Track! (AiM Solo DL + 2 Contours + RaceRender2)

[ILLCOMM]

I've only been to the track a couple of times (and not at all in about 2 years) so I decided to give it a serious go this season. Day 1 was fun and I moved from D to C but I have a lot of room to improve. To that end I put together a data logging setup that enables me to critique all the things I am doing wrong (and occasionally the things I am doing right). Since there seems to be a bunch of talk about the AiM Solo on the forum I thought I'd share my output of what's possible via data visualization enabled by RaceRender 2 (there's much more possible through the analysis software that's included- Race Studio 2). Remeber, I am basically a novice so this is very, very doable for anyone who wants it:

(this was my second session which was not my best, but was the only one where my in-car Contour captured the whole session)

(this was my fastest lap which happened in my third session)

I really like the setup. The hardest part of RaceRender 2 is synchronizing the data, but after doing it a few times I've found it becomes straightforward.

Obviously sound is still an issue. I'll get that worked out eventually.

Special thanks to Richard at M-World for the AiM setup and for answering a bunch of my questions. The harness he provides makes it trivially simple to gain ECU/CAN connectivity! http://www.m-world.us/aim_solo_dl_gp...r.html#solo_dl

You can get RaceRender here: http://www.racerender.com/RR2/Download.html

Setup wasn't cheap, but given how much it would cost a few years ago it's pretty amazing.
ContourROAM (roof): 176
Contour+ (in car): 416
AiM Solo DL with ECU harness and mount: 849
RaceRender 2: 35
(+ you'll probably need some mounts and microSD cards)

Hope to see some of you out there. Looking forward to the rest of the season!

[klammer]

Pretty impressive overlay, especially like the little steering wheel.

[xrayos]

How do you sync the video to the data. Meaning how are you sure that the video is playing at the same time as your data changes?

[dawgdog]

Very nice line for such limited experience! I was there if that was the BMW club day.

[Richard@M-World]

Thanks for sharing! Good luck with the rest of the track season!

[ILLCOMM]

Originally Posted by xrayos

How do you sync the video to the data. Meaning how are you sure that the video is playing at the same time as your data changes?

I used a program called Race Render 2 which allows you to take disparate video and data sources and sync them together. Race Render 2 has a synchronization tool that is super helpful. Bottom line- it's manual but easy enough once you get the hang of it. I find a part of the track where I am certain about what I am doing (e.g., the turn in on 3b at Pacific Raceways) and then sync the two data sources together by timing the data I logged about the wheel turning to the external video showing the car rotate. The camera inside the car is easier because you can literally match up the steering wheel rotation (on video) with the data logged steering wheel rotation.

[ILLCOMM]

Originally Posted by Richard@M-World

Thanks for sharing! Good luck with the rest of the track season!

Thanks for answering all my questions about the Solo DL!

[FrenchBoy]

Very cool. Great overlay. And nice driving!