Data Logger

[Tektrader69]

The fuel pressure sensor I have been using is Honeywell MLH100PGB06A 100PSI the connector is Motec Part: 65013

We have been connecting the the wheel speed sensor to the gearbox pulse. The way the device works is you connect it to a pulse train and then enter the multiply factor to convert it to wheel speed.

A good thing to do is get a GPS as well, then you have GPS speed and can get lap times / splits etc and if you subtract GPS speed from wheel speed you can get an idea of where you are wheel spinning easily.

Thanks for that. I see you are using the wheel speed sensor just for vehicle speed. I was actually going to look at all 4 wheels and use it for slip. The speed pulse setup is like the AIM dash so no issues here.

Whats the currect price for the logger ?

[Boss-zilla]

Well Im sold will part with the hard earned (once I have it) for this deff. now.

Thanks for the info etc

Ross

[Swiper the Fox]

Well Im sold will part with the hard earned (once I have it) for this deff. now.

Thanks for the info etc

Ross

Ross i cannot talk this product up enough...If i do so i will probably be shot down by the 'DiRT haters'... you will be suitably impressed with it.

World class engineering right here in Aus.

[Boss-zilla]

I like the idea of one unit that can be expanded/ further developed for the cost (or there abouts) of getting the guages plus I would rather give my money to a local.

[MountainRunner]

The current batch of EMO PRO II is $599 including the accessory kit which is the 2 stage shift lights, remote alarm ack button, page select button and the alarm buzzer (usually charge extra for this stuff).

I have 8 of these in stock now. If you would like one contact DirtGarage (he is also the ViPEC guy. As a thanks for his efforts he is the one with the codes to enable this option in the EM PRO II). Otherwise you can also contact Duncan. We are currently getting his units sorted and installed. Both these guys have been helping with development and will represent my products on the Forum as I cannot sell direct (forum rules).

I also have good prices on the sensors (oil pressure, temp etc) so let these guys know what you need.

The RaceLogger, which logs all the channels from the EM PRO II plus its own channels will hopefully be around the same price. I haven't priced a few of the items required to build them since the Financial Crash and AU dropping. Hopefully nothing has changed much but its always best to check first. I don't have any of these in stock now, but if you are interested in one please let one of the guys know or post here your "interest" so I can judge how many to make in the next batch. Thanks.

Also I am still working on the analysis software for the RaceLogger. This will be a work in progress with all the feedback on functions etc from the guys who have the unit. Should be a fun project. I didn't get as far as I hoped with it this weekend as I was playing with my car

My sensor list is now as follows (I have EM PRO II and my 4WD Controller hooked to the RaceLogger to datalog all the channels)

EM PRO: Oil Pressure

EM PRO: Oil Temperature

EM PRO: Water Temperature

EM PRO: Intake Temperature

EM PRO: Boost

EM PRO: Fuel Pressure

EM PRO: RPM

EM PRO: Wheel Speed

RL: Throttle Pos

RL: Ambient Temp

RL: Wide Band O2

RL: Steering Angle

RL: Water Temp - Duplicated to Run the Thermo Fans

RL: GPS

RL: ? spare input

RL: ? spare input

RL: ? spare input

RL: ? spare input

RL: ? spare input

RL: Battery Volts

RL: Brake Pedal (on/off)

RL: PowerFC Knock Light (on/off)

RL: ? spare rate input 1

RL: ? spare rate input 2

4WD Controller: Lateral G

4WD Controller: Longitudinal G

4WD Controller: Torque Split

I will come up with some more sensors for the spare inputs, maybe AFM voltage, gearbox temp, diff temps etc. Also the 2 free rate inputs would be good on some wheels for wheel spin etc. Its a work in progress. (in Mick's car I have installed a Gyro to get Yaw rate as well, so that will be interesting to plot)

I will get some graphs sorted for the data I collected last track day. So far I have just been outputting the data to CSV format and importing to EXCEL for charting.

[Tektrader69]

I would be keen on a race logger when its done.

Will it have a GPS input ?

Edited June 14, 2009 by Tektrader69

[MountainRunner]

I left GPS off the above list. When I remembered to add it, the post edit time had passed.

