Cool and Useful Cockpit Gadgets for the Track
 

I realize this should be in the AX/Racing forum, but I thought the audience would be larger here, and many of us track our cars without racing. I'm interested in seeing some innovative and useful dash setups folks are using in their cars. I'm heading for wheel-to-wheel next season with PRC in the Toyo Spec, and I plan to do plenty of interior work on my track car over the winter.

So far, the most useful addition I've made to the dash has been a row of lights that indicate braking and throttle position, that is in plain view of my in-car camera. It has been unbelieveably useful in evaluating my cornering technique. I highly recommend it to anyone who is trying to improve. You can see them in the clip below. Four lights, on the dash above my HotLap timer.

<embed width="430" height="355" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://s109.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid109.photobucket.com/albums/n41/zoanas/racingconcepts2.flv"></embed>

Nice pass on the delivery truck. :)

Where'd that come from?

Sherwood

Very cool. What track is that?

The clip is from RacingConcepts racing/competition school at Buttonwillow last weekend. The truck on the course was planned, as were several other "situations" to put drivers in conflict about what they are doing, etc. It was really a fantastic course, both classroom and on the track. Notice the Black BMW that I eventually pass. She is nearly 60 years old, and the president of RacingConcepts. She and several other instructors mix with the crowd on the track to monitor and "interact" with the students. Best $500 I've spent in the Porsche world.

You should drive with two hands.

Very cool video Zoanas!

Grandma was really hangin' that Beemer on the edge!! Way COOL!!

You're absolutely right. It's a bad habit from the street. That's another great thing about the in-car camera. I didn't even realize it until I saw it.

Yeah, she was a great instructor. Her first race car was a Porsche 930 Turbo! She really was a lot of fun on and off the track. All businees in the classroom, too. The expectation is that graduates hope to be recommended for a provisional competition license with NASA or other sanctioning body, but she reserves the right to recommend otherwise, and there were indeed a couple of people in the class that I don't expect to see on the track anytime soon.


edit: back on topic - any other great doo-dads for the track out there?

Off topic again Zoanas...

Just curious, as I'm just getting into open track racing for fun at Willow Springs...

What wheel size, tire size, and brand of tire are you playing with at the track? If I'm going to do this on a more regular basis, I'm seriously considering getting a dedicated set of wheels & track tires... I'm leaning toward 7&8x16 Fuchs if I can locate a set...

I'm currently running the identical setup that I have on my daily driver - 7 & 9 x 16 wheels. The track car is on Toyo RA1's 225/50f & 245/45r. The Toyos are AWESOME! Also, I have to use them for the Toyo Spec series. They tell me that I'll have to lose the 9's to meet spec, so I may go to 8's.

If you ever want to sell the extra 9's... I'm interested!!

I'll keep you in mind.

I got one of these in my car... No need to look at tach to shift. Just get a glimpse of color out of the corner of my eye. You can barely see it mounted on top of my dashboard. Fully programmable, green/amber/red, you can have indidual lights or sequential and it blinks when rev limiter is hit. Just like the F1/ALMS cars! Lou

http://www.datatool.co.uk/consumer/products/products/index.php?product=revlight

Go to support and see their video :)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1161473399.jpg

Lou, I like the rev light (See mine in the video above), but I like your switch panel more. Details?

Gotta have a cool shirt.
The helmet blower works well, one really nice benefit is that the air intake is then outside the car.
No breathing all the brake dust, fuel, oil and rubber remnants.
Also on dash I have an air/fuel meter I'll can glance at once a lap.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1161482281.jpg

Good point, Ted. Racing in NorCal will require some serious driver cooling. I'm using a 2-layer NOMEX suit that starts to get pretty warm, even on a cool day.

