Racepak Data systems

[chevy34]

Has anyone had dealings with Racepak data systems? Is it any good?
We are looking at adding a base data system to our car and Motec is about twice the price, I know Motec is very good but is it that much better?
All we want to log at this stage is basic engine temps and preasures, both G's, steering, Throttle, Brake and speed then in the future add shocks etc.

It seams the Racepak G2X pro with an IQ3 dash display would be a good option as it works out at about NZ$6000 with all sensors and wiring compared to about NZ$14000 for a Motec. the other issue with Motec is you need to think about what you may add in the future so you get the wiring loom made with all the extra plugs etc.

[RF_Racer]

I would go for the AIM MXL Pista. I have been using it for a season now, very user friendly and very scalable. Try their software, download it from www.aim-tec.co.uk

[tristancliffe]

The IQ3 is great. We've just fitted one in the Dallara for next year, and it's so simple to fit, simple to use, and the software is comparible in most aspects to most others. It's not as good as Motec's (but then, none is), and it's missing some features like custom axis graphs (so you can't plot stuff like RPM vs Oil Pressure to see what interesting/useful data can be found.

The wiring is entirely modular - one 'Vnet' cable carries all the sensor signals, and you simple add tees to the cable to add more sensors (or use a little box that takes 4 inputs on a single tee.

The dash display features are great - you can show any variable you like (and quite possibly the result of any math channel, but they might be software only), over four pages. You can define the GPS start-finish point as you're driving and it'll give live feedback of predictive laps, which many dashs don't.

You could also look at Race Technology if you want something a little cheaper still (I think). Powerful but occasionally buggy software, and the DL1 isn't so great in a single seater as they're not water tight. But a neat, easy to use, powerful datalogger nevertheless. The wiring is tricky to do neatly though, as you end up with about 40 wires going into a space the length of a matchbox - and only a single earth connector on the unit itself (so you'd need an external satellite earth).

Racepak stuff is used in very arduous places - power boats, NASCAR, Top Fuel drag racing, single seaters etc etc. They also make (I think) the MSD ignition stuff (basically the same company), and that's also praised for it's reliability.

[Alex Laidlaw]

Tristan interesting to here that the Race Technology DL1 isn't watertight, does is it need wrapping up/covering for single seater use? Any ideas on the Dash 2 display? They seemed to reckon it would be/has been fine for single seater use. I'm currently looking for a new dashboard/data logging package (data logging a non-essential luxury depending on how much the dashboard hurts).

I didn't really seem to find many systems at the Autosport show aimed at club racer budgets, except for Race Technologies, Farringdon (no good because driver doesn't like the notion of a wheel mounted system) and possibly Stack (although it is a bit pricey). Having said that I didn't find anything on PI or AIM at the show.

I hadn't looked at Racepak because the owner had ruled them out after being advised by somebody (Demon Tweaks?) that there were issues getting bits and support from the US, is this really true or just marketing BS trying to convince him to spend more?

[tristancliffe]

I gather the Dash2 is waterproof (or, at least, splashproof, which is enough), but ideally that needs to be linked to a datalogger. Unless you can afford a DL2 you're stuck with the non-watertight DL1. I tried wrapping it it various things - thick plastic bags, cling film, putting it in a silicone sealed tuppaware box. At 130mph water will find it's way in!!!

If you have room putting it in the cockpit would work. Under the drivers knees usually stays pretty dry, but I didn't have room to do that so it was forced into a sidepod.

Farringdon requires a licence to print money. They don't make affordable stuff (in my experience with the depths of my limited budgets!).

Racepak in the states has been great. Lots of friendly advice on their forum. A nice man on the end of the phone. Can and will ship to the UK. I bought mine through GPR (now dead it seems), and Bruce there was very helpful too. But, to be honest, unless you are desperate to run racepak's own sensors (which are usually just other manufacturers branded as Racepak on their pricelist) then you can get all the stuff you'll need in the UK to plug into the dash.

Ultimately let your budget decide. My DL1 has lasted 2 seasons (but needed to be sent back for water damage repair earlier this summer), and has given exactly what I wanted of it overall. If the wiring was slightly nicer, rather than trying to cram lots of tiny wires into tiny connectors, and it was more waterproof then I'd probably stick with it and use a Dash2.

[Alex Laidlaw]

I think we'll probably go for Dash2 possibly with the DL1 or no data logger for now. Mounting it shouldn't be too much of a problem, it could always go between the side bodywork and chassis tubes (unlike your very neat tub the bodywork is a few feet wider than the cockpit/it needs to be) or it could just go on the bulkhead next to the ECU if it fits. The Racepak looks pretty similar to me anyway but without the option to buy the dash and logger separately.

