Garmin Catalyst Driving Performance Optimizer

[marvinp]

Product Page

It launched today. I've been looking for something "All-In-One" that does camera + track info but this package does a lot more. It supports all of the tracks I would go to in California (Thunderhill, Laguna Seca, Sonoma Raceway and Buttonwillow). Overall it supports 450 tracks worldwide.

It's pricey ($999) but I ended up ordering one. If it lives up to what they promise, I think it'll be worth it.

[Suds]

I ordered one too, cheaper than a set of tires!
Hopefully will last a lot longer.

[fanatic1]

Looking forward to your reviews

[paffinity]

Wondering how it handles tracks that make slight changes. I assume that it'll learn the track based on previous laps, but I really hope it doesn't tell me to turn or brake on a non-existent turn.

[marvinp]

Originally Posted by paffinity

Wondering how it handles tracks that make slight changes. I assume that it'll learn the track based on previous laps, but I really hope it doesn't tell me to turn or brake on a non-existent turn.

Not sure but I'm guessing there is a way to address that either manually or it takes care of it automatically. The manual mentions of a way to set track configurations but doesn't go into details of what is configurable. Also, according to their docs, the coaching won't kick in until after 3 laps. So it's possible that also gives it time to learn the track configuration.

[dvq]

No OBD or can support? Interesting but maybe not at this price point without vehicle integration.

[dvq]

Okay well I bought one anyways, if I don’t like it I can just sell it back.

[Intensemojo]

Let’s us know when it arrives and report back please. I was planning on getting a Solo 2 this week

[dvq]

Mine arrives on Thursday and have track days on Sept 19th and 26th to test it out.

Once I figure out how the camera mounts if I can find extra sticky tabs or something -- I'll let people in the bay area borrow it if they wanna try it for free, just have to leave a cash deposit for the full price of the unit with me.

[ATX_M3]

I picked one up and will be testing @ COTA at the end of the month. Will let y'all know...looking forward to reading other feedback before then!

[dvq]

Incase those of you picking one up don't want to use the adhesive ball mount joint and want a suction cup one, I found this one on garmin's that seems to work with the Garmin Dash Cam Mini -- which is basically almost the exact same camera included in the Catalyst.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[marvinp]

I got my Garmin Catalyst today and unboxed it. I haven't installed it yet and won't be able to test it on the track this month (September is really busy at work right now). So it'll have to wait until October.

I did look at what's in the box and here are my first impressions:

• The tablet itself is super sturdy and comes in this rugged casing. The back plastic has a textured feel which gives it grip and makes it feel higher end (not like cheap plastic)
• It feels like it comes with a million little cables and parts in the box. It's a bit overwhelming at first, but once you start putting it together, it starts to make sense.
• It comes with a hardwiring kit if you plan on mounting this permanently in the car. I thought that was nice of them to include.
• Unfortunately, the camera only works if the tablet unit is connected to power. I was hoping I could charge the tablet before track sessions and put the cable/charger away during track sessions.
• The tablet is running Android, the M release to be more specific (which is old). I used to be on the Android team, so I tinkered around a bit They are using dev keys which means you have access to do pretty much whatever you want. I could imagine that if there's more interest in this device, folks could build custom apps that run on it during their track sessions.
• The tablet can record about 7 hours of video. I peeked at the storage and it's got 13.21 GB of internal storage available and additional 28.32 GB on an internal SD card. You can hook in an external microSD card on the outside for more storage.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the package. It remains to be seen how well it does on the track. Best case, I have a solution that records my track sessions and gives me valuable coaching feedback. If the coaching isn't valuable then I'm at least left with a solution for recording my track sessions, which is what I've been looking for.

[marvinp]

Originally Posted by dvq

Incase those of you picking one up don't want to use the adhesive ball mount joint and want a suction cup one, I found this one on garmin's that seems to work with the Garmin Dash Cam Mini -- which is basically almost the exact same camera included in the Catalyst.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Great find! I'm going to order one because I don't want to put a permanent ball mount in my car.

[drroc]

I am very curious to hear if the coaching feedback is any good or not. For some tracks, you have to take advantage of dips in the corner, so I wonder how this will address this. A track is not just a 2D surface.

[fanatic1]

Originally Posted by drroc

I am very curious to hear if the coaching feedback is any good or not. For some tracks, you have to take advantage of dips in the corner, so I wonder how this will address this. A track is not just a 2D surface.

Good point, like t6 at Laguna

[Suds]

Mine arrived this morning, it feels solid and it’s a big piece. I haven’t decided where I want to mount it but I think low, maybe try and block the the center display screen.
Anyway, I have two track days this weekend to test this thing out.

The first thing I saw when loading tracks was the local track showed up, but it’s run both directions and I was only given one choice. I will see how that is handled. It does look like you can create your own tracks, handy for Auto-X.

[Suds]

i am going to try this mounting for the display unit at the track this weekend.

[paffinity]

Looks good!
Where will you be mounting the camera?

[dth656]

Originally Posted by marvinp

I got my Garmin Catalyst today and unboxed it. I haven't installed it yet and won't be able to test it on the track this month (September is really busy at work right now). So it'll have to wait until October.

I did look at what's in the box and here are my first impressions:

• The tablet itself is super sturdy and comes in this rugged casing. The back plastic has a textured feel which gives it grip and makes it feel higher end (not like cheap plastic)
• It feels like it comes with a million little cables and parts in the box. It's a bit overwhelming at first, but once you start putting it together, it starts to make sense.
• It comes with a hardwiring kit if you plan on mounting this permanently in the car. I thought that was nice of them to include.
• Unfortunately, the camera only works if the tablet unit is connected to power. I was hoping I could charge the tablet before track sessions and put the cable/charger away during track sessions.
• The tablet is running Android, the M release to be more specific (which is old). I used to be on the Android team, so I tinkered around a bit They are using dev keys which means you have access to do pretty much whatever you want. I could imagine that if there's more interest in this device, folks could build custom apps that run on it during their track sessions.
• The tablet can record about 7 hours of video. I peeked at the storage and it's got 13.21 GB of internal storage available and additional 28.32 GB on an internal SD card. You can hook in an external microSD card on the outside for more storage.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the package. It remains to be seen how well it does on the track. Best case, I have a solution that records my track sessions and gives me valuable coaching feedback. If the coaching isn't valuable then I'm at least left with a solution for recording my track sessions, which is what I've been looking for.

unrelated, but if you worked on that team, did you ever drive w/ droids and friends?

this seems like a reasonable alternative to the aim solo, i'm also curious to hear feedback from users!

[marvinp]

Originally Posted by dth656

unrelated, but if you worked on that team, did you ever drive w/ droids and friends?

this seems like a reasonable alternative to the aim solo, i'm also curious to hear feedback from users!

Yep, I did drive with Droids & Friends. Unfortunately it's on hiatus for the foreseeable future.

[dvq]

Got my unit today, got a suction cup mount for the camera too.

[paffinity]

Originally Posted by dvq

Got my unit today, got a suction cup mount for the camera too.

I also got the suction cup mount was worried the view gets blocked by the mount. Have you tested the camera in that position?