The panel is from Painless wiring. When I bought the car, PO had butchered harness. Since it was going to be a track car, I decided to start from scratch and use a Painless street/track kit. I bought the 8 switch box to go with it. It uses standard bayonet fuses. I figured it would be more reliable that 30 yr old wiring. Saved 7# (21 vs. 14) while at it. I spliced kit harness with OEM by starter. Wanted to reuse the 14 pin connector for easy eng drops. Pretty much became an expert at reading the wiring diagrams. You can see the fuses in the lower opening of the steering wheel. It is mounted by footwell. It has been running flawlessly since installed. Car is street legal and all electrical items work. Panel controls fpump, ignition, push button starter, lights, electric heaters and electric defroster. I left the key in the circuit to kill all electrical power. Hope this helps... Lou

len911, I plan to do the same on my track/street '73.

One gauge I'll definately add is a mechanical oil pressure gauge, I'll also have gauges for A/F for both cyl. banks. Temptation is vary high to put a race tach in the dash and use external signal lights like the Instant-G car.

Additional gauges I may use are cyl. head temp, exhaust pryometers, fuel pressure, voltmeter, front/rear brake pressure guages to work with an adjustable proportioning valve, etc.

Lou:
Where did you get the shift lights?
Here in US or from the UK?
Thanks
-Doug

I got mine in Ebay, but it is also here... I think motorcycle stores might carry them... Lou

http://store.58cycle.com/product_p/datatool%20rev%20light.htm

thanks Lou

Looks like a good winter project. Do you have directions, scematics for how you wired all that up?

I'm not sure if you're asking about my lights VaSteve, but they are a pretty simple setup: four incandescent bulbs, 1 red, 3 green, that are activated by the brake master cylinder switch (red) and three magnetic proximity switches mounted strategically around my gas pedal. I ran a 12v bus to all the lights, and switched the grounds at the mag switches. The "On throttle" switch is a normally open (when magnet is near) magnetic switch that closes when the magnet moves away. The "Mid throttle" and WOT switches are normally open until the magnet nears.

Yeah, your lights. The brake light I could figure out, do you have photos of how you wired up the throttle switches? Do you have a parts list of any sort?

Re: Cool and Useful Cockpit Gadgets for the Track
 

For data logging and after race analyzing there are several great choices, DL1, G2X.

I keep it simple when racing, you really won't have the time to scan a space shuttle style dash.
At the track so I know when it's safe to rev it up I use my oil pressure and temp gauges during warm up laps.
During the race if I'm not in traffic I'll try to check them on the long straights too.
I'd also like a big (2 inch diameter) oil pressure idiot light that will get my attention immediately.
Side and windshield mirror upgrades are important too.
A windshield banner or some tape on your helmet visor can help when the sun is low.
Maybe some rain X or wipers for a rainy day?

I'm actually in the camp that "less is more" and try to keep gadgets down to a minimum. I know people that don't have an oil pressure guage due to weight... although I'm not that bad yet.

Here is a recent gadget I added for the 06 season.
The XD-16 from innovate.
The warning lamps are 80Watt for the oil pressure and alternator (I want to know IMMEDIATELY if I loose a fan belt)

if these lights come on they are impossible to miss even in mid-daylight.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1161616220.jpg

VaSteve: I used the little white magnetic switches you can find at Radio Shack with double sided tape to mount them near the gas pedal, and then used small magnets attached to the gas pedal. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1161617294.jpg


Ted: I agree, les is more, and I don't really focus much on the dash when it get's busy. I really like the ability to review the video, however, and the dash lights really give me some valuable feedback. Eventually, I'll probably hook up a datalogger and pay the money for the sexy software that you can overlay onto the video. For now, I'm trying to keep the budget focused on safety and performance.

Here's a pic with info:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1161618463.jpg

Hmmmm.....I think you could lighten those pedals up a bit:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1161618877.jpg

A dollar's worth of 3M adhesive backed non skid helps keep my feet from sliding off of the brake and clutch pedals.

Brant, that's just not fair.

Ted, I like the grip of the factory pedal, but I'll probably upgrade to some sexy setup like Brant shows.