The Great American Meltdown, Road America, April 2012

We're very happy to have our friend Jonathan Gitlin  as a guest writer on Axis of Oversteer.   
It's endurance racing season and we hope to bring you more reports from inside races of all kinds to add prospectives you might not get elsewhere.   
Chump Car World Series, while focused on extremely low cost ($500 cars) is not to be confused with the 24 hours of Lemons.  As you may recall Axis was banned for life from Lemons guilty of not realizing it had nothing to do with racing....Jon did not make that mistake.


The Great American Meltdown, Road America, April 2012

As a regular reader of Axis of Oversteer, it's probably no surprise that racing is fairly important to me. Holidays often involve visits to various circuits, and it probably wasn't a coincidence that my wife and I spent our honeymoon in the Cote d'Azur when the F1 circus was in town.

But as much fun as watching other people race is, donning nomex and doing it myself has been a goal for quite a while. Sadly, racing isn't the cheapest sport out there, and a career in science has been more intellectually than financially rewarding.  Fortunately different racing series now cater to different budgets, and the advent of the ChumpCar World Series has meant that you too can get your grassroots endurance racing thrills without having to drive a parade float either.

My first ChumpCar experience was at a very cold and somewhat snowy Road America in April 2011, where I discovered that video games actually could help you prepare for some aspects quite well, but were nowhere near as much fun. 

Work commitments and scheduling meant that I had a very long off season, for that was the only time I managed to get out on track last year. A year is a long time to wait, but last month saw us return to Elkhart Lake, WI, for the Great American Meltdown, a pair of 7 hour races that marked the start of my 2012 season and the first outing for our team's new chariot for the year, an immaculately prepped 1991 VW Golf GTI; big thanks to our sponsors, Frozen Rotors, Parts4VWs.com, The Alignment Guy, and The Four Firkins.

Photo: Alex Bellus

Traqmate Traqdash Review

What is it:A new extended display from Traqmate, it integrates a lap timer, tachometer, shift lights and more into one display.

Who is it for:
The track junkie who wants more information at his fingertips, the racer who is looking to substitute his analog dash display at a price well below competitors.

Do you want it:
Yes you do and it gets an A+ Axis recommendation .

Cost:
$799.00

Disclaimer: Traqmate is an advertiser on Axis but if you have been following these pages, you know we were clients of theirs way before they became sponsors of ours.

Traqdash is the long awaited extended display for the Traqmate data logger.  It is an upgrade from the familiar lozenge shaped display which is part of their basic system. It features a 4.3" pressure touch screen topped by a nine segment shift light display. Data is recorded on an SD card and it connects to the main Traqmate sensor unit via locking connectors.

Traqdash allows the user to configure all settings directly, without the need for a computer.
 It can be as simple as a basic lap timer or can be configured to accept up to four analog and two digital inputs from sensors on your ride.
Traqdash allows you to remotely control LANC equipped Sony cameras as well as ChaseCams and, as of early 2012, GoPro cameras. That is exciting news, many of us used the ChaseCam / Traqmate combo in the past, the convenience was undeniable. Unfortunately, those early ChaseCams although wonderfully built, are now very much obsolete in terms video quality. Being able to substitute a GoPro is the perfect solution.

I have used it for a couple of track days now and I'm hooked. I cannot imagine going without it. I mounted mine as a dash replacement, it happens to fit perfectly in the BMW instrument binnacle, so a couple of L shaped brackets and some industrial Velcro and it was a done deal. Here is what it looks like in action.



Traqdash can be attached to a common suction cup mount, in that case you might choose to use it a a simple timer or perhaps as additional gauges.
Visibility is very good, The anti glare screen is quite effective with the backlight strong enough for full daylight but dimmable enough for night work. In fact, there is an effective Auto Dimming feature.

Probably my favorite feature on Traqdash is the predictive lap timer, It will tell you how your current lap is compared to either the best ever recorded by you or your best in that particular session. It does this with a graph which changes from red to green. Red you are slow, green you're good, brilliant!

Touch screen, how does it work with gloves?  It's actually a pressure screen and Traqmate, being run by racers, did their homework well: the amount of pressure needed is perfect as is the size of the hotspots on the display. Operating it with gloves is no problem at all.

Having everything integrated in one display, tach, timer and shift lights is great.  Having access to it at that price point is incredible.
After the jump you can find a slide show with most of thescreens on the display to get an idea of the parameter you have access to. If you have any specific questions about the Traqdash, feel free to ask in the comments.

In the market for a system?  Let me remind you that between November 4th and 7th, Traqmate is running a special, one time sale. You can save up to $250 on a system. A great opportunity as these systems do not get discounted.

