Data Acquisition and Vehicle Dynamics Resources

[lz2lps]

From a few months am gathering information and decided to share.

Gathering data is of no use if then you can not read what the different data channels say. Here are some interesting findings:

0. Buddy Fey's blog - http://buddyfey.blogspot.com/ Still nothing particular for data acquisition, but very good blog posts.

1. Racecar Engineering and Data Acquisition Seminar Notes (PDF)

101 Things You Can Learn from the seminar (PDF)

2. Data Acquisition and Performance Tuning, Bill Dollahite

Presentation at the University of Texas at Austin 2/28/2008. Slides + Video with total length of 1 hour and 6 minutes.
I succeeded to play it with Internet Explorer, Firefox and Crome. I think it needs WM7 plug-in.

3. Data acquisition to analyse the driver and his race car
Bottiglieri, Massimo - MSc Thesis, Cranfield University, UK

Very interesting reading. Information for the principles of a lot of sensors. Data Analysis of a Ferrari F430 GT3 at 3 different tracks, Diagnosing real world problems with ABS, gearbox, engine start, ...

4. Data acquisition for the study of racecar vehicle dynamics
Mulay, Amit S - MSc Thesis, Cranfield University, UK

5.Coaching tools for high-performance driving
Meyer, James Isaac; Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2002

Very interesting thesis about organizing and displaying data.

6. Seminar Notes i2 Data Analysis

7. Seminar Notes Data Logger Installation

8. Calculated Brake Channel

9. Intro to Data Acquisition Powerpoint Presentation

10. S2 Racing Data Acquisition Discussion forum

11. Using Correvit SL Optical Slip-Angle Sensors

12. The art of the speed - Efficient use of professional sensors in car and tire performance measurement and comparison

13. The Pneumatic Tire



2 Books that probably will be interesting

Analysis Techniques for Racecar Data Acquisition - i already bought this and looks good... MUST READ

The Competition Car Data Logging Manual - August 2008

P.S. Sorry if this is not the right forum, but i couldn't find more suitable.

[dalyduo]

Welcome Lyubomir... You've given us a wealth of information to sift through here for anyone seeking more depth in Vehicle Data Acquisition and Dynamics. Thanks for joining our community and sharing so fully.

Pat

[lz2lps]

Thank you for the welcome Pat. I found this nice forum accidentally and enjoyed reading it. Many decent guys here. I decided to give something back. Hope the information is useful and makes our understandings for the vast world of car control and vehicle dynamics better. Credit to the authors. I will be glad if I can contribute more, based on my limited knowledge and experience.

Every time i share information, the "butterfly effect" comes to my mind:

which theorizes that a change in something seemingly innocuous, such as a flap of a butterfly's wings, may have unexpected larger consequences in the future, such as the path a hurricane will travel.

I never know what effect can have a simple contribution, but am sure that will make us better by looking at different perspectives and learn from other people's mistakes. "Going Faster" - the book and DVD (i see Carl Lopez and lots of SB instructors are members here) was the first "resource" that made me start being interested in the HOWs and WHYs, the depths of driving techniques, etc., and funny enough I "accidentally" find this place, searching for a complete different topic. It is interesting how much influence we as people have on each other, even if at the moment we do not realize it. Hope my influence is positive.

Lyubomir (it is a slavic name, and means "Loves the World"), aka. lz2lps (which is a radio amateur call sign. LZ - prefix for Bulgaria, 2 - area, LPS is the suffix. L - my name Lyubomir, P - my twin brother's name Plamen, S - my family name. But this hobby is long gone. Now i use the call sign as it is unique)

[dalyduo]

We love that you found us accidently and offer your considerable butterfly wings so generously. Given your knowledge of Carl, his book and other instructors would it be fair to assume you've had the benefit of participating in a Skip Barber school or program, and if so which one?

[lz2lps]

No Pat. Unfortunately I didn't had the chance to participate in a Skip Barber school. 3 years ago, I was in USA (sunny California) and while searching for a place to have good fun, i learned for the school. Unfortunately i was there temporarily, and with Bulgarian salary and subsistence money (i hope this is the exact word), i could only afford 1 day with Fast Lane Racing School at Streets of Willow with my car. Did 10-12 Autocrosses at California Speedway, El Toro too.





While in the USA, I bought the book and the DVD and this really gave me a deeper insight to the art of driving fast and this lit the flame. I was reading through the forum and saw some posts from Carl Lopez and other guys mentioning that they are SB instructors. Yesterday i posted some tips from Gerardo Bonilla about the R/T 2000 at iRacing and looked through the instructor list.

Now, when back in Bulgaria, sometimes go to track days in my daily driver. Not that there are lots of tracks One bigger, and mostly karting tracks.

Here are few videos from this year:

The first video is when, after one of my "projects" had bad synchros, i decided to learn to double declutch. Read few times the chapter in "Going Faster" about double declutching, memorized the procedure (clutch-in, neutral, clutch-out, blip, clutch-in, in gear, clutch-out). After 2 weeks of practice in iRacing and with the PC pedals i got the hang of it, and after that used it in real life. After some analysis of the logs, i improved greatly the corner entry and the technique, although still releasing the pressure on the brakes when blipping.

Onboard, Double Clutch Heel and Toe

Side Mirror

T9-T10-T11 Pass 3

These days mainly playing with a DASH2 + DL1 data logger and mainly behind the computer. Thanks to iRacing i have some idea how the R/T 2000 performs and can relate what i see in the DVD/book to the simulation. You really need the experience in order to create your mental model of how stuff works. No matter how much i read, if i don't make the mistakes, experience it i rarely understand it or store it in the long term memory. I also when have time try to push the people i know to educate themselves - driving techniques, etc. Sometimes translate from English to Bulgarian interesting articles and try to have meaningful discussions of what it takes to be fast.

So, i don't have the honor of personally knowing any of you, but i want to express my appreciation to all, who in one way or another make us better persons. I hope Carl and all SB guys that contributed to "Going Faster", as well all of you that share your valuable insights and tips understand what a great impact you have on the world around and far away from you.

At least for me, driving, although rarely and delving deep in the WHYs in theory makes me better person. I like knowing WHY i am slow and fast (as you can see the qoute from my signature). Even if I am not fast, or don't have the chance or skills to prepare and drive real race car, i still enjoy more than anything the path that i walk. I tried to find another hobby, as this one takes most of my conscious time, but with no success

I am sure most of you will be able to use much better the information that i found, so in a way, this makes me feel good that i can help someone else. After all, my grandparents (all of them) were teachers, so I must have inherited something from them

[Andor]

wow alot of good info in the OP! Def. was looking into some of the links u posted and an hr passed by of me reading some of the info and realized i was only on the 1st link, and like half way through the slides! good stuff, thank you for the post

[lz2lps]

Article 1: Compound Corners - Racelogic, Advanced Circuit Driving Techniques

Article 2: Slow Corners & Hairpins - Racelogic, Advanced Circuit Driving Techniques

[Gerardo]

Thank you Lyubomir.