If you've ever talked to a suspension engineer, shock guy, or read up on suspension setup, you've probably seen where people say the goal is to reduce the contact patch load variation. That is a complex sounding way to say that you want to minimize how much weight moves around on your car to keep the same amount of weight on each tire. We just had a great example of this in practice.

One thing that is a great measure of driver performance, chassis changes, and overall vehicle speed is minimum corner speeds (vMin). Maximum corner speeds (vMax) are a similar measure and they also show a great amount about engine health, aerodynamic changes, and more.

Some software packages pull this info out automatically, but AiM Race Studio 2 Analsys is not one of those packages. But, with the math channel package I put together you can have it automatically displayed in a channel report.  

Click "Read More" to find out how it works!

Sometimes it's easier to learn by watching, instead of reading. That is why we put together a video on AiM Race Studio 2 Analysis math channels. Math channels let you leverage the data you've collected into more advanced and focused measures to develop the driver and chassis.

There are many variables that go into selecting the right brake pads. Drivers will talk about initial bite, brake pressure required, modulation, release, and pedal feel. Engineers will look at things like brake pad wear, rotor wear, temperature profiles, coefficients of friction, and many more things. 

Operating temps are very important for the life expectancy of many wheel related items. Wheel bearings, bearing seals, caliper seals, brake lines, tires, brake fluid and many more related items absorb significant amounts of heat from the braking system. All of that heat is a considerable factor in how long those items last along with how long the brake pads will wear before losing friction levels and wearing out.

Working with lots of people on their data acquisition systems, I've seen lots of different dash and alarm light configurations. I always try to explain to people that the dash display and alarms are there for them, and they can be arranged in whatever way helps the driver the most. For many people, that means that we put the most important items all on one side, so when a light in an area comes on, they know it's important. Other items that are not as important, go on the other side so they can look and analyze what is going on when they have some time/capacity while driving. 

This is the first time I've seen this. Please don't tape over the alarm lights on your dash! We're here to help. I can walk you through reprogramming your dash so you don't have to tape over lights you don't want to be on!

Proper braking technique braking is probably the easiest thing for most people to improve upon and make a large difference in their driving and lap times. The first area most people work on is  proper application speed and amplitude followed by learning to trail off the brakes and carry more speed into corners. 

One spot to pay attention to is the consistency of how the brake pressure is bled off and how smooth this release of brake pressure is. This first graph shows a good release and a release that could use some work. It's important to work on the skill of keeping consistent and smooth brake pressure throughout the release, especially when blipping the throttle in heal and toe downshifts.

AiM has released full details of their MXS dash loggers. Essentially an MXG in a smaller package (which means it only has 6 multi-color alarms LED), it packs all the power of it's bigger sibling. Still boasting 3 CAN connections, 8 analog inputs, 4 speed inputs, 2 digital outputs, a rugged IP 65 anodized aluminum housing, there is a lot of  punch in this little package. With retail pricing at $2,299, this is going to be one hot little logger! 

Check out the full AiM data sheet after the jump.

Lots of people ask how to install different sensors. One of the most common, is the steering sensor. Their are special kits that are sold for steering sensors with belts and pulleys connecting a rotary sensor to the steering shaft, but these have the problem of needing to be tensioned and they often slip in fast steering inputs. A simple method to include a steering sensor is to use a string pot and wrap it around the steering shaft. 

One of the most exciting thing about the new MXL2 and MXG dash data loggers is their ability to provide digital outputs. These digital outputs can be used for very diverse things including extra alarm lights, ECU inputs, fans, pumps, and more. One limitation is that the digital outputs are limited to 1 amp of power draw, so by themselves, they can not operate much more than a light. Trailbrake.net has found a way to work around this - the Cartek Motorsports 4 channel Power Distribution Module (PDM).

Read more after the break.

Anyone who is serious about their car, data, or maintenance will know how much time it can take to create a spreadsheet to track the time and/or mileage on parts, get that data out of the logging software, input it into the spreadsheet, all while not making a mistake. At the top levels of motorsport, teams have created their own system to automate this system. For the rest of us, that type of automation has always been out of touch, leaving us to work away on spreadsheets.

Read more after the break