How you can be like a Formula 1 team

In our personal evolution as drivers and racers, the biggest "quantum leap" in performance came from simply becoming aware.

It's one thing to evaluate your performance by the seat of your pants or even using a stopwatch, it's quite another to be able to figure out exactly why you achieve the results you do and how you can improve
Are you late on the throttle? Are you carrying enough speed through the apex? Are you braking too early? How long is it taking you to go from gas to brake? Answer to all these and many more questions will make you faster butcan only come from a clear understanding of empirical data gathered on track.

Please go read this article on the always excellent Craig Scarborough F1 tech blog. Read it with an eye to the fact that, while data recorders were once exclusive to big budget race teams, these systems are now accessible to many of us.

I would go as far as to say a data system is a required component for anyone interested in improving. Just like the big teams, you too can evaluate many of the same parameters simply with a laptop.

As you know by now we are big fans of Traqmate. They became a sponsor of this blog, but that was long after we had started using their product and kept bugging them for tech info ( Stee deserves all the credit, he was the first and dragged all of us into the data game).

Traqmate recently send us for evaluation their latest product, the TraqDash display. This is an expanded, dash type graphic display that allows more control to the user without the need for a computer and will also act as a dash replacement. It is priced well below competitors so it offers a great bang for the buck.

We will be evaluating and reporting on the unit in depth over the next month or so but, in the mean time, you can check out all its functions and menus in this PC simulation program Traqmate has made available (it runs in on Macs in Paralleles).


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Traqmate Traqdash Full Color Display

It's what I want for Christmas: this new display from Traqmate is compatible with your existing sensor unit and uses a touchscreen, iPhone style interface. Lap times, Shift lights, assignable gauges, Warning lights, predictive lap timing, but also text input which allows setting up the unit without the need for a computer.

UPDATE: After some sensible comment from you guys, I checked in with Traqmate to see how they solved the issue of a touchscreen device which would be operated with gloves.

As I imagined, being track guys, they had that taken care of: the screen does not work with finger contact, like the iPhone but rather is made to work with pressure. So using gloves is not an issue.

Along with the Traqdash display, Traqmate announced integration with Racecam HD. An HD update of the well known specialized motorsport camera, the RaceCam HD features 1080p video, a built in screen and external mic input all wrapped in a tough aluminum case. It will be able to be started and synced from the Traqmate.

The TraqDash display will be priced at $799.00 while the RaceCam HD will be $1499.00 (more after jump)






Traqmate Announces
TraqDash Full Color Touchscreen and the
RaceCamHD Motorsports Video System


Dec 2010 - As shown at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, Traqmate is now taking Pre-Orders for the both the TraqDash and the RaceCamHD systems. Supplies are limited, first come, first serve.


Traqmate introduces it's new full-color TraqDash touchscreen display unit. TraqDash is extremely powerful, easy to read and even easier to use. Features include multiple record modes, user-selectable gauge screens, built-in shift and warning lights, large easy-to-read numbers, awesome graphics, and Traqmate accuracy. TraqDash works with existing or new Sensor Units, cameras, and accessories.
Full Gauges and Shift Lights
Assignable Warning Lights
Compact 5.2" x 3.6" x 1"
Locking Connectors
Standard SD or SDHC Card
Superbright 4.3" Wide-Format Color Touchscreen
Works with all Traqmate Peripherals
Works with all Traqmate Sync Cameras

Click link below to for more information and to pre-order.

http://traqmate.com/traqdash/

The RaceCamHD is designed specifically for motorsports use, producing up to 1080P, the highest HD resolution. RaceCam is a pioneer in the commercial motorsports video market, with 16 years of experience. RaceCam has developed the next generation digital video recorder to continue their reputation as providing the highest performing in-car camera available. The RaceCamHD produces colorful, clear and stable, true High Definition video, with incredible picture balance, rarely seen when it comes to in-cockpit camera applications.

The RaceCamHD is a compact self-contained camera and digital video recorder which stores HD video files to a standard removable SDHC card. The RaceCamHD has playback capability either through the built-in color LCD or through an HDMI output connector. You can also display real time video in idle mode on the LCD screen or through HDMI, so you can effortlessly aim your camera.

1080p Full HD Recording
Wide Angle Lens
Top & Bottom Mounting
Compact 4" x 2" x 2"
Standard SDHC Card
H.264 MPEG-4 Video
Built-in Keypad Control
Color LCD for Aiming and Playback
Syncs with Traqmate
Built-in Mic w/External Option
Click link below to for more information and to pre-order.

http://traqmate.com/racecamhd/