There are a -ton- of products out there in this space for road racing/autox applications and now at NAPA or any other auto parts store you can pickup your drag/dyno data logging tools (like G-Tech Pro).

I've read some good things about the Geez unit and it seems to be fairly popular in the autox community. My only concern is their development, last update on the website of 10/5/2003 and last update on the software of 2001? Also no price changes since 2003 either? Don't tech toys like this usually get cheaper as we figure out how to make the stuff easier? Sure $395 isn't much but I'm concerned with value as much as price, for 2x that I can get something like...

Does anyone here have experience with the Action Digital DL1? From the screen shots of the software and the feature list it looks like it provides a lot more data analysis capability than the Geez does. Sure it is $899 but as the Geez website says, that is still less than one set of tires.

Any other recommendations in the sub-$1000 price range? My primary interest is autocross and potentially some road course stuff (especially if they happen to open one closer than College Station).

 

I'm sure you've seen my thread about Geez! and honestly there is no reason to spend more $$$ than that until you get GPS mapping ability. The DL-1 is a great unit and well developed but of course costs $900. I want one but honestly can't justify because I haven't exhausted Geez! abilities yet.

What you're buying when you get a data system is not the system, but the analysis software. The power in data logging is not getting the data (that's easy) it's in helping you undestand the data and use it to make you and/or the car better. It's what you do with the data afterwards that is the key and that's why the software tools are THE most important thing. Numbers by themselves are pretty useless.

Also keep in mind that true racing data systems are hardwired into the car and their install is fairly involved. They're not easily removable or transportable between cars.

DamonB's Geez plots

 

I am not familiar with road car systems so my advice might not be beneficial. I'm sure that the brands available might suit your needs but keep in mind that the information you retreive might not be accurate enough to improve your driving. The quality of the product reflects on how much you pay!...especially in the racing industry (thin margins and all).

GPS might be the least of your worries unless you have a faster driver (in a comparable car) to overlay data on. You also might not worry about g-sensors in an affordable system since the data might not be accurate enough to adjust your driving. My advice is (if you can wire a logging system) to log the following information for roadcorse. Any Go-Kart data systems can log the following channels. Here are the top 3.

1. Steered/Steering Angle:Linear/Rotary potentiometer.
a. Compare lap to lap early or late turn in on each corner and find the faster line or mistakes. If you are clever you can calculate handling problems that you did not feel while driving.
b.. Calulate oversteer/understeer between steered angle vs. steering angle (tire vs. wheel angle).
2. Throttle Position:Linear potentiometer.
a. upshift marks
b. throttle lift off (how fast).
c. midcorner throttle adjustment.
3. RPM:Mag sensor or suitable.
a. Compare RPM at corner exit and compare times.

Those are the only inputs that you need to improve. Any kart system can handle that. You could probably spend a small amount of money building a system of your own using gokart equipment and software....or pay a crapload of money on Pi or Motec.....but then I could install that for you=) have fun

 

http://www.maxqdata.com/
Here is another one that has GPS mapping, and cheaper than DL1.