G2 Extreme GPS Data Logger for Road and Circle Track Applications

The G2X is a small data logger that uses GPS and accelerometers to provide track mapping, driving lines, lap times and speed information. Click here for more information on the G2X.

Weather Watching

Racepak has always provided a logbook page in their software where you can record the weather information related to each run file. Now you can have that information automatically inserted into your files. Alta Instruments has designed their new AltaCom II weather station so that it can 'talk' to our DataLink data analysis software. Now, if using the AltaCom II weather station, when you download a new run file the weather information cab be inserted automatically by simply clicking on a button. This will save you the time of checking all of the your weather station instruments and transferring the information to your log page. To use this automatic weather information insertion you must have our DataLink Windows® software, version 5.5 or higher. Older DataLink software versions are not compatible with this feature. If you will be ordering a new data acquisition system, and will be using the AltaCom II, be sure and let us know. You can find out more information about the AltaCom II at www.altalabinstrument.com

We Know Where You Are

Racepak recently shocked the data acquisition world with the unveiling of our new track mapping system. This system, which allows you to track the position and movement of a vehicle as it travels around a track, uses GPS (Global Positioning Satellites) as it's prime method of monitoring the location of the vehicle. By using the GPS you avoid the necessity of installing beacons around a track to perform this task. With this feature the set up and testing become quicker and simpler to conduct. The GPS communicates with a sensor that is attached to the onboard data recorder and integrates the information with the other recorded data. The GPS track mapping system can be ordered as an integral part of a V300 recorder, or it can be added as an accessory unit to existing V300 and V500 recorders. Racepak's GPS track mapping software provides users with a number of features not found in other systems. Through the software you can break the track down into any number of user-defined segments in addition to whole laps. These segments can be compared against the same segment from other laps within the recording session, or against those from other recording sessions. Whole laps can be compared in the same manner. Each segment or lap that is monitored will provide you with the ability to look at such items as entry and exit speed, minimum and maximum speed, entry and exit time, elapsed time, split time, acceleration and braking G-force, lateral G-force, altitude, GPS heading and velocity, combined with all other functions that you may be monitoring with your data recorder. To say that interest has been high is an understatement. Recent testing with a noted Winston Cup team drew the attention of a large number of teams who were also at the track. If you are an oval track, road race, or boat racer you owe it to yourself to check out this amazing new system.

New Catalog Coming Soon

If your recreational interest center on the use of personal watercraft, snowmobiles, karts, or junior dragsters you will want a copy of a new Racepak catalog that is about to go to print. This catalog, which we call the Snow & Water catalog, will feature the Hot Tach and Avenger series of gauges, along with all of the options and accessories available for these gauges. Give us a call and ask to be put on the mailing list for the Snow & Water catalog.

Monitoring Ignition Timing

It seems that with the recent introduction of ignition systems that allows the user to vary the spark timing from cylinder to cylinder there is a new interest in knowing just where each cylinder is firing in relation to Top Dead Center. These ignition systems are some neat pieces of equipment, but just how do you determine what your individual cylinder needs may be, especially at high RPM and under load? Racepak has this ability. We can equip either the V500 or Pro II data recorders to monitor your ignition timing. If you have an interest in monitoring your ignition timing give our technical department a call and let them give you the details on adding this feature to a V500 or Pro II. You'll be amazed at what you will see.

Lateral G-force, who needs it?

That is a question we hear fairly often. Since a lateral G-meter is a standard feature in the V300 and V500 data recorders a lot of drag racers question why they would want it. Most do not readily see any benefit in monitoring the side-to-side motion of their 'straight line' car. That is until we point out how the lateral G-meter is most often used, and then they change their tune. The graph generated by a lateral G-meter is one of the very first indicators that a car is about to go into tire shake. Since the tire is actually waddling (or rocking) from sidewall to sidewall in the first stages of tire shake the movement it creates can be spotted by the lateral G-meter long before the situation becomes serious enough to go into full blown tire shake. Crew chiefs have learned to appreciate this warning signal. Another benefit of the lateral G-meter is in spotting when a drag race car has either drifted or been driven out of the groove. Sometimes when your car slows down and you just can't explain the reason why it helps to look for clues on all of the graphs. When your G-meter shows that your car has veered slightly to the left or right it might be an indication that the car was 'out in the marbles' and slipping the tires ever so slightly. It is also interesting to see how often a car makes a lateral move when the driver shifts the car. Seems they have a tendency to pull on the steering wheel at the same time that they yank on the shifter handle. Does the lateral G-meter make a little more sense to you now?

Cooking Automatically

In conversations with some of our customers who run automatic transmission cars we have heard some interesting tales about discoveries relating to consistency relating to the monitoring of transmission fluid temperature. It has been reported that by monitoring the trans fluid temperature with their data recorder allowed them to see things that weren't apparent when doing the same with a gauge. Many noted that the time a car spent up against stall when the transbrake was engaged had a monumental effect on the rise in temperature of the transmission fluid that was inside the torque converter. This in turn affected the car's launch consistency. This rise in temperature wasn't apparent on a gauge as the fluid temp is usually monitored in the pan, and the fluid doesn't circulate back into the pan until after the transbrake is released. This usually coincides with the launch of the car, so the driver isn't paying much attention to the gauge at that moment and doesn't see the increased temperature. A follow up talk with a well-known converter and transmission manufacturer verified this phenomenon. He reported extreme cases where the engine had been shut down immediately following some time up against stall, and the fluid in the converter was so hot that it actually annealed the metal below the fluid level. His advice to his customers concerning both reliability and consistency was to try to spend as little time as possible up against stall. Once again a data recorder has become a valuable tool in spotting an issue that can have an effect on your budget and your racing success.