Good, cheap road race timer?
 

Anyone know of a good timer for HPDE's and lapping days that's cheap.

All the ones I've see are in the $299+ category

anyone know of one below that.


Thanks

anyone?

If you can set up a tripod with the beacon on it somewhere by the track, this would work great. It's a simple optical beacon, and costs more than it should, but it's less than 299. I've used it many times on a smaller scale, but have since upgraded to a Racepak G2X GPS-based data acquisition system.

One of my friends using one of the tripod type timers in the track, has had a lot of problems with it working correctly

That's a shame. I've never had any issues with it except when the course goes within range again in the same direction.

For cheap, buy a cheap camcorder, or use one you already own, mount it, and when you play your runs it's easy to get lap times. But really, what's the point? Lap time alone tell you so little and teaches you nothing about your own driving skills.

Save your money, buy a decent GPS data logger, and you'll get so much more useful information, you'll hardly care about lap times. Example: Traqmate Basic $699 http://traqmate1.ipower.com/ecommerc...8965475c8ac611

When you study your data, you'll be able to improve your driving line & basic skills, and your lap times will naturally follow.

I concur on the video camera. Most have on-screen clocks you can use for timing, and you can use your wristwatch if they don't.

You can pick up the Creative Vado cheap camcorder for $80. It records for two hours in high-quality, has a two hour battery, fits in your shirt pocket, has a standard tripod socket, and has a USB plug built-in for charging and getting the files. For that price, you can buy two and point one forward and one backward.

Check out this video I made using one. Note I had to transcode it because I had it mounted upside-down.

Keep in mind, many HPDE groups do not allow timing in students cars. It's an insurance thing.