If you follow Grassroots Motorsports’ online magazine, then take a look at my “readers ride” section under my profile.
Feel free to vote too! http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/4425/
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DigiDash Review 03 DashCommand & RaceChrono
Posted: 11th November 2010 by Joseph in The Digi & DashTags: atomic motorsports, carputer, dashcommand, data logger, digi dash, digidash, digital dash, digital dashboard, digital display, digital gauges, DIY digi dash, DIY digidash, DIY racecar, in-car computer, palmer performance, tyrolsport
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After less than desired results, this time at NJMP 2010, the digi dash and DashCommand was beginning to become more of a challenge than an asset to our our setup. Some days during bench testing, the refresh rate more than acceptable, other days it was slow to react and none of the methodical changes I made seemed to to remedy the problem, until…
As I’ve mentioned before, I had been posting regularly on Palmer Performance’s forum (makers of DashCommand) in an effort to update them on my progress, as well as to seek help with this refresh rate situation. I mentioned 16bit vs. 32bit color display in one of my posts – Weston, one of the forum moderators and one of the software designers explained that their software renders in 32bit color and that by changing Windows to a 16bit color display, I was effectively doubling the refresh rate of DashCommand. DashCommand rendered in 32bit, then Windows had to re-render it in 16bit in order to display it, slowing down the entire refresh process. Here’s a video I shot to show the difference between the two color qualities.
Note: Also shown in this video is a new software that we have yet to test on track, called RaceChrono. It’s a GPS data acquisition application which will provide us with track mapping, lap times, sector times, etc, etc. Until now we’ve been using MaxQData to achieve this, but we will be testing RaceChrono this next season.
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NJMP, Thunderbolt circuit recap: I’ve gotta say I’m a little less motivated than usual to write this update, for a few reasons, but mostly because the season is over, there’s a definite chill in the air, the car is all tucked away and it’s time to take care of other business. However, in an effort to update the few of you that enjoy our photos, videos and who may actually hope to one day get your Corrado out on the track, here’s the not so happy ending recap to our first time at NJMP’s Thunderbolt circuit.
As some of you know, prior to this event we had been plagued over the past month(s) with an engine stutter that we struggled to diagnose. Ultimately, after replacing a few different elements we were finally able to shake the stutter and enjoy the sweet sounds of a solid VR6 once again! A big thanks to everyone who helped us narrow it down. And to those who are curious, let’s just say the plug wires were a big factor. Thanks Mike! 🙂
So after we finally got the car in running order, we had to tackle the cracked windshield. And as always, thanks to our friends at 53Motorsports, we had the replacement glass in our hands and just as quickly installed it and added some vinyls to complete the look and provide some sun shade. We were ready to go. After a quick pre-track inspection by the guys at TyrolSport, we packed up without a problem and made our way down to Philly Thursday night.
This was to be a three day event with PCA’s Riesentoter chapter who we’ve run with a few times now, most recently at Watkins Glen a few months back. As per usual, we rolled up at the track at the azz-crack of dawn (actually it may have still been completely dark out), rolled the car out, headed over to tech, rolled through tech, and back over to base camp without any problems 🙂 Did I mention it was in the 40’s? As you can imagine, getting motivated at 7am in the cold while standing outside isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do, no matter how much fun we were about to have. After the driver’s meeting things warmed up a bit and we got ourselves ready for session one.
Session one, let’s just say, was more like walking through your house blindfolded, arms stretched out feeling your way around. You sorta know where you are going, but just don’t have the confidence to go about it at normal speeds. It’s the exact same thing on a new track. We’ve seen the track, we’ve watched videos, we’ve looked over the track map, but honestly it has very little impact on actually driving the track at speed. Fortunately, neither of us had any problems, but wow, what a messy first set of laps! Of course, the more you lap, the better you get, but with GT2, GT3 and a slew of other fast cars screaming around us, it definetely adds an element to the “learning”.
