since i recently sold the integra (will be official on friday), i have been buying up lots of things for the miata. one of the new items i'm considering is a hotlap timer.

$300 is nothing in the grand scheme of racing. but at the same time, that $300 could be used for some balanced and blueprinted hubs instead to lower rolling resistance just that little bit. i realize that something like a Mychron data acquisition dash is much more useful, not to mention way cool (i already have helped install one on another miata), but at $1200 plus the cost of a laptop, now we're talking real money.

while the hotlap timer doesn't give you segment times to show you what kind of a lap you could potentially turn if you got your **** together, it does give realtime feedback on whether or not you're keeping up with the front. it also helps show you whether major changes in chassis setup are helping or hurting (are you generally faster, or generally slower) on test days. this way you don't take the attitude of "it feels faster, but we'll find out during the race." this helps maximize the usefullness of test days. you can also send out faster drivers in your car to see what sort of times your car is capable of turning.

i've never used lap timers before, those of you who have care to comment? anyone have one they want to sell me?

 

Hehehe

I'll bet half-a-can-of-coke he meant to post this in RR/AX

-Chris

 

XT Racing Ultra lap timer for me.
check ot some usual info here in this current post
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1199254

 

There worth it for the reasons you already mentioned...

I use the XT racing lap timer. Has many more features then the Hot Laps and its cheaper
http://www.cc-2000.com/xtracing/en/

There have been a couple threads in the rr/ax fourms lately about this same topic...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by R you serious &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">XT Racing Ultra lap timer for me.
check ot some usual info here in this current post
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1199254</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have my eye on the XT as well - it looks to be a terrific solution.
http://www.cc-2000.com/xtracing/en/ultra-lap/

I'm still debating if I want one of these. I don't want to be focused on time becasue I am still focusing on my driving but most of my track time is by myself during open practice sessions and I would like some sort of mechanism that can give me at least a little insight into set-ups, driving lines, etc...

I am also of the personality that I like to have a record of what I've done and a barometer for my progress...

 

crap, yes i did mean to post it in RR/AX, please move accordingly .rj

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">crap, yes i did mean to post it in RR/AX, please move accordingly .rj </TD></TR></TABLE>

What ,we not good enought for ya'?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">crap, yes i did mean to post it in RR/AX, please move accordingly .rj </TD></TR></TABLE>

Sure ya did

 

:Burn:

 

my buddy uses one for his trackdays and races with his motorcycle. Seems to really like it. Not sure if they would be allowed at conventional automotive open trackdays or driver training events.

Also, you may want to find out if the tracks you frequent have a transponder setup at the functions you attend before dropping the $300... If they don't, don't bother with that fancy setup, just get a passenger and a stopwatch

 

i love using the hotlap, where allowed

it's been great for making incremental improvements in my own experience

 

A stopwatch rigged to the steering wheel has always worked well for me and at a fraction of the cost. All you need to do is pick a landmark along a straight and time-away!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TPB &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">A stopwatch rigged to the steering wheel has always worked well for me and at a fraction of the cost. All you need to do is pick a landmark along a straight and time-away!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Doesn't work very well when your driving is consistent enough.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by El Pollo Diablo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Doesn't work very well when your driving is consistent enough.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Granted you won't be able to consistently time to the 1/10th but it will definitely let you know how much quicker/slower you are versus the baseline that you've already established. So long as you're consistent how you time yourself, the rest is all relative.

 

Buy my Stack display.

 

sorry jim, i don't want a tach that spins the wrong direction.

fyi everyone - this would be going in a race car, not a car used for lapping days or HPDE's as well as street duty.

 

Then by all means go for it if the regs in the series you compete in don't prohibit its use.