Obviously, using good-condition oil is important for any combustion engine-propelled car, but it’s a minimum requirement for a race car. Some racers are so worried about harming their highly-abused motors that they change out their oil at extremely short intervals. Aside from this practice getting expensive, it’s downright wasteful. Others go the other direction and let over-used oil shorten engine life. A company named IntelliStick, has come out with a product (of the same name), that can tell you exactly when your oil is due for a change.  [Read more…]

Here are a couple other new products that PLX Devices showed us at this year’s SEMA show. These were sneak peeks, with preliminary specs only. Being that they’re going to be part of the iMFD family of products, they caught my attention. As covered in an earlier post, iMFD (Intelligent Multi-Functional Display) is the marketing name for a very cool technology that PLX brought us last year. Their impressive 65K color OLED gauges can be daisy-chained together, along with various sensors, and data from the vehicle’s OBD bus. Because these components are networked together, they can share information with each other. The displays can be customized to show information from multiple sources in an infinite number of formats. These upcoming products will integrate with iMFD to bring even more functionality.  [Read more…]

DrewTech’s booth at this year’s SEMA show was again showing off DashDAQ computers. This time, it was the new Series II model on display. I liked the concept of the original DashDAQ, so I was very interested what the new model has to offer. It turns out that there are some nice enhancements, which help keep DrewTech ahead of the pack.  [Read more…]

Here’s another product designed to make life a little easier for those of us who tow our race cars. Swift Hitch is a product that simplifies the task of hitching up a trailer to a tow vehicle. A small camera, with a magnetic base, is temporarily placed on the back of the tow vehicle, above the hitch, facing down. With the wireless video receiver in hand, use the transmitted image to easily get lined up. The camera even works in the dark. MSRP is $309.  [Read more…]

Three-In-One has developed a boroscope that is capable of supplying video directly to a computer. Dubbed the VIGS-918 (Video Image Guide Scope), this unit connects to a PC/Laptop via a USB cable. The included software allows you to see the video on a computer screen and record it for later playback. An integrated LED light source helps illuminate the area being viewed.  [Read more…]

If you tow your track car on a trailer behind your truck or SUV, you may have noticed some rear-end sagging. This affects the trucks’ handling, braking, and ride quality. It also pisses off oncoming traffic at night. To combat this, rear helper air springs are a great addition to your tow vehicle. Air Lift Company used SEMA 07 to unveil a new wireless air control system for this type of application. The 7200 kit includes everything needed to dial in and maintain the desired vehicle height.  [Read more…]

Nordskog Performance has developed an in-dash gauge for monitoring surface temperatures. The IR9009 kit comes with 2 infra-red temperature sensors and a gauge. The gauge simultaneously shows readings from both of the temperature sources. This makes for a great way to monitor the surface temps of tires at all times. The kit has a $600 price tag.

Last year, PLX Devices introduced their ground-breaking iMFD (intelligent Multi-Functional Display) gauges and sensors. The thing that makes iMFD so cool is that various devices can be networked together to share information. Different gauges, sensors, and eventually loggers/computers are all tied together. It’s not too expensive to get started, and you can expand as needed.  [Read more…]

Racers aren’t usually the pickiest bunch when it comes to in-car video footage. Mount up a standard video recorder or video-capable digi-cam and go. This works, but doesn’t usually add up to the greatest in quality, versatility, or ease-of-use. Of course, there are some nice options out there that many step up to, such as the ChaseCam PDR systems. These allow for recording directly to MPEG-2, on solid-state memory (Compact Flash cards). Some support split-screen, multi-input recording, a rugged design, and other racer-friendly features. However, some of us have been waiting for some fundamental improvements in sports-related recording technology. We have been faced with quality limitations, because of analog to digital conversion. Most all compact recording systems are subject to this, regardless of whether they are labeled as being “digital”. The result is an interlaced video, lacking color-richness, which tends to look so-so on a computer screen. We would like to get around this, while retaining a design that has no moving parts, yet still has the versatility of a “bullet-cam”. Recorders that rely on tapes, hard drives, or DVDs are subject to reliability and quality issues, as the recording mechanism can move during jolts. Enter the V.I.O. POV.1, a true fully digital, ultra-compact MPEG4 recording system.  [Read more…]

ChaseCam now gives you the option of overlaying video recordings with real-time g-force graphs. The $125 G-Force module can be added onto newly purchased PDR100 recorders, or you can send in your existing unit to have it upgraded for the same price.  [Read more…]

BradaTech has developed Bluetooth adapters and software specifically for use with Innovate Motorsports‘ entire line of products. Innovate has taken the adapters and combined them into various Bluetooth “turn-key” kits. The Bluetooth technology allows PCs and PDAs to communicate wirelessly with Innovate’s well-known wide-band air/fuel ratio sensor controllers and multi-sensor data loggers. This allows the PC/PDA to monitor and log sensor data in real-time within the vehicle, without needing any wired connections. A shop computer can also be setup to wirelessly download logs after returning from a road test. This wireless scenario can also make life easier during dyno tuning sessions. The Bluetooth adapters can be purchased independently for $150. However, there is a substantial savings when a “Bluetooth enabled” kit is purchased.  [Read more…]

If you’re a Pocket PC/Windows Mobile user, check out Tuning Pad – Session Log. It is free PDA software that you can use to log track session info, after you get back into the paddock area. It makes for an easy way to keep track of tire pressures/ temperatures, camber settings, etc. Version 1.0 has just been made available.

Tuning Pad – Session Log

Video displays are becoming more and more commonly found in cars. Whether factory equipped with a nav system, or with the addition of a high-end audio/video unit, many cars have LCD displays. Brockway Engineering has leveraged this fact and developed the R2000, an OBD2 monitoring system that provides a video output, rather than an embedded display. This helps to keep the unit’s cost down, and it allows you to cut down on the number of devices cluttering up the passenger compartment. Like other OBD2-based vehicle monitoring systems, the R2000 simply needs to be plugged into the vehicle’s OBD2 diagnostic port to become functional. Plug the composite video output to the display’s input and you’re up and going. The display can be configured to show various real-time OBD2 parameters in one of 6 different screen modes. Up to 4 parameters may be displayed at once. It is also capable of reading and clearing diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs).  [Read more…]