Telemetry

Fire Laps New AI Data Coach

GHiT 0492: Fire Laps New AI Data Coach

David and Daniel from Fire Laps returned for a second lap to discuss the recent rollout of their AI coaching and data analysis. It augments the original functionality and retains compliance with many of the top data/telemetry systems. So, if you are looking for a faster way to analyze data and interpret the data Or if you hate analyzing data Or if you aren’t yet good at interpreting the data you gather, this may be the solution you have been looking for all this time. So instead of having a very expensive lap timer, with this new data coach you may get the functionality that you were looking for when you first looked at your telemetry system.

For more info on their YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@firelapsinc.2176

If you would like to help grow our podcast and high-performance driving and racing:

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice. This includes the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, YouTube, etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating, that we would appreciate very much. Even better, a podcast review, would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving and we would appreciate it.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Are you looking to stream or integrate your telemetry/racing data with video? Candelaria Racing Products Sentinel System may be the perfect solution for you. We are installing the system in two of our cars. If this sounds like something that may help you and your team, please use our discount code “GHIT” for a 10% discount code to all our listeners during the checkout process at https://candelaria-racing.com/

PS2 Please do not forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, do not forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order from https://apextrackcoach.com/

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Ben, Alan, Jeremy, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes in Training Podcast and Garage Heroes in Training racing team drivers

GHiT 0492: Fire Laps New AI Data Coach

Samir Abid from Your Data Driven

GHIT 0225: Samir Abid from Your Data Driven

Samir Abid has been a vehicle dynamics engineer for road and racing car suspensions for over ten years. He then created a sports engineering business to help pro and Olympic teams and athletes to optimize their performance. In addition, Samir is also competing himself in club level racing. So he understands the needs and dynamics of racing at all levels.

In an effort to help fellow amateur drivers, Samir created his podcast “Your Data Driven” and website. Both are aimed at sharing what he has learned on the top levels of sports. His focus is on improving your race car setup, collection, interpretation, and use of data, and your driving skills and approach. There is a ton of great information on each episode of the podcast. In addition, Samir also shares away a ton of useful tools on the Your Data Driven website, many for free. Some of our favorites are the “Complete Beginners Guide to Motorsports Data Analysis and his Ultimate Tire Guide. Samir is constantly generating new content and you can keep up with his work on his free weekly(ish) newsletter.

If you would like to help the podcast,

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice. This includes the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating. Even better, a podcast review. We would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast. There you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/ThompsonPart1

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don’t forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don’t forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode with Samir Abid include:

1) We cover a bit of his work on the team trying to break the 2 hour barrier in the marathon and how the treadmill can be used to eject most runners when set to this pace. A great video (with over 17 million views) on trying to keep the record marathon pace is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRYtn0j5ccAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRYtn0j5ccA

2) Samir’s experiences when first going to race on track. As always his “natural driving ability” was in for a shock once he competed with other racing drivers.

3) What information is fundamental to having good quality information including video and what data to review at the track between sessions when time is usually limited.

4) Setting goals vs analyzing results in racing and defining what a win is for each event you enter.

5) We go into the differences between our local (US) resources to learn at an HPDE vs the race training resources more common in the UK.

6) Samir is surprised at the concentration of cars that can be involved with budget endurance racing in many of the series in the US. Who knows, once the pandemic is behind us, Samir may be racing with us at an event. We hope.

7) Bill has a great question about racing car setup priorities but fails to actually ask it in a way that any human would understand. (Although Samir does provide an excellent answer to a horribly worded question) We will try again when we have Samir back on. lol.

8) The complexities involved with sharing a single car in our endurance racing series.

9) Several of the highlights and great information that Samir has had within his podcast to this point and several of the other resources he has available on his website.

Handy Links:

https://www.yourdatadriven.com – For the newsletter

https://www.yourdatadriven.com/the-complete-beginners-guide-to-motorsports-data-analysis/ – For the course

https://www.yourdatadriven.com/the-motorsports-playbook/ – For the book

https://www.yourdatadriven.com/your-data-driven-podcast/ – For the podcast

GHIT 0225: Samir Abid from Your Data Driven

GHIT 0109: Brent Picasso on TireX (Special Bonus Episode)

Brent Picasso from Autosports Lab and fellow racing driver joined us to discuss a very exciting addition to their system called TireX.Â TireX allows the driver and the paddock to real time monitor the tire temperature across the tread continuously while the car is on track.Â This can help in a multitude of ways including monitoring tire performance, set up effects, and driver induced effects.Â In addition to being real time, it also was designed to use a graphical display that can monitor tire temperature and distribution in an easily digestible manner.Â If you drive a car where the tires contact the road, the TireX system may prove to be invaluable to you and your team.Â If you drive a time travelling DeLorean, it may not be as helpful.

