First event but not my last

b18ced6 · Post by **b18ced6** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:52 am

All I can say is wow. Had a blast. Gordon was a great instructor. I have a baby on the way and the two day you have left are right arund her due date. So I won't make it to one this year.

Thanks to everyone.

Post by **Mick** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:08 am

Ah, bring her along. I'm sure we can figure out how to deliver a baby in the paddock. NHMS has air tools.

...you looked really good out there!

nhsilversti · Post by **nhsilversti** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:17 am

when im at an event we has air tools also, i bring my own air

b18ced6 · Post by **b18ced6** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:22 pm

Mick wrote:...you looked really good out there!

It felt good. Didnt want to make anychanges during the day. Wanted to play it safe with the setup.

Grippy · Post by **Grippy** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:56 pm

You were flying out there, I really wanted to put a stopwatch on you. I bet you would have placed mid-pack in SPC your first time out. you NEED a lap timer

Great job! Hope to see you again next season.

Post by **WillM** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:02 pm

I was unfortunate enough to share a garage with your instructor during that event.

"My student this, my student that..."
blah, blah, blah.

Congrats b18ced6. Glad you had a blast.

You did look good out there too! :thumbleft:

b18ced6 · Post by **b18ced6** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:19 pm

Who was the guy next to you guys who had a video camera on his dash? I think it was an Audi. I remember watching it and saw my car in front of him.

b18ced6 · Post by **b18ced6** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:15 am

Grippy wrote:you NEED a lap timer

What one do you suggest?

Grippy · Post by **Grippy** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:22 am

The "Hot Lap" is very popular and fairly inexpensive. You can buy just the reciever and display as there is usually a beacon on the wall that someone else puts out. Or you could get the beacon too and not be dependent on anyone else. I have been poaching other peoples beacon for years. The beacon is just a light emitter.

There are also some new GPS based systems out there but I believe they cost a bit more.

I have my hot lap hard wired to the car so I don't have to worry about replacing batteries in the receiver. You can recall up to 50 laps for review i think.

Check Driversupply.com, they carry them.

Post by **WillM** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:40 am

Hot Lap is a good choice, as so many guys run them all you'll really need is the receiver and display. There are other options with some better features, but the Hot Lap is easy to use & popular. I have a beacon, but only very rarely do I have to put it out - there are usually already a few on the wall.

The Audi belongs to my cousin. The camera was mine. I'll look at the video and post any good clips. The sound track will not be that great, as you'll get to hear me yelling "glance to the flagging station, crest the hill, glance over to the apex, pick up our brake point, glance to the turn-in point, look over to the apex, look up the hill to the track out, now look all the way over to the left for turn 7"...! I need an external mic!

CP · Post by CP » Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:54 pm

Here is the GPS-based system that I use along with several other guys. No beacons to forget about and leave at the track. I only use it for the lap timer, ongoing segment time updates during lapping, and the programmable shift lights. It's got HUGE potential as far as data logging goes, but the software is too complicated for me to use without several hours spent with someone who knows how to interpret all the data that I log during every session.

mossaidis · Post by **mossaidis** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:57 pm

NICE! A Civic! b18ced6 welcome abroad, glad to see a Civic come out and play with COMSCC!

breakaway500 · Post by **breakaway500** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:35 pm

I bought a GPS based data box called a Racelogic by Performancebox.

http://vboxusa.com/performancedrift/

The manual came on a CD and was 60 pages long so I decided not to print it out and to wing it.I tried it for the first time at the NHMS2 event.

It was not very user friendly for me.I could not get it to record my lap times with any consistency or store them.

After a few laps I could only think of it as 10oz. of unnecessary weight.
About then the power cord decided to dangle around my feet while driving.I decided I had best remove it from the car

In the right trained hands it should be fine.It has the capability to record lots of data and download it for review later.

I just wanted it to record my lap times.However it looks like I will have to study up on its operational requirements proir to the next event.

garbage in...garbage out...

jrussell · Post by **jrussell** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:40 pm

breakaway500 wrote:I bought a GPS based data box called a Racelogic by Performancebox.

http://vboxusa.com/performancedrift/

A friend of mine from Sweden got one of those too. He had it shipped to my house. I brought it to the track for a trial. I thought it was the biggest POS I've ever seen. I got it and my new HotLap the same day, but I forgot to grab batteries for the HotLap... D'oh! Anyway, I ran it a bit on that weekend and the whole way to/from the track just for fun.

After I got home and got the software loaded on my laptop (no CDrom, so I couldn't do it at the track) it really is a very nice unit. The only complaint that remained after I figured it out was having to press a button to set start/finish. I can't reach it when I'm strapped in. I shouldn't be out on the track if I'm not strapped in.

You can go out for a bit (it datalogs when it's moving) and then use the computer to set start/finish, but that seems to be a bit of a PITA. So I really do think it's a nice unit, but has that one shortcoming.

I'm looking forward to using the HotLap at Tremblant. I won't be competitive but it'll be nice to see what changes worked and what didn't while I'm learning. My instructor may find it helpful too?

breakaway500 · Post by **breakaway500** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:56 am

Good point about not being able to reach the "set" button for the start/finish line.I encountered the same problem. It has a feature that allows you to set the race track width and I opened it up to 100 feet.That way,when I went out on the hot grid past the start/finish line I could set the Start/finish point and then tuck back under my harness.It is a PITA.
You also have to remember to store the data before you shut the unit off or you loose the data.
Without the manual it is a very difficult unit to operate correctly. Maybe because it is made/designed in the UK?
They don't even drive on the correct side of the road.

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First event but not my last

First event but not my last

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