Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Track Day: Streets of Willow - Jan 19th, 2013

On Saturday, Jan 19th we attended the first of many Extreme Speed track events we plan to attend, and tagged alongside some 86 owners there for the FT86 Cup event! The event was held at Streets of Willow at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, CA, USA. Streets of Willow is the smaller of the two main circuits at Willow Springs and features elevation changes and changing conditions due to the dust/wind, and blinding sunset over the hills as the day progresses into the late afternoon. Track conditions that day were cool and dry, just a bit of wind.

We arrived just in time for the lap parade event before noon, with a big mix of FR, MR, FF, and AWD vehicles firing up their engines, getting all lined up and ready to go.


View the rest of the photos on our facebook page album

That day we sampled driving data from two completely different vehicles. The first being Luis' AE86 which just had new cams installed a few days earlier. He and his friend drove to the event and despite an early loose sensor wire issue, both 86's were running strong the rest of the day. The second vehicle we were lucky to get lap data from was Ziggy's Rossion from Zeitronix.

Luis' AE86

Ziggy's Rossion


While the drivers with our GPS units mounted waited their turn on the track, we went ahead and looked around the pits to check out the kinds of cars and people that came out to the event! Here are some of the pics.

Check engine light turned out to be a loose sensor and the car ran strong the rest of the day
Some of the FR-S's attending the event
What's not to love about a track car with proper wing and diffuser?

Surprising number of Fiat's running at the event as well!

One of the sponsors of the event, Zeitronix, had a host of different cars in their pit area. Ziggy's Rossion had encountered some light rear-inner fender damage but was able to fix on the spot and continue driving the rest of the day

We were hoping to collect some GPS data from this Evo, but unfortunately it retired early in the day

You can check out the rest of the action and photo album on our facebook page album

After our drivers returned, we uploaded the data into the laptop as you will see below. In the screenshot are the lap times of the various driving data we've collected over the past few events at Streets of Willow. The new DigSpice Driving Analysis Software update (ver. 2.3.0) allows for quick file name changes which makes recording analyzing various vehicle and driver data quick and easy. Sessions are also separated making it easy to distinguish and analyze only the data you wish to view. This means there is no "guessing" as to which data belongs to which driver, which is great for collecting GPS driver data even if the vehicle or driver has changed.


Fastest lap times and speeds automatically highlighted - click and choose laps you only want to see

In the screenshots you can see we also have some very quick lap times from Mr Lee's S2000 from a previous event. One of the highlights of DigSpice's Driving Analysis Software is the ability to compare and view lap times from different vehicles, from different days, by different drivers, any time you want. You can view and compare laps of a GT racecar and a normal street car simultaneously, where these vehicles would normally never share the same track space in real life. 

In this particular set of data, you can also see a clearly different line for each driver. Seeing adjustments to the driving line and how it affects the overall lap time is one of the crucial benefits of post-reviewing driving data. Click the image and zoom in further to see the critical braking and acceleration points, marked by dotted and solid lines.


View real-time G-forces, track position, and speeds at a glance. All box edges can be moved to your liking

Zoom into any of the viewing boxes for detailed views while playing the data. Stop, fast-forward, rewind, slow, or just click any point to view the data at that section of the track

The DigSpice Driving Analysis Software also allows the user to switch between time-based and distance-based plots/charts. Viewing the data in "Distance" mode allows for accurate position-based data to be shown, allowing users to visually see what a particular driver is doing based on the position on the track (ex. comparing corner exit speed at the same point for two different laps/drivers). 

Viewing the data in "Time" mode allows the user to see real-time data to be shown simultaneously. This feature is great for actual race data from two different vehicles in the same event. It is also helpful in seeing how soon/late a driver acts compared to other drivers in a close race or other timed events. 

In addition to GPS-recorded laptimes and speeds, DigSpice also records acceleration/deceleration, corner G/radius, altitude, to name a few.


Another powerful DigSpice Driving Analysis Software feature is the ability to further analyze data in Google Earth (free to download for most platforms). Viewing in Google Earth not only gives you an actual satellite image of the track (or any location you recorded your data), but will help you visual those turns in situations where the track may be a temporary street track such as Monaco or Streets of Long Beach for the Grand Prix. 

It also helps to visualize the track where there are no roads or streets to name of, such as parking lot events for auto-cross and gymkhana, or perhaps trail riding or a jet-ski race out in the ocean or lake. Hillclimb event such as Pike's Peak? View the data and see the elevation changes in 3D as well as on the graphic overlay. Study the turns as well as the elevation changes to prepare for the event, or to analyze post-race!
View any DigSpice recorded data on Google Earth in 3D. Zoom, rotate, and even get close up street view while viewing your data plotted right on the image itself

Being able to use Google Earth's tools gives you a wide range of tools you can use to analyze your data even further. 

