I have an MVPI2 and Track Addict on a 2013 Buick and would like to get data such as GPS, G force, throttle position, etc while autocrossing. Can anybody recommend an Android tablet for data logging this and replaying between runs for some analysis? Is it possible to use tablet as a digital dash? Do tablets have built in and accurate GPS?
Although I don't have any specific tablet recommendations right now (I'm presently looking to permanently install one into my own race car too), I can tell you that most will not include a GPS, so you'd likely need to use a compatible external GPS like a Qstarz BT-Q818XT for Android. Some tablets do have an internal GPS, but I wouldn't count on that unless its advertised as such, and an external GPS is still better anyway. As for the tablet itself, the specs you'll want will depend on what you're doing with it... I'd first look for a recent version of Android (say 6.0 or newer), Bluetooth and WiFi support, a good amount of RAM, and good screen... some budget ones may have limited viewing angle or a less responsive touchscreen. If you're also going to record or view video on it (which might not be very practical with an installed tablet), then I'd also want at least a fast quad-core, and high capacity SD card support with easy access to swap cards out.
While TrackAddict does have some digital dash capabilities (viewable from the Camera Preview and Record screens), it is all optimized for track use, so there are a few simple data displays and most of the screen is taken up by status and lap timing info. Now that we have released the MPVI2 with bluetooth support, there's a good opportunity and obvious incentive for us to take this further, so that's something I'd really like to see and work on in the future, but I can't speak to any timeline at this point...
Thanks Weston, that is helpful
I assumed that I could also data log with an Android device using Scanner, am I wrong about this?
VCM Scanner connects directly to the MPVI/MPVI2 via USB or Bluetooth (MPVI2) using your computer, while TrackAddict connects to the MPVI2 via Bluetooth and is presently setup for SAE parameter polling (this is a subset of what's available in VCM Scanner).Originally Posted by marksawatsky
Unfortunately it's presently only practical to log with one product at a time, although we are working on future enhancements that could benefit users desiring this...
1) If you have two OBD devices on an OBD splitter, they'd both be trying to poll the parameters at the same time which usually doesn't work very well. A way to possibly make that work would be to select only broadcast parameters and no polling parameters, which VCM Scanner can do (TrackAddict can't yet, but might in the future).
2) If you have one MPVI2 and want to use multiple apps with it at the same time (such as VCM Scanner and TrackAddict), then that is presently not supported, as the MPVI2 is set up for just one connection at a time. Although I don't know if we'll ever have two connections at the same time, we are working on additional MPVI2 enhancements (a future firmware update) that would have it take on more of the work itself. This could greatly improve performance and enable TrackAddict to get access to all of the parameters that VCM Scanner has available, possibly eliminating the desire to use both apps at the same time, and it also opens the door for some of our future plans for sharing data across various devices.
Thanks. There are times I want to log data from the engine(to go back and see if that sputter was AFR or fuel pressure,etc) and other times I want to use Track Addict to analyze my laps to find ways to improve. Ideally, I could see a GPS map of my lap and see what my throttle position, afr, speed, G force, etc were at any point in the lap.
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