GARMIN CATALYST DRIVING PERFORMANCE
 

anybody seen one of these yet? looks pretty cool for us peasant guys that dont have pdr in the car from factory


https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/690726

Paddock neighbor at last weekends event had one, so we checked it out. The Bluetooth live coaching sounds really helpful, and it does “roll up” speed opportunities after a session to give focus to your improvement areas. Also, the video quality was incredible. Setup seemed simple enough: hard mount camera by rear view, mount the dash cradle, and install/connect Bluetooth headset in your helmet.

After the weekend, I listened to Speed Secrets podcast 160, which goes into depth about the product development. (Recommend you listen). There are a few items mentioned that seemed like blatant misses from Garmin that were discussed on that podcast: no video overlays when you export/upload video files (they’re shown on device, but don’t stack with the upload to PC). Also, there is no support for any OBD2 data. Hopefully these could be fixed through firmware updates. Otherwise, you’d probably end up using a second data system for those coverage areas. Also note: I didn’t witness these shortcomings myself; they were discussed on podcast.

A friend of mine used it and throughly enjoyed it. I plan on buying one but I'm going to wait because I definitely think they will add the overlay and OBD2 data at some point as that would make it perfect ������

i like it and being that i may spend $350 on a new gopro might be cool to check out but $999 jesus

I just used it this weekend, one of my friends bought it and we put it my car while we ran different sessions. It is really neat, video quality is really good and clear. I had it hooked up to the Bluetooth in the car and it would tell me my lap time, also screen is pretty big to be able to see you delta -+ on your current lap. The live coaching took about 3-4 sessions to really start giving me areas of improvement, only down fall on the suggested race line given is it assumes its perfectly flat and no patches on the track. I was running MSR houston and into the Key hole it would want me to stay wide and late apex it running CCW, I take a different line and take advantage of the concert patch that is there. The Garmin uses a 10hz for GPS as the PDR in our cars uses a 5hz the lap times seemed to be about 0.1-0.3 different. Since i have the PDR in my car i dont see me buying one, as you get a lot more data from the PDR than the Garmin. But definitely an option for people who dont have the PDR

now question for you guys if you had a pdr would you actually buy this or not?

The PDR really sets the bar for ease-of-use and data, especially if you are going to use the Pi Toolbox. The major complaint is video quality.


I've been eye-balling the system and reviews. I'd like to try one, but I think that I will wait until they "expand" the capabilities to address the short-comings. I've read a few reviews from experienced racers and the suggestions have limits.



https://www.facebook.com/beastzl1/posts/353706976048640

yea i agree if it was under $500 id probably get one and try and it out and test it for the price it better work damn good! but anything is better than no pdr haha

If you look at an aim lap timer at 3-400$ without a camera (their camera is $999 btw) and then the fact the garmin talks to you and will physically show you where your line is and where it should/could be this is a pretty good deal for someone that doesn't have PDR or a lap timer already,

yea i only have a peasant 1ss so no option for pdr so for aim lap timer and camera built i guess its not super bad and i wouldnt need a new go pro either

It is not a replacement for something like an Aim or PDR if you want to do deep data analysis. However, it is really good at giving live feedback while on track which is super helpful. It also does a nice job of giving you suggestions on areas to focus on next session without ever having to sync data or open a laptop.

I made a couple of videos that might help.

This is an on-track session recorded with the PDR but you can hear the audio suggestions as I paired it to the stereo via Bluetooth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXZyTl0Q3VA

This is a walk-through of the after session debrief.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itYwUKdnoRA

Last, this is what the video looks like that it produces. It's nice quality but doesn't have a data overlay like PDR.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPSq8c7KDX8

the talking to me would probably be annoying lol since you have pdr do you think its something you would really pay $999 for ?

I did and think it's worth it but it all depends on what you're looking for. You can tone down or turn off the in car cues. Prior to getting the Garmin I was also running an Aim anyway because I wanted the predicted lap timer. The Garmin replaced that with a much nicer display at a minimum.

I don't have many track days with it yet but it is helpful to know when you've gone through a corner faster than before in real-time rather than looking at data after your session. I'm struggling a bit to put to use it's suggestions to apex sooner or later though.

While I am really in to data analysis and love the PDR I often find I'm too lazy to look at the data until I get home. The Garmin isn't as detailed but it's really convenient to use after each session. Get out of the car, pop the tablet off the mount, I see I am losing 0.4s in hogpen and another 0.3 in the T11-12 complex at VIR, now I have two things I can focus on doing better next session. Easy peasy.

I mainly do scca time attack time trials. No doubt this device will help. I'll be buying one before my next event. But can it be setup and used for "start/stop" events like track sprints and autox?