Spin9k

For your entertainment and hopefully as a thought provoking demonstration of what is possible today, please enjoy:

"1-Lap of Mont Tremblant" www.spin9k.com last vid on home page

For all of you folks looking to improve your track performance through introspection, for all those who have been wanting to capture a truer essence of your 'on-track' experience for posterity sake, or simply for the 'Virutal Reality' buffs out there, I've created a one lap video demo of myself at Circuit Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.

If this doesn't make you go you aren't a track addict that's for sure! IMO it is the the BEST Training tool, bar none, for improving your skill, not to mention documenting the REAL results of your modifications in no uncertain terms, at every turn or straightaway. The data log provides, at it's core, up to 40 position sample/sec (20/sec being used here).

Technically, this state-of-the-art video processing combines all the latest technology, (some just coming available in the past week) including an in-car Sony High Definition 1080i VideoCam, a compatible Traqmate GPS data aquisition system, and TrackVision software combining the two systems into a near HD quality video output of:

720x480 resolution, 3:2 screen output
1.56Mbit data stream
Windows Media Audio 9.1 64 kbps, 44 kHz, stereo
On screen data of:
---Live Dynamic Friction Circle
---Speed
---RPM (not implemented yet in Traqmate - coming soon)
---Live Track Map w/position
---Brake Indicator
---Best & Last Lap timing Indicator

Total in-car cost including everything (except the computer) ~$3200. take away the Hi-Def and this drops to ~$1500

I'm now offically ready to document the new track season!!!!! (well, once I get the RPM sensor)

Cheers, Spin

MadDashRX8

Pretty Nice! That Traqmate looks like a nice piece of equipment. Too bad rpms aren't viewable.

Spin9k

Avail by Spring 06

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

I just wet myself

TrackAddict

Hey watchatakinbout' Willis?
Seriously though, this is very cool. I enjoy watching your videos. You should consider coming down to the south and getting on track with the GA RX8 Club. We routinely show up to HPDEs with 6 -8 RX8s on track.

Avalonstar

Holy crap, I must learn to do this stuff.

rx8wannahave

WOW! Spin that was the best dang video I've seen so far, nice job! Also...that track is just beautiful....beautiful!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing....that was great!!!! I wish we could see the video in true HD (1080i).

Sweeeeetttt!

Keith

awesome videos for an awesome tool. thanks!

dmp

VERY VERY Cool---that's the new standard for on-track vids! :D

Would you give me your impressions of the Azenis, please?

Spin9k

rx8wannahave, you're right, the 1080i video are sweet... esp on my 65" 1080p screen on cold winter nights! And the track is from heaven, the best I've been on and not sure if I could dream of what would make a better circuit to drive.
---

dmp, the RT615 are great as far as I've experienced...except in the cold ... I went out a couple days ago at about 35 degrees and just starting off easily from a side road the tail end slid on the dry road like ice.... wheeeeee! After a few miles they warm up enough to drive... carefully.

Anyway at 35psi, compared to the Bridgestones, the Falkens are, surprisingly, a much, much softer, more compliant, comfortable ride on the street. They hide their track credentials extremely well, being virtually quiet with no objectionable rumble.

Take them to the track, put 40psi in them, go once or twice around the circuit, get the temp up to 150-165 degrees and they do a Dr Jekel & Mr Hyde switch to bubblegum rubber. Very gooie feeling to the touch, they exhibit high lateral grip, easy to modulate in powering out of turns. They give a nice squeel (as in the vid) at the limit, and provide a very controlable grip level that goes well above 1g to about 1.3g for the size I have.

Another thing is that after doing all the track events I could fit in to a New England season 5 NHIS, 2 Watkins Glen, 2 Mt Tremblant, plus some regular driving and starting off w/only 8/32 of tread, I still have 3/16 left! Makes no sense, but I just measured it all accross the tread. What more can you ask for?

This next season I'll have 275mm on 9.5" rims on all four coners and be able to compare grip levels ... that's 1/3 more rubber on the ground than the 225mm

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Damn...nice toy.

Next year will be a good year at the track...I just bought the 615's in 275 as well. Looking forward to the extra grip...

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

He is running 235/40R18's on OEM rims

dmp

Dan - you and Kev need to come to Thunderhill with me...Actually, I haven't decided THill in June, or buttonwillow in May. Long drive, yeah...but so? :D

Thanks for the info, Spin; I had the older version Azenis on my Miata - They were pretty quiet; the rumor was, once you heard them, it was too late...I never liked that much.
heh
:D

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

Let's get spin9k to fly his 8 out in a cargo plane and join us

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

He's movin up for next year

DMP.....Let me know the dates...I would love to go...getting there will be 1/2 the fun

Spin9k

Now your talking! I'll just sit in the car to save money!!

