imarcr2

Aim's website mentions some new features that the Solo will have for autocross. The announcement of what these features might be is supposed to be in September/October....any thoughts as to what these features might be?

Matt Romanowski

I just finished my first event using this system on my car. I can honestly say the data from this probably taught me more about my driving in 2 sessions than my previous two years did. If you don't already have some form of data in your car, you need to get some. This unit was awesome, especially when you rate the cost in relation to a set of tires, an oil change, or almost anything else you do to your car.

APKhaos

Amen, brother.

ProCoach

+2!

My initial stocking order as the newest AiM Dealer (trackside at VIR) is on it's way! Can't wait. Anybody coming in town for Wilderness Trail, Hooked on Driving, either Chin event or Carolinas Region-PCA, I can hook you up!

I've been selling Traqmate (since 2005), Race Technology (since 2003), Race-Keeper and Video VBOX (both since last year) and am a data junkie, so as Matt said, this is a nice piece at a great price point. What I find remarkable is that by just taking a peak at two or three measurements, you can mine time and speed effortlessly (and more safely).

Race Studio 2 (the data reading software) is very powerful and much more user friendly than it's ever been, too.

Cory M

Here's a few pictures of a simple install in an older 911. I removed the speedometer and put the Solo in place of it. The piece of carbon fiber is about 115mm square with one of the corners chamfered to clear the switch. The carbon plate is stuck to the dash using 3M double sided emblem tape and the SOLO is held to the plate with velcro. I decided not to use the included mounting plate because the magnets were so strong I thought it could rip off the plate when I removed it to download data. The grommet on the plate is for the 12v power supply, I just cut the end off the provided cig lighter cable and routed it to the fusebox under the hood. Going to the track this weekend to test it out.

ProCoach

Nice!

winders

Cory,

Great minds think alike!

Scott

deputydog95

Are you guys using any video in conjunction?

Installs look clean.

ProCoach

I'm waiting on a Solo DL to slave a SmartyCam off of. That'll be the ticket!

You could use a Replay XD, Contour, GoPro or other along with TrackVision or DashWare to overlay the Solo AiM data onto the video files.

amso3

Cory and Scott

Nice installs. Interesting similarities with your cars, SOLO mount, tach, and steering wheel.

AudiOn19s

Could anyone compare the AIM solo vs. Traqmate? As primative as my Harry's lap timer is I've found what data is does provide to actually be beneficial and am looking to step up to a more robust system this winter. Traqmate was going to be the solution until this unit came along. I'd love to hear comparisons between the capabilities of the two of them.

For what it's worth I will not be integrating video, purely data for now.

ProCoach

The difference lies primarily in the software, not the measure of information. The four things you need (speed, GPS position, lat and long g) are both accessible in each system.

I would compare the capabilities of the Solo ($399) to the Traqmate Basic ($699) or the Traqmate Complete (with display, $999). The Solo DL ($699) will gather even more info, but you'll wire it to the CAN to do that.

I would say that comparing data accuracy from the two is academic and rather moot. As long as you're comparing information, system to system, you can easily identify the trends you need to in order to go faster. Period.

The barrier between people having and using these systems, at whatever cost, is first and foremost the ease of navigating and displaying useful information from the data collected. The easier it is, the more they use it.

The Traqview software and the RS2 (Race Studio 2) software are polar opposites, with Traqview loaded with pre-configured, ranged and packaged graphs and diagrams, the ultimate in express simplicity. This explains it's popularity.

Race Studio 2 is a fully-featured, fully configurable and extremely powerful analysis program that required configuration, layout and template management just to get the information to read the same every time for comparison. It's awesome to be able to use this powerful program from data generated by hardware at this price point.

Simply put, the Traqmate is far more expedient and easier to configure, set up and use, the AiM has a smaller (better) form factor and much more configurable way to slice and dice the data.

Since most drivers don't want to get involved with the detailed dissection of the information, I still recommend the Traqmate over most other systems because I know they'll use it. Not sure I'd upgrade from TM to Solo, but I'd sure look hard at the Solo if I were in the market for a new system and had never used one before.

Just as an aside, about 30% of the people I work with have a system (TM, AiM, RacePak, Race Technology) in their car and have NEVER used it because, upon opening the ludicrous "quick start guide," they quietly gave up. I've worked with people who had NEW systems in the box FOR YEARS that they carried around in the trailer...

It's no good if you don't (or can't, or aren't educated in) use it.

Matt Romanowski

I think Peter's comments are on they money. I've never used Traqmate so I don't know much about the use of their software, but I didn't find the Aim software (Race Studio 2) to be difficult to figure out. You are really only looking at speed, longitudinal G, and lateral G. It's pretty easy to get the screen setup so you can compare things. With the addition of the math channels in RS2, you can create some other measurements that will help you out as well.

In talking to people with Traqmate systems, many seem to have trouble getting it to work for various reasons. The nice thing about the SOLO is that if you buy it from Jerry it's ready to run (tracks loaded, battery charged, etc). You literally put the suction cup on the windshield and hit the on button. When you stop, it asks if you are done and you hit the exit button (and if you don't it shuts off automatically after 5 minutes). That's it.

No matter what system - get one. In one day I took a second off my lap times and found where to get another second. My co-driver lost 2 seconds and has the information to lose another 2 seconds. It's the best $400-$900 you'll spend on driving.

ProCoach

I think the Traqmate is as easy to use as the Solo, with the one exception of having to "mark" the S/F line manually one time for each track.

The TraqDash, though more feature laden and expensive, has 310 worldwide tracks in the memory. Same functionality as Solo.

I've no preference on reliability. They're both very good.

Nick Wong

Peter, please PM me whenever you start getting the DL version in. I've read about it for months and am itching to get it. I have been using RS for years now and am familiar with the software.