In Ben’s Dominating with Dawson segment, we discussed driving styles and potential ways to use YouTube and other video to learn a track or to improve your driving.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Our Podcast is available from Apples Podcast App, or on Android at all the typical podcast sites like Google Music, Stitcher, and iHeart Radio etc.

Brent, can we order one with the plug and play harness? Pretty please?

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan
Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

Highlights from the episode include:

1) Brent and Bill catch up on what Brent and his team have been up to, including a very successful Indiegogo campaign.
2) How TireX came to be and what its capabilities are, as well as some of the very important questions it can answer for your car and driver performance, especially if there is a team aspect to the race.
3) We talk about squiggly lines and graphical interfaces and how they can be helpful to different types of people and their individual ways of digesting information.
4) Advantages of real time live data vs post session traditional tire temperature measurements, especially in specific turns or across the car from left to right or front to back.
5) The amount of time saved can easily pay for the system itself by allowing the team to dial in a car set up much more rapidly.
6) Bill simply cannot avoid making a predator comment. Get to the Choppa!!!
7) Brent even discusses the typical peak performance window for your tires.
8) We discussed how the TireX works, its capabilities, size, and installation options as well as various display options for the data collected.
9) Ways to use the data to communicate to the driver if they are driving too aggressively or too conservatively in a specific turn etc.
10) Use of the TireX system in rainy conditions.
11) Bill had several usage and capability related questions for TireX and its integration with the other RaceCapture and Podium systems. Hint, there is still a lot of capacity left in the system even with 4 channels per tire in use.
12) Mounting options and a discussion of some of the advantages and disadvantages of specific orientations, especially for the front wheels due to their steering.
13) A quick review of the RaceCapture Track and RaceCapture/Pro systems
14) Bill also goes into mounting the GPS antennae in a daily driver Miata, for a friend, lol.
15) Track days are seeming to start opening up and we may be able to go back soon. We miss it. Badly.
16) Bill pleads to his favorite HPDE group at NASA Great Lakes for the upcoming Mid-Ohio event. He is going whether he gets off the waiting list or not.

GHIT 0109: Brent Picasso on TireX (Special Bonus Episode)

RaceCapture and Podium with Brent Picasso

Podium Pit Setup — You want data that you can use?

GHIT 0073: RaceCapture and Podium with Brent Picasso

Brent Picasso has been racing since 2009 and has since created a company that provides the RaceCapture and Podium real time telemetry and data capture/display systems. We cover the development history and capabilities of the system, as well as his racing history. With what originally began as a self-tweeting race car, they have been able to develop one of the best and most complete systems we have seen to date.

Podium is capable of being used with virtually all data collecting systems and converts the data into many potential formats to aid in understanding and analyzing.Â RaceCapture is a separateÂ system that comes in three levels suitable for once in a blue moon track day participants to full time professional racing teams.

His initial racing history began at Thunderhill with what was originally intended to be a Peugeot entry. But eventually led to turbo Miata and 1,000 penalty laps and the race to zero laps began. The initial wheel to wheel racing action set the hook and he hasn’t looked back since. Since then, in addition to the Peugeot, his conquests included a turbo 3-cylinder Mercur XR4Ti, a Crown Vic, and a second gen V6 MR2. (Bill really wants a piece of that MR2 since he had one in college)

1) The development history of both RaceCapture and Podium and how each can be used together or with other data capture systems like AIM, MoTeC etc.

2) The use and capabilities of the various systems and how they interact

3) Data collection capabilities as well as how the data can be followed, used, and displayed, both in real time at the track, remotely, or within the racing car itself.

4) There are three levels of the RaceCapture system, what they are used for and how they differ

5) Podium app capabilities, use, and several upcoming features and capabilities

Podium on Cell Phone — Mobile and Remote usage as well

6) Ability to look at data in real time or as a review, especially with racing coaches and friends.

7) These systems appear to lower the barrier to look at and use any data you are collecting currently or in the future

8) Driver data comparison techniques and use

9) Some of the key improvements of this environment is the lower barrier to using and understanding and improving as a result of the data

10) The interface is also able to be used as a real time, in car dashboard and/or dashboard replacement

11) It is also able to be used not only in the car, but also in the garage/paddock at the track, and even remotely, all in real time on a wide variety of hardware including computers, laptops, iPads, phones, etc.