NVMyRX8

Nice video, I need that video camera, mine don't come out that nice.


Ronnie

SilverEIGHT

Awesome video Spin. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to see what you have coming up this season.

willhave8

Well done Spin!! I expect to hear you have quit your job to pursue sponsorship soon The ultimate in mid-life crisis

The track does look nice - similiar to the feel \ surroundings of VIR. Quite a drive from me but similar to the drive to VIR and I will gladly do that again this June. Perhaps I need to combine a trip to Mt. Tremblent I with some vacation time in Montreal this summer...

I am seriously considering the Azenis after wear out my Bg'stones. Thanks for the feedback on them. Nothing like real world experience.

rx8wannahave

You lucky dog...wow, that must be so fun to watch on such a large screen. It must feel very lifelike...

Spin9k

Although no one has talked about this aspect from viewing the video... I would be remiss to all you track junkies out there in not pointing out that this little Traqmate box is far from a toy. MT was the first time I got to use it. Here I'm not talking about the pretty video stuff or combining them, but just the Traqmate itself.

It's an amazing tool for improving track performance.

It was two day event, so day one I recorded all the sessions in the unit, went back to the hotel room, uploaded them to my laptop, and spent a good solid 1 1/2 hrs 'replaying' the sessions. What I mean by that is the Traqmate Windows sw has a 'VCR' type playback of each session, lap by lap.

Friction circle, the track map w/your car on it, and graphs of acceleration/deceleration slopes, and more, that play out in realtime or spedup mode, both forward and backward. There's a 'jog' control as well.

1) So first, I analysed the capability of the car at its best i.e. noting top lateral g-Force I could generate in turns (abot 1+), where to shift for max acceleration (8500 not 9000+), basically, doing this for each track segment individually.

2) Then watching my performance corner by corner, staright by straight, each turn and each braking zone, I was easily able to see where time was lost.

3) I then developed on a paper trackmap and in my head for the next day, what to do to improve it, and estimate how to go about that by, say, up or down shifting gears at a particular different point to improve speed, braking later to achieve more g-Force (that I hadn't used), not holding a gear longer for better overall acceleration, exact speed targets to hold in places, things like that.

It is so precise you can say, "OK, I'm going to upshift *right here* instead of *right there*" using a track marker as a reference, or "I won't brake until *there* because I started braking to soon *here*". I talked this through with my instructor so he would understand what I was doing as it was quite a bit different than day one.

I took 10 seconds off my day one times doing that. I was blown away. And I still left some time on the table, I'm sure, but having this scalple to disect the event was a mind - blowing feeling. I had true direct and repeatable feedback for the 1st time, and I was able to control the future outcomes and predict the improvements!

This was planning a strategy of action and exploiting my skill and the 8's potential like I'd never experienced before

I was IN-CONTROL!!!

I encourage all you track addicts to download the free sw and some actual track day event from their site www.traqmate.com and experience what this could mean to your own performance.

The video stuff is just icing on the cake for reflection back home. Nothing to sneeze at, but being able to get the quality feeback while AT THE TRACK, in realtime playback for strategy planning on the spot was incredible!

Think about using the power.... Cheers

UPDATE: If you go to the Traqmate site I've uploaded one of my MT HPDE sessions. You can download it and the sw player and see exactly what I see. To get to the files area, from the home page, at the bottom left look for 'Share and Compare', click there and when you get to the list of tracks, choose Mont Tremblant towards the bottom. Make sure you also get the FREE TraqView from the 'Downloads' page to load my file into.

Double-click the file to open into the app, then click on 'Setup' in the 'Dashboard' window to choose the different data panels to display. My favorites to pick are 'Friction Circle', 'G vs distance' and 'Velocity vs distance' 'brake zone map' all at once. Then start the action w/the 'Play' VCR button at the bottom. A big screen helps.. there's a lot there to see...Enjoy!

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

You are truly no longer mortal

BlueEyes

Neat tool for the casual race. Any plans to add more inputs?

Spin9k

From their forum posting: "The Traqmate has provisions for multiple user configurable I/O points - 7 Digital Inputs (brake light, gear, etc.), 4 Analog Inputs (steering position, throttle position, brake pressure, lambda sensor, etc.), and 2 Frequency Inputs (RPM, wheel sensor, etc.)."

BigOLundh

iTrader: (1)

i just finally got around to watching the correct video. i was wondering what everyone was talking about.

Ok yeah... freakin fantastic. having that type of info is amazing.

-hS