Would like to hear from other bracket racers what you think about racepak. Thanks.

Thinking about getting sportsman, with IQ3 dash..and all the basic sensors with 02s.

I would recommend you look at the RPM loggers. You get more for your money and they are really nice. Also you end up with a cleaner wiring. They also have the dash.

I've used a Sportsman since 2009 and it's been flawless. I don't have the dash and only log a few things though.

None better than Racepak.

Got a V300 with Racepak gauges in my Firebird and the UDX Logger Dash in my dragster.

Nuff said.

If all fresh build get the logger dash and add on to it. If already have gauges and just want logging get a sportsman, but don't worry about logging oil pressure and water temp till way later. Get the important things, Fuel pressure, Vacuum pressure, o2 sensors, and Shock travel eventually. Oil pressure on the avg bracket car will tell you nothing until after you already kicked the rod out. You can pull the data up, see the loss of OP and then crazy RPM's where its coming apart. Same with water temp, you have raced this long without it not really needed, IMO. Get the important stuff, then add to it each year if needed.

quote:

Originally posted by Curly1:
I would recommend you look at the RPM loggers. You get more for your money and they are really nice. Also you end up with a cleaner wiring. They also have the dash.

Nothing wrong with RPM but Racepak is best. Wiring is much cleaner,,, no idea why you state that RPM is better,,, additional sensor just piggy back on each other therefore one wire to the data logger!

Racepak and Greg Kelley hands down.

quote:

Originally posted by Slick Vic:
If all fresh build get the logger dash and add on to it. If already have gauges and just want logging get a sportsman, but don't worry about logging oil pressure and water temp till way later. Get the important things, Fuel pressure, Vacuum pressure, o2 sensors, and Shock travel eventually. Oil pressure on the avg bracket car will tell you nothing until after you already kicked the rod out. You can pull the data up, see the loss of OP and then crazy RPM's where its coming apart. Same with water temp, you have raced this long without it not really needed, IMO. Get the important stuff, then add to it each year if needed.

SV

You are wrong about oil pressure! It can save your motor!

Have played with Autometer, Racepak and RPM

I think the one with the steepest learning curve is Racepak. Once you get it figured out its fine but there directions do seem a little lacking and customer service @ Racepak is the least helpfull of the three.

Autometer customer service seems eager to help. They even sat down with me @ Springfling to show me some tricks.

RPM will take your harness after you get it mocked up for wire lengths and put all you conectors on for a clean install. They seem very easy to work with is well.

Rpm seems to give the smoothest data lines. Both Autometer and Racepak I needed to filter the data to get cleaner lines.

Would not be worried about running any of them are all good just sharing my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by TOP38:
Nothing wrong with RPM but Racepak is best. Wiring is much cleaner,,, no idea why you state that RPM is better

because it's what he uses and he's CLUELESS

quote:

Racepak and Greg Kelley hands down.

THIS^^^

quote:

Originally posted by TOP38:

quote:

Originally posted by Slick Vic:
don't worry about logging oil pressure and water temp till way later.

SV

You are wrong about oil pressure! It can save your motor!

EXACTLY!

Thanks for the info. Already have msd grid so want to tie events...so pretty set on racepak.

Not afraid of software, hacked GM code years ago to be able to tune GM efi equipment. So I'm sure I'll get it.

Main question or looking for experience on things logger helped you see in your program.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ski_dwn_it,

once you use it to verify pressures, temps, converter flash/fallback, O2, vacuum, etc. it's just along for the ride doing what it's designed to do, collecting data.

We record every run and download after every pass to confirm everything is normal.

I think any of them will work. I bought Racepak because my friends have Racepak and can help if I have a problem. I wish their sensors weren’t so expensive and I agree on the oil pressure. I look at the gauge before I pull in, if it’s got oil pressure I’m going to the finish line.

The Autometer dash looks the best to me. I don’t like the Racepak dashes, I’m used to looking at regular gauges, but I’m old.

I will definitely have oil pressure. I'd be lost without it. Check out before burn out, before staging, and even watch it thru run at given points. I'll be all screwed up trying to look in new spot...lol

What i was saying is if you don't get the dash and use regular gauges, then you can monitor OP like you do now. Knowing what the OP is every millisec doesn't have any value, so if just going with a logger and not a dash hold off on it if $ is an issue. Get more important things that vary a lot, like o2, shocks, Fuel, vacuum. Later on add OP and water temp if you would like. If you are getting a dash, then yes get an OP sensor because you have no way of monitoring at that point.

still say logging oil pressure is a must and downloading after every run and reviewing the run data/graphs might just save your engine, your car, your life.

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
still say logging oil pressure is a must and downloading after every run and reviewing the run data/graphs might just save your engine, your car, your life.

This will be done and for nothing else having the warnings set is another must IMHO. 200 bucks is a cheap price to pay if the rest of the system is in place.

I really like the Racepak IQ3 Drag dash, I have one in my car and have installed a few.
Great data

quote:

Originally posted by ski_dwn_it:
Already have msd grid so want to tie events...


Main question or looking for experience on things logger helped you see in your program.

IMO there's two categories:

1. Making a good car really really good.
2. Chasing a particular problem.

In category 2 you just add the sensors in the offending area (trans / converter pressure would be a good example).

In category 1, In addition to RPM, DS rpm, volts and G-meter, I recommend oil pressure, O2 and fuel pressure. (Stock/Super Stock cars with .4 difference between their heads-up mode vs bracket mode would be different).

With the above mix I feel you can correlate any time slip that's not good to something not matching in the log of a good run.

Regarding Oil pressure, I have personally seen oil pressure save 2 motors. One was Joey D's 6.7x TD/bracket car - car looses oil pressure in the shutdown after winning the round, he gets towed back and finds dry sump belt is off, he's thinking fix the loose bracket and go up for the next round. But, we look at data log and see oil pressure started dropping 1.8 seconds before he lifted and was down to 5 lbs at that point. He wisely decided to put it in the trailer. When pan was pulled yes, it had started to heat up some bearings.

Had similar issues in my own car with oil not draining back fast enough and OP going down to 40 at the stripe.

One last comment, occasionally I have had this kind of scenario: I sell a nice data system to a guy - he buys everything I recommend. I see him at the track and he grumbles that he doesn't get anything out of his system and doesn't even bother down loading it anymore. So I see the same guy a year later at the same race (maple Grove Divisional) - he goes that thing is worth it weight in gold, saved my butt. It turns out he made a bunch of changes to his car over the winter and the car was .2 slow instead of .2 faster he expected. Because he had all that ho-hum data from last year he got the car squared away in 2 outings rather than all summer.

Hey Greg. Thanks for the info...I was the one you quoted the package to last week. Appreciated the conversion and input. I'm an engineer, so I have to think I researched everything to the 9th degree. Also why I want all this data to drive myself nuts with. LoL. I miss the days of EFI and reviewing data etc. Now just going to need to figure out how to do it running two classes, and with two jrs.

I have the oil pressure, oil temperature, trans temperature, 8-O2's, driveshaft RPM, Engine RPM, water temp, Brake pressure, Vacuum, volts and fuel pressure. They have all been very helpful at one time or another. I had 4 EGT and they were useless for me and I no longer use them. The O2 is much more reliable and accurate from my experience and would not waste any money on EGT.


Once you get a good tune up or dyno the motor the data logger can help you get your tune up right much quicker if you make any changes. It can also help you find any issues. For instance one time I noticed the voltage was down, found out the alternator had quit working. Starting charging the battery and made it down to 3 cars that night. Had I not noticed that on the logger I probably would not have known there was an issue until the car would not start.