How do lap timers work?

IIRC, my old 599 I had a simple stopwatch type lap timer. Great idea, but a GPS based system would be even better.

 

The best solution is the iPhone lap timer app that works with the GPS and G meter in the iPhone.

 

almost certainly, there is a button the driver pushes to take a lap time.

 

Most race car type ones use either a central beacon or an individual fixed point - I think Porsches now have one that is GPS as increasingly are aftermarket such as this

http://www.race-technology.com/wiki/index.php/Operation/LapTiming

 

"Did I just stumble upon a niche market?"


Andreas, there are many GPS based systems used in all levels of racing. Here's another one:

http://store.traqmate.com/

I thought it was great that Ferrari included a lap timer in the 599, and would love to see even more data available. Why not have a data option that includes the type of driver and car information available from inexpensive GPS based systems? Cars like the Scuderia and 599 GTO should have such an option, and I think buyers would pay up for it.

Other IMO more sophisticated systems are made by people like Pi (now owned by Cosworth) and MoTeC.

 

eh, well it's a street car not a race car. when i'm on track in the race car my mechanic's stopwatch time is always within a tenth of the actual time. good enough.

 

Yep. The Race Technology unit was the first reasonable GPS solution, followed by the Traqmate. Most of the beacon systems (Pi, Stack, AIM, MM) have added GPS functionality to remove the requirement for the beacon.

I think a Porsche style chronometer is good enough jsut for lap times, but why stop there?

 

http://www.ogracing.com/catalog/2-Car/43-Data-Acquisition-Timing-Video/item-1956-AIM-MYTACH-GPS-DATA-TRAINING-WATCH
This new GPS timer looks interesting . . .

 

360 Challenge and 430 Challenge use Magneti Marelli timing system. Porsche 997 Carrea Cup uses Motec system.

Both are infrared beacon + receiver based.

 

Yes originally, but MoTeC now offers this GPS add-on for the ADL2 on the later Cup cars:
http://store.gormanms.com/GPS-G1-GPS-Receiver.html

Magnetti Marelli now offers the GIP-220 GPS add-on module.

Beacons are so old-fashioned!

 

Those things were first used for triatheltes etc.... I wonder how well they would work in a car and would the gps receiver in them work without a line of site to the sky?

 

I got robbed then.

I just took delivery of the new 2010 spec Cup car two weeks ago. Car has the ADL2 logger but still uses the beacon. I ordered the only logger upgrade available which was expanded memory, steering & brake sensors. PCC Asia even had the Motec Australia tech at Sepang test days for tutorials. No mention of GPS. That would have been a nice option to generate more accurate track maps than using accelerometer data.

I think all Cup cars are the same spec world wide, but I could be wrong.

 

These little ones work great in a car. Just Velcro it to the dash. You just have to make a plug to connect it to a cigarette lighter.

http://www.yoyodyneti.com/images/products/starlane_stealth_gps.htm
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Yes, I think you're right about the PCC cars.

Here it is on MoTeC's AU site...

http://www.motec.com.au/gpsg1/gpsg1overview/

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll check with PCCA if GPS is allowed in the series. Would love to have it.

 

Not true. The wording is "timed event," which implies that the organization holding the event provides a timing service and that those times (ostensibly to rank participants by comparative and public performance) is posted and shared.

I've been through this a great deal with marque club track days for over a decade. There was no such fuss when the old "Hot Lap" infrared beam in-car timers came out and briefly were the rage. With P-cars now arriving with an OEM timer operable from the wheel and the display on the dash, this would gut one of the more popular pursuits with these cars.

Again, my clarification from Naughton, K&K, et al, was that the "timed event" descriptor referred to an organized and organizer supplied timing component (Time Trials, Solo 1, road racing) for public posting and NOT towards the in-car, individual and not-able-to-be-communally-shared-until-after-the-fact component.

 

I've used Garmin Forerunner http://sites.garmin.com/forerunner110/ in several contexts now:
- tracking horse movements overnight - where DOES he spend his time at 2am? (GREAT battery life!)
- under leathers for data logging on motorcycle track days
- and yes.. lap timing in cars lol.

Don't forget most GPS, including Garmin & iPhone are your standard 1Hz unit which means 1 sample per second so you need proper software to interpolate to give precise lap times when moving fast!

If you look at GPS used in most Pro situations, such as Motec, it's 5Hz acquisition for track mapping, lap timing etc and of course software to match.