Is anyone aware of options for lap times that are inexpensive? With the 206 there doesn’t appear to be a need to temp or RPM so what are options for onboard lap times. The value of Mychrons 4’s is still in the 200 plus range when they do come up for sale. Any lower cost alternatives?
You’d think such a thing existed but nooooooo. To the best of my knowledge I have not seen a basic timer that works with beacons/transceivers. I fake it using telemetry data and defining the start/stop in racerender. Only useful post race, tho, in vid.
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If your tracks have a magnetic strip an older Alfano should do the job .All you need and more.
Check out the AIM solo. It’s for cars, so it probably won’t have kart tracks programed, but it is easy to program the start finish line. Give really solid data, and it has the predictive and ± timing that I find really helpful.
I used one for years in my car. Best go-fast part I ever bought.
I like using a mychron or alfano just because I like to see my lap times and my rpms. RPMS helps when you are trying to figure out if you are on the right gear. Also, it helps you to see where you are losing time on certain parts of the track.
If you can afford it get a Mychron 5. I have used Alfano 6, Unipro, and the Mychron 5. They all do the same stuff, but the Race Studio 3 software is what makes the Mychron 5 so so good. If you want to really analyse your data then this is what I would recommend.
In all honesty, I will only look at the Mychron to see the lap time, peak temp and rpm. The rest I do in the laptop after each session with my son. I look at the lateral and longitudinal g’s, gps track traces and how far he travels through each corner vs the time taken, braking points, turn in and how where he turns throughout the corner. It really is an amazing bit of kit.
My point is, you may think you only want to see the lap time and rpm, but they can be used for so much more without adding sensors.
Alfano 3 Pro Evo
Unipro
Dakton RKS
All I’ll chime in with is that you don’t need the latest and greatest. I am running a Mychron 5 (not 5s) and it has everything and more than I need as a new LO206 racer. Ryan Norberg still uses a Mychron 4. If it works for him, it will work for you!
Might be hard to find something sub-200 that will auto-track your lap times. Maybe check locally or at swap meets to see if someone has an old dusty MyChron 3 or lower that you could pick up. I used the 3 for a long time after the 4 came out.
The cheapest would be to tape a stopwatch to your fairing and hit the button each lap.
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Racechrono app maybe? Make sure you cell phone has a really good cell phone reception and also GPS set for accuracy.
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I think an old Alfano fits the bill, if your local track has the magnetic strip underneath it.
Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, the older Alfano is a no go at our track as there are no strips. They do put out the Mycrhon beacon at least. I would consider a Mychron 3 but they are tough to come by and I think the value has actually gone up too. The stopwatch on my steering wheel could be an idea?
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I recall seeing Walter Rohl driving the gt3rs doing his lap timing casually on his wristwatch. I bet it’s accurate if you are consistent about it.
Not sure if anything ever came of this, but it was in your price range
Thats interesting. Do you have first hand experience with this device? I wonder if that were mounted on the wheel would it give lap times or would you have to download them post session?
Amazon has lap timers for sale that are a receiver/transmitter set for about $70…very basic but logs times and can be downloaded later. Never tried it myself, but may fit the bill
That might fit the bill perfectly. It looks like there are 2 options, the $72 unit has a built in battery and info can be downloaded, while less expensive loses both of those features but is $44. It looks like it operates off of infrared signal which I believe the AIM / Mychron 3 and 4 do as well. I wonder if the AIM beacon would trip the timer?
Click image to open expanded view
eoocvt V4 Bestlap Lap Timer Infrared Ultrared Racing Track Professional Receiver Beacon Transmitter Stopwatch for Car Karting
No experience with it, just remembered it popping up here before.
The racebox mini needs to be connected to a smartphone.
You could get a smartphone mount for your wheel and check your data in real time like a data logger
I’ve used an app in a pinch, and it does work, however I agree with others, you really need the RPM data to know just what is going on with gearing, particularly with a 4 stroke where you have a harder time estimating the actual RPMS (200 rpm difference is pretty hard to hear…) Maybe I’m lucky, but I was gifted a Mychron 2, and if you have a beacon, that’s all your really need, RPM and laptime, not fancy, but functional. We only use it on 4 stroke where temp just isn’t all that important.