Farringdon seemed reasonably priced and aimed at club racers to me, their system with data logging cost the same as the identical looking Stack system without.

[aa/fd]

Used RacePak since 1987, been through all the development pains.
The current product is very nice, user friendly, it had to be idiot proof for all us non computer educated mechanics. It still amazes me how much stuff happens in 4.5 seconds.
Ron Armstrong, RacePak field engineer is a pleasure to work with.

[BMaz]

Tristan I've just bought an IQ3 as well and I wanted to make the track map larger so I could see my lines a bit more clearly. So the first thing I did after being told that it wasn't possible was have a look at one of the .rpk files. It turns out that they are made using a sort of psuedo-HTML language called Unilog.

The reason I'm telling you this, is because if you spend some time reading the Unilog manual (ask Tim to send it to you), you'll find that you can make your own custom chart that does display RPM vs Oil Pressure on a custom runlog page. You'll also need Tim to provide you with a security code to give you the ability to actually edit the runlog files.

[tristancliffe]

BMaz,

Thanks for the advice! Funnily enough I've been chatting to Tim this week, and have already had the manual, codes and example files sent to me. I've already made an X-Y graph page with a little drop down box to choose my variables to graph (and it automatically scales it too!!!). Am hoping to make a better (bigger) track map, customised setup info pages, a 'dash' that shows everything on it and a few other things along those lines.

I was going to make a video page with gauges, but I use MPEG2 videos and can't be bothered to convert them to AVI for use in Datalink when I already have Trackvision and an IQ3 dash for it (which, for me, is nicer than the new IQ3 dash they've included in the Beta of Trackvision 2.1).

Have you tried printing charts yet? My Dad is a technophobe, so the only way he can interact with the datalogging is when I print out and give him graphs on paper. But the graphs print with no grid lines or scales (iirc), so it's not very useful for that. Maybe it's just my computer or printer?

The more I delve into Datalink the more I like it (though it is far from perfect). Tim has hinted they are working on a new build of the software to improve it's looks and glossy features, but it's only a hint and I have no idea what timescale they're thinking about.

The IQ3 itself is a wonderful piece of kit though, and very, very easy to install and set up. Can't wait to try it on a track

[BMaz]

Tristan,

Haven't had a crack at printing anything out yet. I've only really been playing around with the demo software, trying to get a handle on it as my car is still being built. I don't have a printer with me at the moment either as it's packed up in storage because I just moved house.

I think the software covers most of the bases, but it could do with some freshening up in the interface area. For example I don't think you should need to be writing (easy) code in order to do simple things like create a custom graph. It's very 1990s.

I'd also love to be able to take advantage of things like Google Earth images of tracks I compete at to overlay my lines on inside DLII, rather than having to drive around the outside of the track and the inside of the track to define the edge of the circuit. I'm going to have a go at trying to create a runlog page that does this once I've got some actual data on one of my local tracks, but I think the difficulty will lie in trying to match the .bmp file that I import of the track to the space that the track map is drawn on.

Cheers
Ben

[tristancliffe]

I'm still with the demo stuff because I've not been out on track with it either.
I agree it is dated to have to make 'simple' things outselves, but I'd rather do that than not have that functionality at all.

If you manage to get a system for overlaying track maps successfully onto Google Maps images then do let me know, as I'd love to take a look at your code. Likewise, I can share with you the XY Graph code (though it'll be better if you wait a bit so I can refine it and make it better first).

[RF_Racer]

Originally Posted by tristancliffe

I'm still with the demo stuff because I've not been out on track with it either.
I agree it is dated to have to make 'simple' things outselves, but I'd rather do that than not have that functionality at all.

If you manage to get a system for overlaying track maps successfully onto Google Maps images then do let me know, as I'd love to take a look at your code. Likewise, I can share with you the XY Graph code (though it'll be better if you wait a bit so I can refine it and make it better first).

Not sure about Racepak, but AIM system does offer google map overlay.

http://www.aim-sportline.com/pages/c...gps-module.htm

[tristancliffe]

Well, that's an export to Google Earth, which isn't quite the same thing as you have to load another application. Rach Technology offer a build in Google maps overlay (purely 2D, but I don't think 3D would be at all useful in cars or boats).

However, considering how inaccurate GPS is, even combined with accelerometers, it's little more than a gimmick really - the lines simply aren't good enough or at a fine enough resolution to give many useful pointers.

They are, however, excellent for the beginner to acquaint themselves with what the graphs mean with respect to the track, and for showing to non-datalogging people and allowing them to understand what it is you're going on about. That is what I use it for nowadays, as I can generally get the same info purely from a speed trace.