I know, a bit off topic but the power of the HAMB is incredible! I would like to put an entry level data logger in my drag car ,to moniter stuff....a/fuel ratio mostly but also engine data,driveshaft revolutions to keep track of the clutch etc and would like expanability with it and of course spend the least amont of money....If this to far off topic my feelings won't be hurt if deleted but I value calibre of the intelligence I have found here. Thanks! R~R
This one was just posted for sale. http://www.insidetopalcohol.com/showthread.php?43654-alky-parts-and-rpm-computer That is generally about the going rate for a good quality actual data logger. Brian
Thanks! That has all 8 egt which is what I want! Very interesting! I am gathering info here and lookin at all options as It is not affordable this year but maybe next and by then I will have been schooled on them ... Thanks! I will find out more about that brand and style ! R~R
I have used the Auto Meter data logger and Race Pak on door slammers, dragsters, and Pro Stock. Both are great tools and will substancially help predict the performance of your car.
I run a Racepak..... its a huge helper. I use the digital display, was about $1200. Frank Parks over at www.neilparks.com set us up with it. Great product.
use a "Matty Box" http://www.mattyinnovations.com/ You can hook them up a front wheel speed sensor [ or driveshaft sensor ] These things can be triggered from a "Delay Box" and they can operate a nitrous controller and/or ignition retard [ or throttle stop ] for "really consistant" DYO times.
We use Racepak on our Bonneville cars. Its far from entry level though, with egts, you'll start at 5k($) or so
I am trying to learn more about the Innovate system we have for Hooley's land speed car. It has been difficult for Hooley to get it working correctly. I am presently giving it a go with the hope that I can sort it out. I wish there was an internet support site for the Innovate brand. We are logging air/fuel ratio, rpm, boost, egt, throttle position, and fuel pressure. I am actually working with this system today. John
First off, make sure the sanctioning body you race with will let you run a datalogger - most won't esp if you are in like some sort of bracket race thing. I have worked with a bunch of different ones and racepak is about as good as you'll get, although this stuff has been around long enough that all the companies are about the same it just depends on who you want to spend the money with - unless you want the professional stuff that lives thru tire shake etc, that costs a little more. Don't even think about air/fuel ratio unless you want to run pump gas. You throw some race fuel in there and the lead (in the fuel) screws with the sending unit and turns them into junk and don't believe the yahoos that have a special method of restoring them. You'll want your egts'; oil, fuel & vacuum pressures; driveshaft speed; they'll throw in water temp, voltage, accelerometer and some other feel good stuff. You want to be able to interpret the info, you get swarmed with data and you are so busy looking at the twigs you don't see the tree let alone the forest so forget the shock travel data the fuel flow data etcetc if you have clutch car you might want something in the can depending on how sophisticated you clutch is - remember the transducers get expensive and there are modest priced ones that have limited capability and the expensive ones taht you have to have when you max out the modest priced ones. There are a limited number of channels for the modestly priced sensors, when you get past them it'll get expensive as you need to stack modules into the data system - so keep it modest and stick to the very basics. The very biggest thing you want to have is a good program that is easy to access and work with. All the sensors and devices are made by different companies and sold to the data logging people, racepak egt is the same as the fast egt. So the real difference is the electronics and software. The key thing here is to be able to easily download the data - you want to pull a chip out and stick it in your computor, nit string out some cables etc and you you want to have the data presented to you in a way taht you can understand. A professional engineer working with john force will want his data presented entirely different than what you want, so see how the data is presented, you don't want to go to school to learn how to read the screens. Having worked with and installed bunches of these things i find that almost all problems are installation problems. The sensors have been arounds for decades and the mfgrs have figured out how to make them. The software is way simpler than the simplest playstation game. The mfgrs ain't gonna sell you a defective system, they know how to test them before they leave the shop. Every problem i have had is an installation issue, electrical or mechanical. After you have it for a few years then all bets are off, when it is brand new it'll work exactly as they describe and if you have a problem it is installation.
For street use, just to see how the carbs were working, I put a very basic MegaSquirt EFI controller in my car for a while. I had it connected to a wideband O2 sensor, TPS, CTS, IAT sensor, and tach signal. I plugged in a netbook and used that to log data, also to provide a real time display. Interesting stuff, and it didn't cost much. I did not use the MS efi controller to control injectors...just to collect sensor data. I know a few racers that use a newer fancier MS box to run EFI, and they have expanded the datalogging capabilities with an SD card and CAN bus (I think that's how they do it), so they get a lot of channels of data...including ride height (for LSR), wheel speed front and rear, etc. It's a relatively inexpensive way to do it, but it's also very DIY so you either need to know something about electronics and computers, or be willing to learn.
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