This time I’ll look at the mid and low range approaches for data systems.
Mid-Priced System/Garmin Catalyst
I’ve seen this run anywhere between $700 and $1000. It comes with a camera and display with all necessary mounts and cables.
Advantages: Mid-range price, automatic identification and “coaching” on improvement opportunities, very easy install and operation, no PC or other SW required, easiest way to capture good quality video/data, enables immediate review of data and video when you get out of the car, generates “optimal” lap video to help driver see how to achieve total lap improvement, easy to get started, it only bases your opportunities on your driving so it shouldn’t tell you to do something you haven’t already done
Disadvantages: No customization, no driver inputs or car data captured, “coaching” mostly limited to line, braking or go faster comments, opportunities are often incorrect or not focused on the correct areas of biggest impact, problems with service and support, it often biases the opportunities to overdriving the car
Summary: it is a good tool but can lead you astray, check in with a coach occasionally to see where your real opportunities are, it won’t detect overdriving, driver mental state, track visual references, ……….
This is a very easy system to set up and it captures good video, displays predicted lap times, includes AI identification of improvement opportunities and real time improvement call outs on track. See my separate post comparing the Catalyst to SOLO 2 DL data and analysis. There is also a Catalyst iOS app that lets you see more data and compare your lap times to others at the track.
When working with a Coach the Catalyst is just OK. It doesn’t capture any driver inputs and the camera needs to be mounted to the windshield so you cannot see the driver’s hands on the wheel.
It takes a couple hours to really understand what the system is trying to tell you in the opportunity reviews but it can yield some good insights. The AI system can provide real-time suggestions via Bluetooth while on track for the opportunities you want to work on.
The system can also stitch together a video of the optimal lap by pulling video from the best sectors across multiple laps.
The biggest downside is that the system has no way to capture driver inputs or car data, nor does it have any way to export the data for deeper analysis on a larger screen.
See separate posting for more detail comparing Catalyst to an AIM Solo 2 DL system.
Lower Priced Options
On the cheapest end of the spectrum are apps for iOS and Android based devices.
Advantages: low starting costs, you can build a very capable system over time, can switch out components, works with Circuit Tools for deeper analysis, can collect driver inputs and car data,
Disadvantages: getting all the parts to work together can be a challenge, everything needs separate power, rendering videos can take significant time,
I’m just going to look at two apps though there are many more. For a few dollars for the software and a good camera windshield mount (RAM) you can get started with on-track data and video. These apps use your phone’s processing, video, GPS and accelerometers as a starting point to collect data and generate ok videos with some data overlays. The GPS isn’t precise, the video is just OK and the accelerometer data is noisy but it works.
The basic Phone/App can be added to significantly improve the quality and quantity of data. Both of these can use external GoPro for better quality. They can also connect to a OBDII bluetooth or WiFi device to pull in more input and car data via that connection. An external GPS device with higher refresh rate can also really improve the accuracy of all GPS based data channels. The downside is that getting all these parts to work together can be a challenge and there can be lags/sync problems between the inputs. TrackAddict requires external software to bring all the data together in a video with overlays. The cost advantage is reduced once all the separate parts are added BUT the entry price is so low it is a great place to start.
Note these apps allow export of the data in a format that works with CircuitTools. This allows for more complete analysis on PC/MAC and lets you work on a bigger screen.
RaceChrono Pro $19.99 (iOS and Android)
This app has really taken over from Harry’s as the go to app to start with. It has a LOT of capabilities starting from using just the phone’s capabilities to adding a wide range of additional inputs. It can generate videos with a wide range of overlays all on the phone without having to fire up the PC. Some examples of the extras with this app are the ability to work with the following; Heart rate monitors, link and syncro external action cameras, remote control of go pro hero cameras.
Track Addict Pro $8.99 (iOS)
Just this and a good RAM windshield mount and you are in business. Use the phone’s camera and GPS and you can see your times, average speed, coasting times, straight line braking times and graphic data overlaid on the track. You can run it on both phone and iPad and it is very easy to output data and videos. It works with external GoPros, GPS and OBD II, but not the range of components that RaceChrono does. It also needs an additional PC SW (Race Render) to integrate the GoPro video and other data. It does make the synchronization very easy though.
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