All in all, we had a great day out at the track, hope you enjoyed this little write-up and we will continue to bring more track day coverage and events! We are constantly updating our circuit data library for our US-based customers (circuit data from many tracks in Asia and Europe already available as of typing this blog). We will also bring you driving data of unique vehicles and professional drivers so you can see how you stack up against the competition!

Be sure to follow our pages below to stay up to date! Find the rest of the action from the event in our facebook page album for the event!

Dealer inquiries are welcome!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Circuit Map: Streets of Willow (CA)

We are proud to announce a new addition to the DigSpice circuit map library, Streets of Willow (Rosamond, CA, USA). Streets of Willow will be the among the first of many circuit maps we will add to the growing collection of circuit maps collected worldwide!

View a sampling below of Mr. B.Lee's fastest laps in his Honda S2000 shown on the DigSpice Driving Analysis Software (click to view enlarged screenshot)

4 lap sampling of the quickest laps (click to enlarge)
In the screenshot, at a glance you can see in realtime:
  • Elapsed distance and lap times (tab can be flipped to show elapsed times instead)
  • course location, driving lines, and direction indicated by arrows
  • speed in relation to time and location on map (can be shown in KPH or MPH)
  • lateral and acceleration/braking G-forces
  • corner radius (shown as a sliding arrow on the y-axis of the G-meter)
  • altitude (also plotted as a grey line on the same chart as the elapsed time/distance and speed)
  • acceleration and braking points denoted by solid and dashed lines
  • review data in slowmotion (1/2 speed or manually), and up to 8x

In addition, you can click anywhere and change the sizes of the individual panels to focus only on areas you want to see. You may also sync video footage taken at the same time to have a visual reference to the data on the screen. Most video formats and raw formats are supported (how to on video syncing to be featured shortly)

All data can be saved locally onto your PC's hard drive (or any flash drive) for keeping a personal log, or to share with anybody else who uses DigSpice! You can also save sets of data or export in excel/csv for use elsewhere. 

For data that do not have circuit maps (or small events, hillclimb events, rallies, etc), you can upload your data right onto Google Earth and view the same data right on a satellite image of the course you ran! Please note, prior installation of Google Earth required for uploading feature to work, and can be downloaded for free from earth.google.com.

View your data on Google Earth in a single click, regardless of where you recorded your data!
GPS data recorded on this sample was at 5Hz in the normal setting (5 times per second or 0.200sec intervals). Even at 5Hz, the data is VERY accurate  as can be seen in the data uploaded to Google Earth. This is due to DigSpice's complex calculations based solely on GPS location and heading.

Furthermore, DigSpice II can even be set to 10Hz (true 100 millisec GPS logging) for high-resolution data logging for high-speed vehicles and very technical courses. DigSpiceII GPS Datalogger can be utilized by both beginners and professionals alike!

Be sure to follow us on our facebook/twitter/blog to see what track we add next!

Dealer Inquiries are Welcome!


web: www.DigSpice.com
facebook: facebook.com/DigSpice
twitter: twitter.com/digspice

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Sneak Peek: Window Suction Mount for DigSpice

DigSpice Windshield Suction Mount Kit features an adjustable mounting plate for limitless mounting positions

DigSpice II shown mounted with the suction cup mount (DigSpice II GPS shown not included with mount)

Each DigSpice II GPS logger comes with double-sided Velcro tabs and a mounting case, however some of you may not want to place Velcro or other adhesives on your dashboard. Although the dashboard is the most common and convenient place to mount aftermarket devices, it is also one of the hottest areas inside the vehicle cabin on a hot sunny day. Keep your DigSpice out of harms way and out of your line of sight with the compact window suction mount kit.

Unlike large bulky universal mounts, this suction mount is made specifically for the ultra-compact DigSpice II unit. While minimizing weight and clutter, it also allows free range of mounting options into any vehicle with a glass surface. Place the Velcro tab included with your DigSpice II onto the mounting pad, and enjoy limitless mounting locations and positions for optimum GPS signal and out of harms way.

Change vehicles or want to take the GPS logger with you? Simply undo the suction lock and uninstall in seconds. Since DigSpice II is non-directional, the mount can be adjusted to allow quick access to the USB port for downloading data between sessions, or to keep the DigSpice II charged during long recording events!

Includes:
1x Suction mount base and GPS mounting plate
2x Velcro tabs w/ adhesive backing

Specs:
Suction cup dia. - 3" (locking type)
Overall height - 2"
Overall length - 4.5" (cup edge to mounting plate edge)

Pricing: $18.50
Available: ETA Jan 14, 2013

Suction mount kit will be available on our store at www.DigSpice.com in the coming week! Stay tuned!


Dealer Inquiries are Welcome!



web: www.DigSpice.com
facebook: facebook.com/DigSpice
twitter: twitter.com/digspice

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Introduction to DigSpice

A quick introduction to the DigSpice - "DigSpice II GPS Data-Logger"


What is DigSpice?

