Race Technology DL90 Data Logger - Anyone got one?

General General Lotus Talk
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Hi i am after the above and some advice with it, either new or second hand, maybe someone you know is dropping out of racing and they have one? I have spoken with Owen G and they are quite expensive so can anyone help?What do you think of them?Have they helped your performance on the track?How easy is the software to use?Would you recommend one? Cheers and thanks in advance, Mark.

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Just got one from Owen!!!So I cant pass comment yet,seems small and compact.Will post when i know more!JohnO

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Purely my personal opinion!Expensive toy.Timing at trackdays is bad news - invalidates everyone’s insurance - track owner’s, organiser’s & of course the driver’s. Okay, times etc are downloaded at home, but inevitably they get shared & can appear on the internet. I for one, don’t want trackdays to be killed off.Trackdays are NOT competitive, but fundays. They are obviously of great value in a race environment, but not trackdays. I believe that they encourage “competition” & this can lead to driving beyond one’s safe limit.Sorry, old fart rant over [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif[/image]

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I must say I agree with the OLD FART rant (Pesky) in that I dont think they should be used for timings whilst on track!!! It can be classed as a dangerous thing.However, I’ve got mine purely to see what the car has done whilst going around the track cos i like looking at graphs and things! I know my capabilities and believe that pushing the car beyond my meagre ability just to get a better read out would inevitably result in disaster!!!SO just an anorak thing for me NOT a lets go and beat my last time thing!!!Is that ok Pesky???JOHNO !

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quote:Originally posted by JohnO:Is that ok Pesky???Only if you do me a stonking deal when my insurance renews in January [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/wink.gif[/image]

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Your wish is my command oh wise one!!

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Pesky dear sir, agreed. They do invalidate your own car insurance and that of the track if they are used during a trackday, even if you are not invloved in an accident.However, i have to say that unfortunately i too am an old git and just want to measure where i am going wrong on a lap, where i am doing well and identify where there is room for improvement. Of course just like JonoO i would have to have agreement form the organisers to use the thing in the 1st place.I do appologise if i gave the impression of being a speed freak, on the contrary i saved a long time to be able to afford my new car and have no intention of going off the track to gain an extra 10th of a second or two. No, no, no, I am a virgo and thus a perfectionist and i need to get the lines, the braking and the acceleration right to make my driving better and overall safer for other trackday drivers.(and sleep at night)Maybe we should investigate how many people do time their laps, looking at variuos BBS in the past loads of people do and do so without advising the track! So in hindsight would it not be better to have those people like minded as myself and JonoO undertake observation laps with an instructor next to us to prove we are using it as an aide to improve and not race?Oops, i trust i have not started a hornets nest here? Finally i will say that if this type of data collection in any way would jepodise trackdays i would get rid of the thing, as they are ‘alexia of life’ (apart form the missues of course).Cheers, Mark.

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I am not sure about the insurance issue - you are not actually timing yourself while out on the track. It can be deduced afterwards (I think this datalogger uses GPS rather than a timing beacon), but you can deduce lap times from a video camera. I think the whole issue of dataloggers needs to be sorted out between the individual, trackday company, circuit and the various insurers before going on track with it.Having an instructor sitting alongside you while you drive with it switched on will prove nothing. The datalogger will give you nothing meaningful as you are driving around anyway - the interesting part is in analysing the data afterwards. As long as you can take a laptop to do this then fine, but then the insurance issue crops up - are you timing your laps? Other than that you resort to doing it all at home afterwards, which is fine, as long as you can note what you are trying out and when! If you do 100 laps of Brands will you remember what you did differently on that particular lap? And ideally you will want something to compare to, preferably somebody who really knows what they are doing, driving your car, or yourself before and after tuition.I think for racing it is extremely useful (I have a different datalogger), but for a trackday toy I think I would get bored quite soon.Cheers

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MarkD thanks for that and again i have to agree re getting someone else’s graphs to compare with etc.I thought that these devices do log it, then you go to a laptop, download and compare etc. However after talking to a company today there are products out there that can compare timings as you go around the same bend every lap. Thus advising you if you have improved on your lines with a auidable acknowledgement in the car. Indeed there are ones that replace the whole STACK unit and give in car info.I do appologise if i sound a bit dim but i am a tourist when it comes to this technology and am learnign daily.Anyway i will leave it there for now and thanks JonoO i have been in contact with Owen and as always he offers a cracking deal.Cheers, Mark.

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Yep, there are systems that will do this, but more sophisticated and expensive than this datalogger.Something else to be aware of is how much information can the unit actually log in any one go? The capacity is fixed, and the more channels of information you want to store, the less time that you will have a log for. You may find if you go out for a 30 minute session you will only have 15 minutes logged.Cheers

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Guys, let’s get real here.Any suspicion of lap timing will screw up trackdays as we know them - unless the insurers change their stance - dead likely! No trackday organiser will risk invalidating their own insurance.Paying for instruction is THE best way to learn to drive a circuit quickly (& safely!). Average cost is �20 for 20 mins, so it’s not a fortune, & most instructors give excellent value for money eg http://www.1-2-1instruction.com It’s then very much down to practice & experience.For racing drivers, data logging/comparison is great, as they tend to be driving on the limit, & tenths do matter. But trackdays are not race/test days.Obviously you are free to spend your dosh on whatever you want (& good luck to you), all I ask is that you don’t jeopardise trackdays by timing.Using a camera to time - I agree that it is difficult to control that, if it’s a spectator on the pitwall pointing the camera!Many circuits don’t permit cameras inside the car, or fixed to the exterior of the car.Don’t worry, guys, I’m not shouting, honest [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image] [This message has been edited by Pesky (edited 27 November 2002).]

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I suppose i should be more specific in my definintion of trackday i refering to.I of course mean test days, that require an ARDS to participate at. Do they allow timing or data logging at these? Mark

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quote:Originally posted by mcdermom:I of course mean test days, that require an ARDS to participate at. Do they allow timing or data logging at these? MarkDing [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]As far as I know, they also allow overtaking either side, & at corners too! No doubt MarkD can comment authoritively on this [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]I’ve been to a few test days (spectating)& they tend to be sessioned with similar race class cars out at the same time. I would recommend going to a few test days, & getting a feel for what goes on before deciding that you want to join in.I suspect that your “normal” insurance, although perhaps valid for trackdays (have you checked this out?), will not be valid on test days! Hope to see you at a few trackdays in 2003 [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image] [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image] [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image]