fatbillybob

Josh,

So how do you do that in gps manager? There is no documentaion

fatbillybob

AIM learned how to write user manuals from Ferrari.

HiWind

Great discussion - thanks for all the info folks. Matt R's trailbrake.net is very good too.

I've been reading about this all week and trying to work it out as I'm preping to buy my first timer. Its pretty much between the Solo and DL, the Traqmate, the GPX-Pro (locally available). Its quite complex in itself but made harder by the distance to a shop where you can try it out or speak face to face. There are a few systems down here that seem fine - i've seen them at the track and at the tuner's spot - but this kind of thing (for me) is all about the detail. I prefer to review the latest options. Cost is an issue as there so many 'mods' and so little time and I don't want to change my car too far from stock, especially visually.

This is my thinking so far from the reading and much thanks to what you guys have said. Any mistakes are mine - please point them out. I'm putting it up incase it helps the casual browser. Also feel free to comment/develop any of the ideas.

So I've worked out that ..

1. you don't want something with a beacon or AA batteries.
2. you want something reasonably simple to read and use, especially with gloves on, when you're on the grid, strapped up etc... and have a knack for fogetting to count laps or losing your pit-board.
3. I want something that didn't look way out of place in my stock 996RS - Solo does look cleanest; least 'unPorsche' imo. ("Does it come in red?" Has anyone thought of loading the readout screen with Porche font? )
4. If you're paying over $350 you shd expect more data than just time and lap count ie pretty much all data that ecu can deliver. Having delta's to your best lap is a must have for me too.
5. you want something relatively easy and safe (for the car's electronics, shorts etc...) to install and keep there (no cables running around unless its a cup) - but again thats just a visual thing
6. you want easy download from a size and access point of view i.e. using a usb - special tools (digi pens etc.. are costly) and bringing laptop to the track not ideal if it can be avoided although that seems less and less likely nowadays
7. the software shd be 'good' (ie modern, updated regularly for download, good reponse level from troubleshooters, site updated) but most of them do seem good. Though lolaman seems to disagree based on his post re "its all about the software guys" earlier this week on the forum. I figure if you can synch a separate camera and your car data with lttile hassle and if you can view and access the data (even in excel) the software must be reasonably smart/well made. I think the REAL question is how much are you going to use it even if you have it. I met a Motec Cupdriver this weekend who 1. didn't seem to really use that much of the data 2. seemed to have all kinds of data blips/spikes in his data which skewed averages etc... These seemed to occur more often than not - he was trying to explain how the wheel position monitor helped him re over/under steer. The key thing it seems is to have the lines capured and the break/accel points visible and to be able to interogate the data with a mouse. Clearly lots of stuff here though and I'm v newbie.
8. Being able to denominate your own start point (ie even just on a regular road) with a button press is a very handy little toy for semi-legal road use - abandoned parking lots, roads, landing strips, country-side hills (within safe limits)

Anyways, so with that and thanks to some great vid's on youtube and trailbrake re use of the SoloDL and others .... I'm going with the SoloDL for ecu connection (use with GoPro2) and a Solo for my track buddy (who has a 996Mk1 GT3 with out ecu access/compatability I think - his clubsport has a nonelectric accelerator etc..).

Would really appreciate any pricing/quotes from those who want to supply it to us 2 in Cape Town (site of the sunny 2011 991 launch - not the pit of darkest Africa where credit card fraud is more rife than flies ).

thanks!

HW

ProCoach

I'm off to Maryland to set up an F430C with an EVO 3Pro and SmartyCam, but AiM, with the help of Roger Caddell (formerly of Victory Lane Data) has put up some terrific videos and continue to offer damned good support.

Josh, Chad and the whole AiM crowd have been exceptionally helpful. Pick up the phone! Jerry's a terrific resource, too!

Yes, there is something lost in the translation between Italian and English, but FBB? You should be familiar with that by now!

I'll send you something via PM when I get back or you can call the dealer you bought your Solo from.

There is no question that with power and flexibility comes some complexity, but once you get it down it's a non-issue.

ProCoach

More vía PM soon, but the Solo, Solo DL and Traqmate are all good choices. You aren't talking a lot of money, so you can't go wrong with any of those. Not sure you can't get at least throttle position and RPM from your friend's 996 GT3 in the Solo DL. I get that from 2004-2005 cars.

As your acquaintance showed with his MoTeC setup, it's more about coming up with usable information displayed quickly and without obvious errors and "corrections" having to be made.

Nothing wrong with the expensive systems, they just don't meet the needs or have the support available (without hiring an engineer) to get the information you need to go quicker for MOST people, in a Club setting, RIGHT AWAY.

Can't see how you can integrate the GoPro HD with the Solo DL? The only video solution that is integrated (turns on and off, feeds info to the camera video background) is AiM's own SmartyCam.

The Traqmate Basic and Complete DO turn on and off the GoPro HD with ONE button on the Traqmate dash (or auto-logging with the Basic), sync the video with the data automatically and does something only MoTeC can do at this point, which is to construct a VIDEO theoretical best lap (best from sectors). That way, you can SEE what you did to go x seconds faster than your actual and actually DO some of it!

Race-Keeper and Video VBOX can compare video side-by-side of a comparison between best sectors to best lap sectors to see what you did better (or worse).

More soon.

ProCoach

FBB, you do it in Track Management in RS2. Chapter 7, ppg 18-19 in the online Solo/Solo DL user manual release 1.00

Yes, I keep hard copies of these manuals in the passenger seat of my truck!

Matt Romanowski

You can set the sectors in GPS Manager. In the bottom left box there is a spot where you can add segments with the green plus button. Not sure how that affects things in the Solo though.

HiWind

thanks Peter - looking forward to that.

When I say 'integrate' I mean take my GoPro video afterwards on my laptop and superimpose the Solo DL data ontop of it so as to approximate what the HandyCam does - are you saying that isn't so easy/possbile to do? I realise that I will have to 'start' both before driving but tend to run the cam longer and then just trim the beginning off anyway.

FFaust

Normally I would do a search, but since you brought it up Peter, care to explain how?

I really have a hard time with searching anyway. My ADD kicks in, and I find myself wandering in 10 different directions, never knowing how or where to stop.

ProCoach

Of course you can do that! I recommend RL sponsor TrackVision. Means you can use about any video file and most data files and put them together after the fact. I was just trying to suggest easier, more automated ways of doing that.

First with ChaseCam (2007), then with Sony HD (2010), now with GoPro HD and HD2 (2012), Traqmate sells an interface module and cables that allow the cameras to be a) powered up and powered down by the Traqmate, b) start recording when the Traqmate obtains a GPS "lock" and c) with their TraqStudio software, pull up the video associated with the data file synchronized exactly with the data displayed. You can configure the information and how it is displayed over the video and export to a YouTube friendly video or burn to a DVD for archival purposes. And much more than that, you can construct a whole lap video of your best sectors from an entire session! Downside of TM is no OBD-II/CAN interface.

It's just that nearly every one of the nearly 250 clients that I've sold Traqmate/AiM/Video VBOX/Race-Keeper systems to want a system as simple, bulletproof and automatically synchronized as possible, so that's been my concentration.

KaiB

you can construct a whole lap video of your best sectors from an entire session

Now this promises to be fun for so many reasons!!!!

ProCoach

THAT'S why YOU got what you got!

KaiB

Can't just talk **** in this neck 'o the woods...

...gotta back it all up with video!

HiWind

thanks Peter - that makes sense

FFaust

Traqmate... check.

Thanks.