to get the G forces. If you are outside that range the rest still works.

ninjabones

I've had a great experience with Racepak (G2x in the spec miata) and IQ3 now in my 993. Agree with Larry about the obtrusive connections on the back of the Iq3 display. Plug-and-play single unit design is great for installation, but having the G sensors in the dash has some downsides... every time I remove the dash, the lateral G-readings are just slightly off from prior runs (you have to get it perfectly level).

Had a few pixels drop out on the display over the winter, but Racepak fixed it at no charge. Customer service has been great. The software is a bit less intuitive than Traqmate, but also a bit more capable (in my opinion).

I might disagree with the prior comment about lack of utility of comparing data with other cars.; in truth, I would venture to say that this has been the single most important variable in my progress this year. Fruther, I would say, above all else, pick the system that allows you the best access to comparable data. In my case, I'm not going to have the opportunity to have a pro drive my car at every track. But I've been fortunate to have access to data from some very fast dudes (mostly Bob T and Dan Yonker). It's also nice to have some buds around with the same system to help troubleshoot issues.

Matt Graham

Steering column works perfectly, as other had said. The issue is tilting it right to left (i.e. if you wanted to mount it in the center of the dash and angle it towards the driver's seat). Tilting it up/down is OK (you can calibrate the accelerometers to account for this).

-Matt

Gary R.

With my AIM MXL Pista, we removed the tach (redundant anyway with the dash) and all the wires loomed nicely straight into the back of the unit. Would that work with the IQ3 as well?

CWhaley - the SmartyCam is a nice unit but:
No data besides speed and G's
Video quality is sub-par compared to the HD units out there (Aiptek for one)
Requires an AIM data system if you want to integrate real data (throttle/brake) into video
Requires an AIM data system to work with the data.
AIM Software is not really user friendly, though good once you figure it out.

I would get an IQ3 and (after speaking with Tony) Trackvision. If you are going to want to add sensors just be sure it will plug into you cars data port and WORK..

CWhaley

Gary those are all good points.

I really was not impressed with the SmartyCam after looking at it this summer.
The AIM systems, thou impressive...seems to be a bit more what I would have put into my FC

With the IQ3 I could get GPS like the Traqmate... while still getting a heads up display...
Would the small chase camera systems be usable with the IQ3?

APKhaos

Yes. Datalink II will accept video in most formats.

FWIW, its easier to sync video and data with Racepak DLII than with most.
Here's how:

- Most tracks paint a nice white stripe for the start/finish line. If there's no stripe, pick an obvious start/finish reference point
- Set S/F on your IQ3 or G2X at the stripe
- Load your data and video into DLII
- Move the video to to the point where you are crossing the S/F stripe on your out lap
- Click the DLII Lap Marker channel
- Move the data to the FIRST lap marker
- Click Sync - you're done!

Seriously, there's nothing easier that syncing with the lap markers.

All you need to do now is click the TrackVision button in DLII, and you are ready to save the overlayed video.

Kurt's car has no regular instruments - everything is on the IQ3. Aside from the sensor setup, which was very easy, we wanted warnings for temps and pressures. The warning setup is quite sophisticated. The warnings are active only when the engine is running [gated by RPM]. Temps and pressures are tucked away on the second page of the display. When a warning event happens, the channel that caused it is flashed accross the bottom of the main display page and warning lights go on. Its terrific for the driver, because don't need to scan stuff that is within range, but you have instant info right where you want it when soemthing goes out of range.

FTS

One thing that I should have added previously: the technical support from RacePak has been way beyond my expectations. They always been very helpful, solved all of my problems, helped me with the software configuration, etc. For the price you pay, the after-sale support has been, one word: perfect. With all this analysis stuff, electrical connections, etc. you will need support, in my experience RacePak has been without comparison in this regard.

CWhaley

The tide is washing me closer to the IQ3 system. Everyone is making this a very easy choice.

flatsics

Check out RLCRACING.com

They have some interesting products and set up to work with chase cam.
I saw their lap timer system at the Road America club race. It was an amazing unit. The pics on their website make the units display look kind of cheesy. In person they are amazing. Big clear with full color screens you can see perfectly in sunlight.

Bill Verburg

Suppose one wanted to use say an IQ3 for data and say a ContourHD camera for video, what else is needed to sync video and data?
additional hardware?
additional software?

APKhaos

Bill,
You can load your ContourHD video in Datalink II, and sync with the data there. Sync is simple, usign the lapmarker method I mentioned earlier. This lets you see the matching video frame as you move around the data, either by clicking or 'playing'.
To make a video with the data overlayed on the video frame you need something like TrackVision [$lessthanatire], which is fully integrated with DatalinkII - one click in DatalinkII launches TrackVision with your video and data synchonized and ready to save the composite video.

Bill Verburg

Assume I know nothing(I don't)
What's Datalink II?

I think I know what Trackvision is but just to be sure...?

MUSSBERGER

That was one of the problems I had. I was going to mount to the turn signal housing metal frame but didn't have enough room between that and the gauges and the wheel. So I ordered a wheel with a three inch dish over night and it arrived just as flat as the one I had. This was all on Tuesday before JSR DE and Schattenbaum races. I said Eff it. I'll do it the right way over the winter and yanked everything out. It is pretty cool though. I like shiny stuff that flashes.

FTS

Bill, Datalink II, now in version 3.7.1, is the analysis software that you load your data into for viewing, analysis and video integration; it is part of the unit you buy or can be downloaded for free from RacePak site.

Bill Verburg

Thanks!

So to put a complete data/video system together you need to make 3 purchases
1) IQ3 or similar
2) camera
3) Trackvision software
?
I've been driving everyone crazy all summer w/ these questions, now it's RL's turn