SCCA Solo C Street Discussion

[qoncept]

Originally Posted by DylanFRS

You are the second or third person in this thread to mention Solostorm being a bit clunky. I am surprised to hear this, I was thinking it was pretty smooth, especially for the $200 price tag.

My experience:

- Auto start/stop is a complete crapshoot. I trusted it for a single event and ended up with nothing usable. Half the runs never recorded and a couple ended up split in to 2 weird runs (minimum speed trigger, I guess). Now I start and stop recording manually.

- Because I can't rely on autostart, full run times are off by enough that they are no good for comparison.

- GPS ends up with an offset frequently. I don't have any examples, but if I overlay consecutive runs, the overlays will end up "off" by about the width of a runway sometimes. As in the traces are like a double image. This is with the Qstarz receiver sold on by Petrel.

- I CANNOT get the TPS calibrated correctly using a generic OBD-II dongle. Last attempt got it to max out at 103%.

- The calibration for videos is off no matter what I do, even though it's supposed to be automatic, and I think by a varying amount in each video. I just can't get the gopro and internal camera synced, and Solostorm doesn't offer any manual adjustment to the overlay videos.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NicnsB6TZY"]DMVR SCCA Autox - 6/1/2014 - Run 1 - YouTube[/ame]

As a software developer I look at Solostorm and see a very, very ambitious attempt that's mostly there. But fixing the small issues above is probably an enormous task. I bought it more than anything to make pretty videos. I think a properly precise and trouble-free setup would have to be much more restrictive with the hardware it can use - probably exclusive.

[u/Josh]

Originally Posted by TRev

The other detail that was easy to see from the logs after our co-drive was that I also gained a bit of time off the line due to differences in launch technique.

Any more details on this? The launch is probably the easiest place to pickup time using datalogging and I always wonder how much time I'm leaving on the table when I launch less aggressively.

[TRev]

Originally Posted by u/Josh

Any more details on this? The launch is probably the easiest place to pickup time using datalogging and I always wonder how much time I'm leaving on the table when I launch less aggressively.

I did many years of analysis on AEM logs drag racing so hopefully I have some decent insight. Look at RPM as the car starts to gain MPH, RPM drop (clutch engagement), RPM rate of rise (traction loss) and speed vs time (how well you did). A quick shift can also be good for a tenth over someone who shifts slowly. Fortunately for slow shifters, that is only typically once a run in Solo.

Here is a video from back in the day when I was drag racing my EVO with some fairly quick shifts.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la6MN-QpVyY"]05 EVO 8 MR 6spd - 11.3@120mph In Car - BR20G & 110 Leaded - YouTube[/ame]

Having the drag start is one aspect of Pro's that I love. It is nice to have the 60ft metric.

[Cueman]

Originally Posted by qoncept

As a software developer I look at Solostorm and see a very, very ambitious attempt that's mostly there. But fixing the small issues above is probably an enormous task. I bought it more than anything to make pretty videos. I think a properly precise and trouble-free setup would have to be much more restrictive with the hardware it can use - probably exclusive.

I think you just saved me $400. Thanks.

I've used other systems and they end up being such a fight to use that they often get left at home. No one local to me uses solostorm, so I was thinking I'd give it a go despite my skepticism.

Sounds like passing is a better idea.

[Briankbot]

Perhaps this has been already discussed somewhere and I missed it, but what's your guys take on tire shaving? Anyone doing it, to what depth, and how much of an effect does it have on run times and tire life?

[qoncept]

Originally Posted by Cueman

I think you just saved me $400. Thanks.

I've used other systems and they end up being such a fight to use that they often get left at home. No one local to me uses solostorm, so I was thinking I'd give it a go despite my skepticism.

Sounds like passing is a better idea.

I was kind of hesitant to click submit. There are a number of issues but I am admittedly not incredibly knowledgeable. I've never really been fully committed to getting the most out of Solostorm. My first year with it I made a very conscious decision to get my videos and other than that just concentrate on driving. And the developer has been very involved and responsive.

But like I said, I'm afraid it's just too ambitious a project, especially for a single developer, and it will probably always take a fair amount of tinkering even when everything works.

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by Briankbot

Perhaps this has been already discussed somewhere and I missed it, but what's your guys take on tire shaving? Anyone doing it, to what depth, and how much of an effect does it have on run times and tire life?

I think it's really only necessary on the R1R due to some pretty serious tread squirm.

I've heard some tires have a slightly harder "base" compound that you see around 4/32" so there is a risk you run into that. Part of the reason the 195/50/15 R1R was so trick is it was nice and gooey all the way to the cords (hence the tread squirm issue).

I personally don't and won't shave. I show up with full tread tires (new, but enough scrub-in to clean off mold release) to competitions I care about and then they can double as rain tires. When they heat cycle out they have enough tread left to daily drive in sunny Arizona. If I'm going to burn 1-2 sets of tires per year you bet your ass I'm gonna get my money's worth out of 'em.