DigSpice II is an ultra-compact GPS-based data logging device with detailed driving analysis software (included). The compact GPS receiver and recorder automatically logs GPS data which can then be saved and viewed on a PC. Critical data such as elapsed/lap times and speeds are recorded automatically with minimal set up and ease of use. Since it is solely GPS-based, DigSpice can be used literally anywhere that can receive a GPS satellite signal. Elapsed time, time of recording, and date are automatically synced via GPS for accurate and consistent times, and the unit itself is already RTR (ready-to-run) out of the box after initial charge.

Actual DigSpice II GPS unit is about the size of a box of matches

How does DigSpice work?

Rather than relying on bulky GPS tracking devices with built in accelerometers (G-meters), the DigSpice II GPS Data Logger uses complex algorithms based on GPS coordinates on 3 axis to determine speeds, turn/corner radius, cornering G (lateral and accel/brake), altitiude, etc.. Whether on a bicycle or on a LMP2 prototype racecar reaching in excess of 300kph, DigSpice II offers accurate and invaluable information for reviewing after being recorded. 

Unlike sensor-based logging devices... bumps in the road, differences in barometric pressure (for altitude), vehicle direction, and other variables don't affect the accuracy of the data collected on the DigSpice II GPS data logger. With true 10Hz (100 millisecond recording frequency) GPS satellite data, DigSpice is able to offer precise data acquisition to within 3 meter (<10 ft) of accuracy.

Screenshot of the data playback feature of the DigSpice - Driving Analysis Software


Who can benefit from using DigSpice?

Beginner, grassroots, or professional racers at any level looking to improve on their line and lap times can benefit from collecting track data from any event. Whether comparing lap times for fun for personal use, with friends at a local track day, or detailed head to head comparison of driving data with that of other professional drivers, anyone of any level can enjoy the benefits of using DigSpice.

Data-logging is not only limited to racers, but can be utilized by people who wish to log detailed data for both recreational and professional use. Can be used for watercraft, cycling (all forms), skydiving, bobsleds, skiing, and many other forms of activities whether or not there is existing track course/map data.




Why should you use DigSpice?

You will often see many grassroots to pro-level race teams and drivers use data-logging device(s) to monitor both vehicle parameters as well as lap data. Such information is vital for real-time and post-race reviewing alike. The GPS-based ultra-compact design offers powerful and accurate data acquisition in a much lighter package compared to traditional standalone and piggy-back data-logging devices. 

The small, light, and user-friendly DigSpice II GPS Logger basically brings pro-level GPS data acquisition to the greenest amateurs and seasoned pros alike, who are looking to step foot into data-logging (or looking for a lighter alternative), for a fraction of the price. So why not take your cake and eat it, with high-resolution data-logging comparable to high-end GPS logging systems, but in an ultra-compact, truly portable, and hassle-free package!




Where can you use DigSpice?

Anywhere! Basically, there is almost no limit to where and how you can use the DigSpice II GPS Data Logger. As long as there is a GPS signal, the world is your limit. Since DigSpice records lateral, longitudinal, and altitude (X,Y, and Z), you can acquire data whether you are on the circuit in your car, out in the ocean in a jet-ski, or wingsuit diving from thousands of feet in the air.

Record data for small courses such as karting, autocross, gymkhana, motocross, or record long distance such as rally, baja.. even trips on trains, cars, or even planes. Whether in a small parking lot auto-cross event, or trail riding miles away from the nearest road, GPS data from DigSpice II can be uploaded onto Google Earth for easy viewing where there are no course/circuit or road map data.

Viewing on Google Earth not only allows you to view data collected from any where in the world, but also let you view it in 3D where elevation changes are present

When should DigSpice be used?

Since setup time is minimal, and there is only one switch on the device itself, anytime is a good time to use DigSpice when data needs to be collected. Where and how DigSpice can be used is up to the user. Anytime you wish to log elapsed times, lap times, or location, DigSpice offers an easy way to record data. Recording frequency can be adjusted from as little as 2Hz (0.5 sec interval), to the normal 5Hz (0.2 sec interval), to the high resolution true 10Hz (0.1 sec interval).

Set up minimum trigger "on" velocity (speed) to your preference for automatic recording/standby for non-continuous trips, activation of data-logging on track only (but on standby for off-track or during long pit stops/breaks), or any time you wish the DigSpice II GPS Data-Logger to function on its own without you monitoring it.


Hope that helps to introduce to you the benefits and basic features of DigSpice. We will add more entries in detail about the workings and how-to's on the DigSpice Driving Analysis Software included with every DigSpice II unit.

For more info visit us at the DigSpice USA website or follow us on twitter or facebook!

Dealer Inquiries are Welcome!

web: www.DigSpice.com
facebook: facebook.com/DigSpice
twitter: twitter.com/digspice