You can plug a GPS into the RaceLogger. I use the Garmin unts. Its called a GPS 18 5Hz. I have made the RaceLogger connector for it supply power as well, so I just have to put a DB-9 on the GPS module and its plug'n'play

[Boss-zilla]

May be a silly question but is the wheel speed be displayed in k/h. Looking at the list, i can remove the cluster and use these units.

[MountainRunner]

Yea it can be displayed however you want. The input is pulses from the gearbox you then enter the multiplier to make it km/h etc.

[Sydneykid]

Good to see the progress that has been made, absolutely a super job Paul. I'll have to have a look at Duncan's car next time it is in the same place as I am. I have a couple of questions;

What is possible for 2WD cars in regards to lat & long G?

I assume track mapping is OK without GPS?

Due to wheel spin I find the gearbox speed output to be next to useless. I currently use 2 wheel speed sensors, front left and front right, and the logger chooses which one is the highest value to log, hence avoiding brake lock up data problems. Would this be OK?

Lap timing? Via a beacon?

I came to the realisation years ago that the loggers themselves were much of a muchness, the memory, number of channels and speed of logging, pretty much determined the price. But it was the software where I found the most difference, with the basic channels logged, the big attraction was the features of the software. For example, split lap timing with adjustable points is a software feature that I use all the time when comparing laps. And I use maths channels a lot, for example in the non sequential gearboxes I obtain the gear position data by dividing the engine rpm by the wheel speed, this gives me gearchange points. Another of the useful comparisons between drivers/laps that is assisted by the lap overlay and datum lap features in the software. On a couple of the cars I have the basic set up data in the software, then I can compare the results from the data logged with the set up changes to see where/why we progressed, or not.

Even the logger software itself is important, for example we display different data on the dash for qualifying as compared to the race. In the Motec equiped cars for qualifying we use predictive lap times, so the driver can avoid waisting tyres on the rest of a lap that will never be any good. When I look at what we use, there's a hell of a lot of software programming and that's probably where a lot of the selling price of a data logger is actually found. not in the hardware itself. Keeping that in mind, have you considered using one of the proprietory data analysis programs, rather than design your own from scratch?

In F3 we have to use Bosch data loggers, but in the other cars before we went to Pi and Motec we used data analysis software from these guys http://www.advantagemotorsports.com/WS.htm

I found this article in last April's Control Global very interesting, just in case you haven't already read it http://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2009...904.html?page=3

Cheers

Gary

[Boss-zilla]

good to hear, bye bye cluster you are the weakest link.

As this will be going in a gtst I would also like to know if there is an option for the long and lats, again not something ill get for a while but the good old 'buy once, do it right'.

Cheers

Ross

[MountainRunner]

Hi SydneyKid, it has taken a while but I am getting to the pointy end of the project !

I have instrumented up 2 cars, the other is a R33 GTST. In that I have put a sensor module that reads LateralG, Longitudinal G and Yaw Rate. I should be able to make this sensor for around $200. I will have test data from it after July 8 track day. You could also just use a crossbow sensor or something similar as well, just cost more$$

I am currently track mapping with GPS and have the option to split the laps up using other channels if GPS not available (wheel speed etc). I still have to write the module to use lateral G and speed to track map without GPS. You could put a track side beacon and use one of the digital input channels as a lap marker, then use the lap split option I have to mark the laps. In the end there will be a few options to mark / split laps.

You are completely right about the software being the significant part of the project. The logger I have build I have made as functional as I could for a good build price. My main motivation was I didn't want the memory to be a pain thats why it logs to USB keys. Simple and cheap. I did add the fan / cooling pump control option as I found it useful in my car. I also added electric water pump control to the EM PRO II for the same reason. With the input from some guys we also have smart alarms like Fuel Press adjusted by boost and regulator rate and Oil press vers RPM.

The best part about the analysis being performed in the desktop software is that it is easy to upgrade. I put a new version out and guys download it with the new features. Same hardware etc. My plan is to release a basic version and get guys using the logger and adding features as we go.

To answer your direct questions:

Wheel spin / Lockup - if you don't have GPS you could use a wheel sensor. I have not connected one up yet but my input takes a pulse and you enter a multiplier so it should not be a problem. I will add this to the GTST test car as it will probably suffer wheel spin. I will add a function in the analysis software to create a Math channel to make a wheel speed channel based on greatest value between the two rate channels.