[qoncept]

Originally Posted by renfield90

I think it's really only necessary on the R1R due to some pretty serious tread squirm.

I've heard some tires have a slightly harder "base" compound that you see around 4/32" so there is a risk you run into that. Part of the reason the 195/50/15 R1R was so trick is it was nice and gooey all the way to the cords (hence the tread squirm issue).

I remember when Falken phased out the Azenis one of the new tires to have was their FK451. Rumor was the last 4/32 were the same compound as the Azenis, but before that was typical hard, high mileage summer compound.

Edit: What a useless bit of knowledge to still be holding on to, eh?

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by qoncept

I remember when Falken phased out the Azenis one of the new tires to have was their FK451. Rumor was the last 4/32 were the same compound as the Azenis, but before that was typical hard, high mileage summer compound.

Edit: What a useless bit of knowledge to still be holding on to, eh?

Totally not useless - I think on RRAX they call that an M&M tire. One fear for the street tire class is someone makes a tire with a hard enough shell to pass a 200TW test, but with a gooey inside that's soft like an A6. Shave it, get maybe twenty runs out of it, and you're done.

That's exclusion list material for sure, but let's say it's not quite as extreme as A6 soft. Does it still end up on the exclusion list? I wouldn't discount a tire like this showing up in the future, especially with Falken getting back into the contingency game this year. Wouldn't surprise me if they're cooking up something new given the current Azenis can't hang with the current heavy hitters.

[Cueman]

Originally Posted by qoncept

And the developer has been very involved and responsive.

Ha... and maybe I actually haven't made up my mind. Ultimately, I'm sure it's not everything I want it to be, but maybe the price tag allows for that...

[bslate3]

Today was my first event in the new car. I'm coming from a 2011 WRX.

The weather conditions were terrible, 45° and rainy, but I think it was a good way to learn a new car.
Only mods so far are Subaru camber bolts and 225/45 Z2 Star Specs.
I think these tires were a good fit for the weather.

I managed to get 1st in CS and 9th overall in PAX. I could have placed higher if the first run groop didn't get 3 dry runs before the rain hit.

[ame]http://youtu.be/q1S1DHgjp7U[/ame]
Driving tips appreciated.

[DaWorstPlaya]

Originally Posted by qoncept

My experience:

- Auto start/stop is a complete crapshoot. I trusted it for a single event and ended up with nothing usable. Half the runs never recorded and a couple ended up split in to 2 weird runs (minimum speed trigger, I guess). Now I start and stop recording manually.

- Because I can't rely on autostart, full run times are off by enough that they are no good for comparison.

- GPS ends up with an offset frequently. I don't have any examples, but if I overlay consecutive runs, the overlays will end up "off" by about the width of a runway sometimes. As in the traces are like a double image. This is with the Qstarz receiver sold on by Petrel.

- I CANNOT get the TPS calibrated correctly using a generic OBD-II dongle. Last attempt got it to max out at 103%.

- The calibration for videos is off no matter what I do, even though it's supposed to be automatic, and I think by a varying amount in each video. I just can't get the gopro and internal camera synced, and Solostorm doesn't offer any manual adjustment to the overlay videos.

Having used Solostorm maybe I can help shed some light. I also used to the use MaxQdata when they were still in business.

1. Auto start/stop is/was made better through the use of the marker option. You can set the staging area, the start and the stop manually. Do that when you walk the course and Solostorm will ALWAYs record the runs correctly.

2. See one.

3. The offset (aka GPS drift) is an issue with your Qstar GPS. I had the same problem with an older GPS I was using (from the MaxQdata days) until I bought and replaced it with a Qstar unit from Amazon. Since then the GPS drift/offset became a none issue. Sounds like there may be an issue with your Qstar unit.

4. TPS issue is probably related to the Bluetooth OBD2 reader you are using. There are know issues with the cheapo OBD2 readers. It's basically a crap shoot when you buy the cheap no name brand ones. I've been lucky with mine.

5. There is a calibration tool in the setup to help you sync your video to the GPS. You can use it for both the built-in camera or GoPro, although it is much easier with the GoPro. And you can manual sync the video as you do the overlays if it is off by a bit using the export tool.



Coming from the MaxQdata days, Solostorm is a much better product IMHO. It helps you make comparisons between runs. You can make changes DURING the event, that's when it counts the most. Probably the best racing tool I have used.

[qoncept]

@DaWorstPlaya,
I'll try some of those things out, and I'll talk to Petrel about the GPS. It's been 2 years so I better cross my fingers.

As for #5 though, I've calibrated the video delay over and over and over again, and when emailing the developer asked repeatedly for a per-video calibration method because they are out of sync by a different amount every time. I've more or less given up.

[vroom4]

You can sync them per video can't you? I've always done it tht way where I can math the video to my data timeline manually...