By mid day Friday, Jason and I were already forming our opinions of the track. We were getting faster, but we weren’t liking it any better. I think we both agreed that Thunderbolt just isn’t as fluid as Lightning is. We also quickly realized that our spring rates were way too soft for this track. The slower portion of the track has several, tight, left-right turns and really punishes the suspension… and my inner ear. We found there was a lot of roll in our car that we had never really experienced on other tracks. Regardless, we were there to enjoy some track time and we weren’t gonna let a little motion sickness bring us down 🙂
We knew going into this event that our tires were on their last leg. They weren’t showing any cords yet, but after three and a half seasons, they were bound to give up soon. Sure enough, right at the end of Jason’s session three, they were pushed to their limits. He had a nice moment on track where he locked up the inside front wheel, creating a flat spot all the way to the cords. At the time he wasn’t entirely sure he had done any damage, but ultimately, the tire was done.
Luckily, we had our spare factory wheels with Falcon Azensis with us; we’ve been lugging them around with us since day one, but this was the first time they were called into action. We put two of the good Toyo RA1’s up front and bolted up two Falcon’s in rear. We were less than confident they would be as good at the Toyo’s so we took it slow. Turns out, they were fine. Our lap times were no better, but no worse. So we pushed on. It might be session four or five, but at one point I did push a little too hard 🙂
Here’s what it looks like to be a rolling chicane in the black/red run group with PCA:
Notice I haven’t mentioned the engine? That’s right – it ran strong the entire time. Not so much as a hiccup! Well, maybe a hiccup here and there because we let the fuel tank get below 1/8 a couple times, but the engine itself was solid. I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to Olaf from Atomic Motorsports for all his help and continued support. Fortunately this time around, we didn’t have to call him for support, the hood stayed closed [i]while in the pits[/i] and we simply enjoyed our time.
This is what enjoying our time looks like. No tools, the hood is closed, just chill’n, etc, etc…
The end of day one came and we closed up shop and headed home for the night. We were happy with the day’s progress and knew tomorrow would be even better. Jason had been very ill all week, but he sucked it up and pushed through all day Friday. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to pull it off two days in a row. I got the word at 5:30 am Saturday morning that I would be flying solo for the day.
Saturday promised better weather, less wind and a less unfamiliar race track. I had high hopes. This was my first time out with this car on my own and needless to say it felt odd. Getting buckled in the car was per usual, although I seem to be able to snap the driver’s net in easier, even while inside the car then Jason can from outside (he’ll claim he was weak from sickness, but whatever). Sadly, I had no need to plug in to the radio harness as I had no one to talk to 🙁 Anyway, session one for me was crazy. There were forty-plus cars on track; that’s approximately thirty-five, modern, fast, GT2/3 Porsches with experienced drivers/instructors, a hand full of current Corvettes, and me. I drove in my mirrors the entire session!
Since Jason didn’t attend, I did have the option to run with his white group which had approximately twenty cars of various makes and models. So I did just that. I spoke with the track day officials and scored a white wrist band which afforded me the ability to run with either the black or white run groups. Without hesitation, I buckled back in for session two, but this time with the white group and hoped for some clear track, decent lap times and a chance to drive with my eyes focused on the track ahead, not what was about to run me over. I’m happy to report, I did all of those things. Here’s the last eleven minutes of that session.
Click, click, click… that’s how my session three started 🙁 WTF? I was all buckled in, helmet on, cameras were rolling, the session was a minute from starting and there I was pressing the little red starter button and all I got was ‘click’. I figured it was the starter relay, but that meant I had to unbuckle, take the net down, climb out of the car, take off the helmet, get tools, do work, blah, blah, blah. So instead, I gave the relay a good whack! Still nothing. F^cker. So I unbuckled, pulled down the net, climbed out, took off my helmet, got the allen wrench, pulled the relay, swapped the relay, pushed the starter button… click. Starter wire maybe? Pulled the hood pins, popped the hood, check the starter wire and plug, shut the hood… ran back around, pushed the starter button… click. Son of a… Wiggled the wire on the fuse block for the starter, checked the fuse, pushed the starter button… VROOOM! Nice! Run back around, climb back in, put the net up, buckle up, put the helmet on, drive away while putting on my gloves, get waved through at the pit wall, and start the session.