Lap Split Times - I have set up the software to have lap split. I was also thinking of adding "In Corner Time" as well where you mark entry and exit points of corners.

RPM / Wheel Speed - Definately have this channel. This is always useful for seeing gear selection and if divided with driven wheel data you will easily see wheel spin as spikes.

Lap Overlay - This is definate. I also added a "Save Best Lap" function where you can tag laps of interest and have them in a quick find list. Like a favorites.

EM PRO II - I have added 5 data pages to the EM PRO II to have different screens. I have not put laptime in there but if you think this would be a good feature I can transmit it from the RaceLogger to the EM PRO II for display. I could add this when I add Danh's feature of AFR alarm set using boost.

I have looked at using other software for analysis but for 2 reasons I haven't gone that path. 1. This is my hobby and I like doing the development (sad I know), 2. I have total flexibility, if there is an idea I have or someone else has I can feed it straight into the system.

Re: article - Using a PLC is an interesting way to go, I would probably use an Embedded PC if I went that path but again the base hardware cost is heaps more.

The desktop analysis software will be a work in progress for a while, taking ideas from guys and increasing the functionality.

I see this as a journey and the guys who have come on board are like minded. We will keep developing the system and I'm hoping we have a solution that is best for guys running Sprints / amateur racing. The logger works well and we will keep developing sensors / software as we go. It will never be a Motec as I'm only one guy building gear in my spare time, but most cannot afford Motec and their sensors. I am doing this to provide myself and others the chance to use datalogging at an affordable price. With input from experienced racers such as Sydneykid I am pretty sure we are headed in the right direction.

[Sydneykid]

It's definitely a journey, not a destination, you never stop developing, you learn more as you go along. For example I have been using Pi data loggers and dashes for over 19 years and I still learn new things every time I use one and Pi are continually bringing out updates and upgrades. I especially pick up stuff from the specialist data engineers whenever I hang around with a full time professional. They know so many tricks from working on it all day, every day. A few years back I spent a day with a guy (had a PhD in Electronics from Cambridge) who worked for Pi Research UK and was out here for 3 months on contract with HRT and I realised how much I didn't know about data logging.

Cheers

Gary

[MountainRunner]

Final test with ViPEC interface was completed on the weekend. Now have an EVO using a V44 running my EM PRO II.

I have to do that new post I have been promising with the final build specs.

Next step is getting these units out there. If you are at the July 8 track day there will be a few cars in the pits running my gear if you want to check it out.

[Duncan]

Hi all, as Paul mentioned I am testing his data logger and EM2 at the moment (unfortunately limited track time lately but that is about to change).

Setting up the basic inputs and warning lights is dead easy, and a great concept to only bring things that matter to your attention instead of hundreds a gauges which are hard to ready quickly on the straight, let alone in the tight bits. Yes there are other digitial dashes available but they are literally 2-5 times the price.

I am logging the following to the data logger:

GPS (speed, location), voltage, brakes on (brake switch), engine warning light/knock (ECU), throttle position, air/fuel, lateral g, longitudinal g, 4wd split, exhaust gas temp, 4 spare in, 4 spare out.

And logging via the Engine monitor to the DL:

Oil pressure, Oil Temp, Water Temp, Intake temp, Boost, Fuel Pressure, wheel speed (ECU/gearbox), rpm.

Between those I get plenty of information about how the car/motor is running (eg oil pressure vs lat/long Gs and logs of oil pressure/oil temp v water temp v intake temp) and how I am driving (speed, max revs, throttle, brakes, Gs etc). Will be very interesting to put it all to use

Paul....I'd love to see a IR receiver to trigger lap times, much easier than GPS.

[JimmyRickard]

Did this Data Logger end up happening? Any other options available under $1k?

[MountainRunner]

Yes its coming. Takes a little while to build one of these systems. I should have some screen shots etc and a better idea of when the first one will be testing in the next few weeks.

Its progressing well so far.

[JimmyRickard]

Just wondered if this has progressed any further?

[Duncan]

they sure have....I have one running in my car.....if only my car was running!!

[MountainRunner]

Hey yea, the logger is coming along well. I am currently working with GT Auto to install one into the new EVO Track Car they are building up. I will put a full story of that up soon. Also got some Skyline projects coming that will be using it.

Paul