Race Logic Vbox Software

[Yoana Terrano]

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There is nothing better when an actual practitioner creates a product because it comes from necessity and passion. Racelogic is run and owned by Julian Thomas a race driver I race against. He is a bit handy as it happens having won piles of stuff including the FiA Master Championship in 2018, which is mighty impressive!

If anyone has watched any F1 over the last few years they know the amount of Data that is analysed by the mechanics and drivers. Also, you will be aware of how much work on the super expensive simulators the drivers do, partly due to the limits on testing, but also because of the convenience. Simulators are pretty damned good even at the cheaper end, yes you can spend anywhere from 500 for a Thrustmaster wheel and pedals to 35,000 for a full direct-drive rig and F1 are obviously adding a couple of zeros to that. The usefulness of a rig will be how close it is to reality and how you can compare and translate that practice to reality. I mean how can you take home a tricky corner issue and sort it out on the rig at home..... enter the Vbox sim pack...

Racelogic make a host of kit for the race cars for data logging and a handy piece of software called Circuit Tools. The SIM pack comes with the Racelogic lap timer. This comes pre-loaded with tracks and logs all the lovely data, from lap times, all kinds of G, speed etc. This is the heart of the Sim pack and this can not only be used on the Sim rig at home, but in your car as well. It comes complete with the GPS aerial, car cables and mountings. This is where the magic is. You can do a bunch of laps at the track and come home and compare the laps side-by-side with your sim laps and adjust your driving technique to overcome that troublesome corner and go back to the track as the master.

To allow this to happen the sim pack has some special software and a crafty little video capture box that you plug into either a spare HDMI port on your graphics card or in serial with your current screen. (HDMI to capture box and HDMI out to the screen). Currently, the capture box supplied is the Avermedia LGP LITE (I know Racelogic are looking at alternatives). I found it slightly quirky to set up, probably because I set it up feeding my Oculus Rift first. Unfortunately, the Avermedia and Rift don't actually talk to each other. I am guessing it's all about the Rift turning itself on/off automatically etc and is only on when asked for and the Avermedia box doesn't understand. I have an old plasma screen which also seemed to need connecting in a specific order or the Avermedia box would just sit there not finding a screen. I am going from (GTX1070) DVI to HDMI on the Avermedia and HDMI to the Plasma and after a couple of minutes plugging and unplugging we got there. The Avermedia box is powered and controlled from a usb. The Racelogic laptimer connects with 1 usb and 1 power adaptor that comes in the pack. So there isn't much to connect up. Next load up the software provided on the SD card, this consists of VBox interface software, Avermedia drivers and software and circuit tools for analysis.

The software doesn't ask for a reboot, but it's always a good idea to do one after installing drivers in Windows. After this you just need the Vbox software open then open your sim software. I am using Assetto Corsa it's one of my favourites. Then just like at the track whenever you go out on track the Vbox starts logging data and recording video. Now you have magic and you can compare braking points, lines G levels, etc from real life to sim life.

The Avermedia capture box has not got great specs and this box only does 1080p at 25fps, which is the bare minimum really. There are places where the playback is a little stuttery doing to the frame rate but on the whole its very useable. Obviously you need an accurate car model in the sim, and there are a lot of cars built in Assetto Corsa. I built this car because the Funcup is pretty special and they didn't exist anywhere. (If you need a bespoke car building I can get that done for you). Having accurate data to refer back to is going to be a complete game-changer for practice and for coaching. If anyone fancies any coaching then drop me a contact, I am a qualified ARDS instructor, so I can help on track or bring my SIM or both!

Vbox works in most simulators, Assetto Corsa, RFactor, and even in iRacing. I have only used this in Assetto Corsa so far, but what an amazing bit of kit, which really works well. Having used Vbox equipment in race cars for a couple of years now its really great quality, it's nice to have the same equipment and quality to use on the sim at home. If you are a race driver of any sort you really need to get some time with this.

Many systems can record video and data...not with the elegance and revealing analysis you get with the Video VBOX systems. The automatic data overlay, combined with "Circuit Tools" data analysis software, really tells the full story. Now available, the Racelogic Video VBOX line is the same professional-level technology used by all major vehicle manufacturers and top race teams worldwide.

Easily compare two different drivers, in completely different cars, or the same driver, to previous laps or sessions. We love this system and highly recommend it for its accuracy, delivery on promised features, operational ease-of-use, and quality.

Is the driver being smooth? Using the tires properly? In fast, out backwards? Throwing it into the corner, or turning in too early? Getting to the throttle soon enough? Do you need 10Hz timing on an open road course with a different start/finish line, as opposed to a closed-loop course? The Video VBOX will show you how to knock seconds off lap times for an average driver, and help find tenths for a pro.

Use the second camera as a picture-in-picture display. Show the driver's feet and hands, capture video of your passenger, point it at the suspension, or rearward to see what's going on behind. Use the setup software to insert your own graphics into the scene. Multiple graphic formats can be used for gauges, backgrounds, text, etc., to customize your final video. There are over 130 tracks in the database. Easily add yours, if not already included.

Configuration: The Video VBOX Lite 2-Camera System comes with two cameras, two very solid suction-cup mounts (one specifically for a front windscreen), a cigarette lighter power cable, a strong, magnetic-base GPS antenna, a USB cable, and a 4Gig SD card (almost 2 hours). Optionally, choose the package that includes the OLED Display and save over purchasing separately.

Setup takes less than five minutes and all components are available individually. In addition to the items below, there are many options for installation, for acquiring CAN data, a 20Hz GPS, and systems (VBOX Pro) with up to 4 cameras. Contact us to discuss the right configuration for your application.

The VBOX Micro Input Module is a small, highly cost effective input module ideal for use in applications that only require a minimum of additional signals to be recorded, providing one RPM (digital) input and four analog inputs.

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