Play back tach, GoPro, fancy computer thingy... What do you use to record your run? When I bought my car it had a playback tach that quit working after my first race. So I bought a GoPro but I have never taken the time to hook it up. I did rig up my cell phone camera to record my oil pressure and wide band O2 gauge but that was a temporary setup just to check everything on a fresh engine. I'd like to be able to know my burnout RPM, Staging RPM and shift points. Just curious how everyone else gathers the info.... Thanks!
I used to use an Auto Meter playback tach. Finally installed a RacePak V300SD. After using it for a while and studying the graphs, I started to notice things that did not seem quite right. I wound up picking the car up .25 seconds with just tuning changes. That is a large reduction in et for a stock eliminator car!!!!
Set the Gopro up to the left or right of your head for your field of view. That way you can look back at any one thing or gauge on the run at anytime after the run. In our car I look at the oil gauge as I roll in to the light. Then down track never deviating from my focal point down track We do have a play back tach and V300 Racepack also for data acquisition.
Last year a buddy installed a kit from https://www.rpmperf.com/ just a basic kit for under 500 and he opted for the wireless kit to not have to hook a laptop up ever pass by cable. It helped him get his converter set up What I like about this set is you can driveshaft speed...... Msd grid records rpm too, but you cant do driveshaft speed without the arc module and many tracks don't allow that module in sportsman class because it can set to basically be traction control
If you would like some data also.Use a msd grid with arc module or 7531 ignition box.We also use racepak data logger.It will record and store any thing on the car you can think of.Rpm,converter slippage,g meter,switches,button release etc......
GoPro on the gauges is a good start. I bought an RPM Performance system with a lot of options from a racer that was going to fuel injection with a Holley system. Mine has paid for itself many times over in a short time of use by avoiding catastrophe.... I had some oil system issues that I would've never seen on a gauge. But with the data logger I could see what was going and address the issues. before doing thousands in damage to my new engine. Makes me wonder how many racers could've avoided problems with a Data Logger. That's before you even get to the tuning benefits John mentioned above. I'm to the point where I'd recommend a data logger in anything running 10s and quicker. Considering the investment in the rest of the car, you can't afford not to use one.
Exactly what my son has been doing for quite a few years now. He has taken a completely stock LS3 that started with about 330HP up to so far around 1250-1300HP ALL on stock original parts. As he says it's ALL about the tune & sneaking up on it gradually. There's so much to learn that we never had the DATA available to us at the time. Most engine failures are the cause of detonation, even if you can't hear it. He is only 35, BUT he has been brought up with the ability to tune with his laptop & it's the 1st. thing that comes out after a run. There is SO MUCH DATA it's mind boggling to myself. New technology is WAY BEYOND my pay grade.
Thanks for all of your replies and suggestions, much appreciated! After looking at the Racepak V300SD in a DragZine article, it would seem to have all of the capacity I would ever need, and more. Unless and until I go boosted.... Ain't cheap either! Looks like $1800-2000 would cover everything to get set up. That's a little more than a new playback tach. Would you also want a laptop to load all of the info to, or does the Racepak have the capacity to store the info in itself?? Just thinking out loud....
Most systems can store record several runs, normally on a card, but if you were not pulling it after every run and looking what the use of looking it the next day after you get home from the track. I would think and cheap laptop.....even a used one should be considered as part of the package
The SD card needs to be cleared after about twenty runs depending on the amount of recording time that is set in the data logger. The laptop stores the data for you. I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop with Windows XP. It has recorded runs stored all the way back to 2010. There are cheaper loggers on the market. I choose RacePak because most Stock and Super Stock racers that I know use them. If I have a problem, I can ask most anyone pitted near me for help. Plus they have an excellent help line. Plus, HOLLEY purchased MSD and RacePak. I talked to a MSD rep at PRI in December about this. He said that MSD will stay in El Paso, but RacePak will be moving to Bowling Green.