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Yup. The day/weekend/season was over just like that 🙁
A few photos of Jason from Friday
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And of course, the carnage:
Anyway, it’s time to put her away for the winter. We obviously have a few projects on our plate before next season so we’ll be sure to keep you posted. We are thinking carbon fiber hood and polycarbonate windscreen for starters 😉 We hope to compete in a time attack event next year, but that remains to be seen.
I’ll be posting up a few more videos as I get the time to create them. Until next season!
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I’m proud to announce that the team over at VWVortex, one of the worlds largest online automotive forums, has taken an interest in our little project and did a short write-up in their monthly feature entitled “AUTObiography”. If you have a few minutes, take a look, read through and feel free to stop back by and give us some feedback. Enjoy! http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/article_2796.shtml
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I wish I could report that things went really well this past event, but unfortunately we struggled.
It all started well, we were able to get out of town early enough, arrived late Thursday night/Friday morning which gave us about 5 hours of sleep before we needed to be at the track (better than the 1 to 2 hours we got last year). Arrived at the track, unpacked, went through tech with no issues and got ready for our first sessions.
We were pretty confident with everything even though we hadn’t tested much. The biggest unknown was the proportioning valve in our braking system. The parking lot shake down we had done a few weeks prior wasn’t a good place to tweak the settings, so we had to wait until our first sessions at The Glen 
My first session was what I expected – scary as shiat since all I had were front brakes, a few unknowns and a bunch of crazy fast cars all around me. I tried to dial in the back brakes, but it was nearly impossible to know how much to turn the knob (in hindsight we should have purchased a gauge and put it on each caliper to see where things were before we went out on track). Anyway, the engine seemed strong, car felt balanced through the turns, computer was working, etc, etc. I made it through the session fine, but as soon as I got back to the pits and we checked the temp on the brakes, we realized the rear brakes hadn’t really even touched the rotors. The fronts were blazing hot and the rears were less than warm. So something was up. We unscrewed the proportioning valve knob about half way thinking we just hadn’t gone far enough and sent Jason out for his first session. At first he didn’t feel any change so he started to tweak the knob even more, but then all of a sudden the brakes went soft, which of course freaked him out so he had to come in.
We weren’t sure what the next step would be – he said we still had brakes, but the pedal was really low. So we figured I’d go out and get an idea of what was going on before we made any further adjustments. Once I got out there in session 2, I could confirm that we had brakes, but they were definitely spongy and low. Ultimately, all that needed to happen was a quick bleed in the rear and we’d have a great set of front/rear brakes, well-balanced and would last us throughout the event.
Sadly, that was the least of our worries. About 3/4 way through my session two, the engine started missing really badly so I had to come in. This would be the beginning of a torturous afternoon and evening. Our first thought was plugs – they were relatively new, but we thought maybe we could have burned them up in the parking lot since we were running it pretty lean at the time. We made a trek to the local NAPA, picked up some plugs swapped them in – no change. OK…. now what? Plug wires looked fine. Everything in the bay looked in order. Let’s see if we have spark on each plug. Jason pulled out each plug, one at a time while I sat in the car cranking it. We had spark on each plug. Now what? Coil packs. We have the MSD coilpack conversion which we’ve been running for the past 2 season without a hiccup. They looked fine. The wires leading into the coilpacks were a bit lose, but weren’t falling out. We had two extra packs with us, so we decided to start swapping them one by one. No change. WTF? To say the least, we were baffled. By now we were missing sessions 3 and our day was nearly over.
The one thing that you can’t miss about a track event is how nice people are – especially when it’s obvious that things aren’t going well with your car. We had several people come over, some with a great wealth of experience and others only curious but are there to talk you through it. I know none of those guys are on this forum, but just the same we have to throw out a thanks to everyone that stopped by to offer advice, parts, or just to talk and maybe inspire an idea. In the end, a younger guy who was a mechanic for a Porsche that the film crew was using (filming some pilot show) seemed to go out of his way to come talk us through the troubleshooting steps to diagnose our problem. Although we had previously verified that each plug was sparking, while wiggling the power wires on the MSD coilpacks he noticed the engine would smooth out. So as he pulled each wire out of the coilpacks and found that the spade connectors weren’t making great contact with the coilpack we knew we had solved the missing issue. We ran back to NAPA, bought some beefier and longer spade connectors and got everything back together.
