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track timer?

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Is there any device that can be installed in my car that will allow me to see my times at any track? Preferably something inexpensive. I think someone mentioned an app for a phone? I want to know if my times at various tracks get better.....
 

jas427

BOSS LS #469
If you have a I phone you can down load TrackPro to your phone. Get a holder for the windshield so it will have clear sky above it. It founds the track your at, you just hit the timer button it gets the track and when you reach I think 10 mph it starts you laps. I think its around 30 dollars. Oh it gives your speed around the track at different locations so you can see where to pick it up.
 
Been using Harry's Lap Timer Pro for a couple of years and it works great. If you use it to shoot video as well you can overlay the track data it collects, for $ 18 you can't beat it. One word of caution- the iPhone 3G models have poor gps reception but the 4 models work fine.

ArizonaGT is right thought - an external gps device is a good idea.
 
ArizonaGT said:
For iPhone: Harry's Lap Timer.

For Android: Trackmaster.

I highly recommend and external GPS with 10hz capability with any phone-based system.

I have found that the 10hz is too much data for Trackmaster. I'm always turning mine down to 5hz, it's what's recomended on the site. Great app with lots of good info!
 
http://www.qstarz.com/Products/GPS%20Products/BT-Q1000EXQR-F.htm

Check this link, it' s a gps data collector, come with software. Used by a number of car mags to gather performance data. A quick, self contained solution.
 
Exigent said:
http://www.qstarz.com/Products/GPS%20Products/BT-Q1000EXQR-F.htm

Check this link, it' s a gps data collector, come with software. Used by a number of car mags to gather performance data. A quick, self contained solution.

This looks interesting... wonder how accurate is is? I quess good accuracy as long as the unit has good satellite signal which I presume the apps for the phones need also. You would also have to have a laptop to download the data too so it could be read right away. I see one on ebay for around $170

How do the apps work for the phones? Do they show the times and mph right away? Or does the data need to downloaded to a laptop program? Being that I do not have an Iphone or a Droid, I can't just download and try it...
 
How about the timers that use an infared beam? Will most tracks allow these to be used on track days? It would appear that you would have to install the beam sender somewhere on a wall and I can't imagine that the track would like that.
 
Harry's Lap Timer will show your lap times and videos immediately and there is a companion app for the iPad that allows you to transfer the data over for additional analysis. You should look at Harry's website, the app does a lot more than collect data and v15 should be a significant update. However, unless you intend to buy a new phone for other reasons it's not that cost effective. As far as I know, there are few devices that offer immediate viewing of lap data without a companion device - typically a laptop.

I know a dozen people using Harry's for both video and lap times with good results. For the casual track day driver it's hard to beat.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
Here is a video from this weekend, with Trackmaster (android) data overlaid. You can also view your acceleration and deceleration areas, as well as lateral G loadings for each lap, on your phone.

[youtube]86UfdPBSwX4?hd=1[/youtube]
 
I have the PZRacing GPS TimeTronic and it works great. Since it uses GPS you can set it for any track and it stores up to 10 different tracks. It's just a simple lap timer that logs up to 150 lap times and your top speed. It also displays your current speed. Mine's a 5 Mhz unit that is accurate to .01 seconds, but I think the new ones are 10 Mhz.

http://krosswerx.com/
 
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1
I have the trackmaster for the android. For $9 you can't beat it..... I know it does a whole bunch of different data logging. Someone posted above a video with the data overlaid. I didn't know you could do that!!! I need to look into this thing more....

I think one of the best systems out there is the Traqmate. With the new interactive screen they have the system is amazing. However at $1500 it is a bit much...

I am going to look into an itouch to see if it can run harry's lap timer or the trackpro. Those two seem to be the best for phone stuff....
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
adam81 said:
I have the trackmaster for the android. For $9 you can't beat it..... I know it does a whole bunch of different data logging. Someone posted above a video with the data overlaid. I didn't know you could do that!!! I need to look into this thing more....

I think one of the best systems out there is the Traqmate. With the new interactive screen they have the system is amazing. However at $1500 it is a bit much...

I am going to look into an itouch to see if it can run harry's lap timer or the trackpro. Those two seem to be the best for phone stuff....

Adam:

For the data overlay, google the program "RaceChrono2AVI". You will have trackmaster output your session (or lap) data using the "VIDEO DATA" button. This outputs a .csv file.
Then you open the file with racechrono2avi and it will display the lap data. You can hit "play back" and record the data screen. Then you have to sync it up with your in-car video.

It's not super elegant but for the price ($0) you can't beat it.
 

PeteInCT

#LS-378 - So many Porsche's, so little time....
Moderator
2,848
14
Connecticut
I use a G-tech Pro RR Fanatic (http://www.gtechpro.com/rr_fanatic.html). Not too expensive, easy to use and it seems pretty accurate. The R model supports road courses as well as drag strips. I 'learns' track configurations (as well as their locations) and recalls them later automatically via GPS location. Software to analyze your runs is pretty helpful, especially if you set up road courses into segments for analysis. You can also analyze two runs side by side also. At that URL above you can also download the analysis software for free which comes with one prerecorded 1/4 mile strip and one road course file so you can see the software in action.
 
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ArizonaGT said:
Here is a video from this weekend, with Trackmaster (android) data overlaid. You can also view your acceleration and deceleration areas, as well as lateral G loadings for each lap, on your phone.

[youtube]86UfdPBSwX4?hd=1[/youtube]
Way cool! This may be a good excuse for me to upgrade my BlackBerry to an Android or iPhone 4S.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
You can also do side-by-side comparisons of yourself in different sessions, or yourself versus other drivers, assuming you have patience and some video editing software.

[youtube]PMHub5ZButE&hd=1[/youtube]
 
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ArizonaGT said:
You can also do side-by-side comparisons of yourself in different sessions, or yourself versus other drivers, assuming you have patience and some video editing software.

[youtube]PMHub5ZButE&hd=1[/youtube]

I just started playing with video software. I had an old version of Premiere Elements but picked up Cybervision PowerDirector 10 Ultra 64 after trying the free trial copy. Some users have stability issues with PD, but it seems to be fine on my machine. Now I just need to learn how to use all the stuff that it can do. Something to do in the winter while the Boss hibernates in the garage under the crappy cover that came with it (guess you don't have that problem in AZ!).
 
Exigent said:
Been using Harry's Lap Timer Pro for a couple of years and it works great. If you use it to shoot video as well you can overlay the track data it collects, for $ 18 you can't beat it. One word of caution- the iPhone 3G models have poor gps reception but the 4 models work fine.

ArizonaGT is right thought - an external gps device is a good idea.
I can’t seem to get mine to do the overlay
 

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