12) What is predictive lap time, how it is calculated and potentially used on the track

13) How the system works with driver changes etc., so common in endurance racing

14) Pit use vs in car use vs post-race review usage and options

15) Options and thoughts for use with multiple cars/multi car teams

16) We try to overview the installation process and requirements, as well as how they vary depending on the car being used, its OBD2 capabilities etc.

17) Options and thoughts regarding additional sensor use for things like brake pad temperature or tire temperatures

18) What is Canbus and how it can be used with the system to increase the capabilities and data that can be collected and monitored in real time, like differential temperature etc.

19) Shift X3 capabilities and usage to form alarms and warning systems for the driver of potential car issues such as engine rpm shift lights, oil and water pressure and temperatures etc.

20) Advanced customization options are also available for those interested through Lua programming capabilities built into the system

21) Options and use within dedicated race cars, as well as occasional track/daily driver cars

22) In car dashboard replacement options with using the system

23) We are very excited with several of the upcoming additions to the systems and steps to continuously improve the ease (of use and data digestionâ) and capabilities of the systems and how they integrate with each other and external data sources like video etc., as well as several advanced pit-to-car communication capabilities

All of this can be used for track days, HPDE’s, and racing events at all types of venues and tracks. This includes impromptu tracks and non-traditional racing areas common with Autocross events etc.

We are placing our order for several of these systems next week. We will likely have our review in an upcoming episode(s) as we progress.

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast

and team members in the GHiT

Immature Endurance Racing Team

Several links mentioned within the podcast:

Autosports Lab/RaceCapture: https://www.autosportlabs.com/

Podium App: https://podium.live/software

Aim Sportline: https://www.aim-sportline.com/index.htm

MoTeC: https://www.motec.com.au/products-currentrange/product-directory/

GHIT 0073: RaceCapture and Podium with Brent Picasso

GHIT 0057 Peter Krause on Using Data to Improve Your Driving

How to improve your driving without increasing the risk

We were honored to have internationally renowned racing coach Peter Krause join us for an introductory discussion of data collection and analysis to improve your track driving while minimizing the addition of risk. The conversation was exceptional and covered a wide range of areas and topics.

Some of the highlight areas we covered include:

Data collection systems, options, and comparison
What to use, how to use, and several options for how to analyze the data
His virtual track walks with Ross Bentley, especially the Road Atlanta Vicki, Alan, and Bill studied prior to our race at Road Atlanta last December
We also discussed the use of Video to compliment the data and several ways to get to intelligent video which includes the track video with several displays of the data
Several stages of progression in data collection and analysis
Predictive lap times and the use and implications in car
Keys to breaking through stagnation and plateaus in driving
A simple and clear delineation between good and great drivers
Several different ways of presenting the data including tabular formats, strip charts, and colored maps which can aide in the use and interpretation of the data collected.

Supporting his driver — Coaching his drivers

Coaching in action — Coaching his drivers

We also cover several of the more popular commercial systems including:

Race Monitor app
Harry’s Lap Timer
Aim’s Solo, Solo 2, Solo 2 DL, MXM, and MXL
GoPro Hero 7
VBox Sport
Race Render
Use of OBD blue tooth dongles
Race Chrono
Porsche Precision Track App
BMW M App

Peter also recommended two books that he finds useful in introducing more detail into the use and the analysis of the data. We have already ordered our copies.

Making Sense of Squiggly Lines by Chris Brown
Practical Race Car Data Acquisition by Bob Knox

If you ever wondered what the top three key data collection parameters are, Peter shared his views as a driver coach who hopes everyone can use these three metrics to help with their self-learning.

Engine speed/rpm
Throttle position
Brake Pressure

If you have any more questions or wish to talk with Peter in more depth, he is easily contacted through his website at www.PeterKrause.net and please pay special attention to his websites area on Track Wisdom.

Krause & Associates — One of the world’s best coaching resources

Other references we also recommend include:

AIM sports YouTube channel
Race studio Analysis

And of course, the Virtual track walks Peter made with Ross Bentley that are available on the speed secrets website.

We can’t wait until we can go into a bit more depth with Peter after we utilize his wisdom in our coming races and HPDE’s.

GHIT 0057 Peter Krause on Using Data to Improve Your Driving