Garmin Catalyst

I have one, have not tried it. Several people have found it helpful. I think it will depend on the driver’s individual skills / development- seasoned and skilled vs new/raw.

I know 2 have come flying off the magnetic mount during an incident. I purchased the tether and improved mount from TMI, based out of VIR (they also sell the Garmin too)

 

I cannot say enough about the Garmin, the video is perfect and the unit is very, very easy to use. The real time +/- is fantastic. The data is plenty to review and get better, it will splice your segments and give you video of your “optimal” lap plus that time. I think it’s like going from a blackberry to an iPad.

 

just got this unit. seems easy to use. two questions: 1) can you use this when not on a track? 2) is there any other mounts for the camera? I don't want a permeant deal on my window. Thanks!

 

For 2), maybe an idea is to attach the camera to a suction mount?

 

yes i tried to find one that fit the camera but could not. i am surprised one has not been made (or comes with the product)

 

From a BMW forum https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1754580 (see posts #11 and #23) this Garmin suction mount 010-12530-05 seems to be working... better double checking though.

 

awesome!!! ordering now!!!

 

It is a great unit. I ordered a racebox but there wa a mixup, not sure if it is worth trying to reorder

 

I don't really understand how predictive feature works. How can it determine if you can take a,corner faster than you just did? ,seems like it can lead to trouble if giving driver incentive to corner faster if they're already near max of their skill level

 

anyone know how to download videos off of it? does it come with the memory card?

 

There is a calibration procedure even if the track is in the database. G-meter will report back when the car is reaching its limit. As for the second question it doesn't electroshock you, it provides feedback. I'd never tell someone to start with this versus a few laps with an instructor. Humans help you build the confidence, the computer optimizes what you have learned. It has helped me with braking zones

MicroSD card. https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=84p60KQ7qC3ESA7YBwHrw6

 

thx!

 

but how does it know if car is at its limit? what if change tires or even gas level since last session which can change limits? dont need a shock but just seeing it say 'go faster' can make driver exceed real limits.

 

this is a coach, not a race computer on pit lane walls. if you haven't done some track days this should not be the first thing you look at.

 

Check out the Apex Pro

 

So I have the catalyst and used it my last trackday... kinda screwed up a bit, so learn from my mistakes

Physical setup - super easy
Before a session - you need to turn your car on 5 mins before so that it gets satellite lock. my first session wasn't recorded because it didn't have a stationary lock

How it works.
- It builds up a history on that day of your laps, best segments, loads at each corner and gives advice based on YOUR best segments.
- If you have it set up to bluetooth in your car and the stereo on... or connect it to a headset you're using then you'll be able to hear it. If not, you can't hear the unit with it's own speaker. (This was an error I made not setting this up)
- After the session it's very easy to review your laps corner by corner
- After each session it will tell you your 3 "opportunities", which are the 3 segments of the track where you were the most off your best lap. It does show acceleration / braking, entry and exit lines and it's very easy to understand.

Overall...
- For your first few track sessions, you don't need this, get a real live coach in your ear
- This feels good for learning sessions
- Would not be good in race environments where due to traffic and intentionally taking inopportune lines, it's just going to keep yelling at you

For 1k, I like it. It's a super easy camera setup and I expect future GUI enhancements as the software gets updated often.

 

Yeah, it is certainly for those sessions after you've been coached and running the track freely. Like a continuing education. The speaker was not great, but better than some beeps and chimes in other units, bluetooth FTW! I am tempted to take it out to Thermal in a couple weeks.

I bought in to the Garmin ecosystem at home for fitness trackers, so I am wondering if there will be an integration for biofeedback coming up. Just noodling that around, I want to also get the Marq Driver