After everything was reconnected, we fired her back up and realized we had more than one issue. Hoping maybe it just needed to be cleared out after all the tweaking we had done, we sent Jason out in his session 3, but after one very slow (and dangerous) lap he came back in with bad news. It wasn’t “missing” anymore more, but it was popping under load and it didn’t sound right. We spent the next several hours, staring at a VR6 engine bay with no real idea what was going on. Was it fuel, spark, weak spark, bad sensor somewhere…. no idea. VAGCOM didn’t tell us anything. AFRs were within reason. It idled nice, revved OK. But as soon as you got on it under load, it would pop like crazy. We were at a loss and feared it would be a very early end to a 3 day track event.
Exhausted, we gave up for the night around 6pm – I know, it sounds early, but we drove 5 hrs the night before, slept for 5 hours, were up at 5am, toiled over the car all day, etc, etc. We were beat. We spent most of the night on the phone with Olaf from Atomic Motorsports. I’ve gotta say, he’s gone above and beyond the call of duty with guys like us simply for running his logo on our car. Big thanks to him!
Anyway, with no idea where to start troubleshooting with the car on Saturday morning, we figured we should at least go to tech to make sure we were good to go “in case” we do get it running right. After tech, we brought the car back to our pit area and just sat there. We didn’t know what else to do. Plugs again? Jason had already pulled, checked and replaced them about 5 times at this point. Fueling? Who knew? How about I just take it out and romp on it and see if I can blow it up? So that’s what I did. I took it out in session one and buried the pedal as far down as it could go. Yup, it sure did pop a lot, but it was still making power. Interesting. I ran the whole 15-20 minutes session like this. AFRs were a little lean here and a little fat there, but surprisingly, I was turing laps times on par with my times from last year. Interesting… no, actually WTF?
So that’s what we did. We ran the entire day, making very few adjustments besides fueling tweaks via our APEXi with an engine that was less than perfect, but that still made power. What was even more interesting was that the popping seemed to happen less and less often as the day progressed. Also perplexing was that the popping was almost gone during the first two warm up laps, but increased in frequency as the car got hotter? All sorts of ideas were thrown at us – we ran to NAPA one more time during lunch and even bought some MAF cleaner – no change. Maybe the lift pump was cracked and sucking air so we filled the tank – no change – even right before I ran out of gas while on track so it wasn’t sucking air… yet 
Saturday’s lapping ended and it was time to enjoy the banquet dinner with the PCA group – which BTW really knows how to put on an event.
With Sunday’s sessions threatened by rain and the car less than 100% we toyed with the idea of packing it up, but ultimately figured that since we had lost most of Friday’s sessions we should stay and try to get a few sessions in. The car was the same, handling was fine, braking was solid, but the engine wasn’t quite right. We tried our best to stay positive and just enjoy what we did have until… Jason radio’d in that the windshield had just been hit by a rock and left a decent size spider crack. Dang, just can’t catch a break. We ran our morning sessions and I ran one afternoon session, we packed up and left. Fortunately the trek home was without incident.
We did manage, believe it or not, to knock a few seconds off our lap times from last year. Once I get a chance to check the GPS data I’ll be able to report back with exact times.
Other than the above mentioned headaches, and our REV limiter preventing us from getting past 115mph @ 5400 rpm, the car was great – haha. The cage was solid and thankfully we didn’t have to test its strength. We received several comments that it had turned out really well so we were happy that people noticed. A big thanks again to Mike, Tom and the crew at TyrolSport for their hard work in that area.
Fortunately we didn’t have to swap out our spare throw-out bearing. We had feared the one that was in the car was on its last leg so Allen at 53motorsports hooked us up last minute. As always, thanks to him for taking care of us first thing.
And again, a huge thanks to Olaf at Atomic Motorsports. Texting, emails and phone calls all day Friday and Saturday was huge. Who does that? We’ve never even met the guy.
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