Racelogic DriftBox Instruction Manual

Racelogic Ltd Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase
and welcome to the worldwide
DriftBox community.

Drifting

With your DriftBox you will be able to display
and log your drifting performance. DriftBox
also generates a performance related Drifting
Score, which you can submit to the DriftBox
website for inclusion in the worldwide DriftBox
drifting league tables. See how your skills
compare to other DriftBox users from around
the world at www.driftbox.com

Performance

With DriftBox it is very easy to measure
acceleration times, braking distances, quarter
mile times and many more. There are a
number of configurable screens that show
specific test results such as 0-60, 0-100, 0-100­0, ½ mile and ¼ mile etc.

DriftBox is based on the Racelogic VBOX,
which is used by the majority of Car
Manufacturers, Tyre Manufacturers and car
magazines around the world to assess
performance.

Because it is very easy to edit the test ranges,
DriftBox is a very powerful tool for use in many
different kinds of vehicle testing.

Page 1

Racelogic Ltd Introduction

Lap timing

Displaying your Lap times as you drive around a circuit is simple with DriftBox. You can
display your current, last and best Lap times, and also display split times for up to six
specified split points around the lap.

Through the DriftBox website and forum you are able to download circuit overlays from
around the world, compare lap times, and share lap overlay data with other users.

Speed Display

DriftBox has a display screen mode that shows a large digital speed value and compass.
In open conditions, DriftBox has a velocity accuracy of 0.1km/h, which is useful for
checking the accuracy of your vehicle’s speedometer.

This display has a ‘Point of Interest’ facility, which alerts you as you approach the position
of a point of interest such as a safety camera or service station. POI files can be created
and edited for custom use.

Page 2

Racelogic Ltd Introduction

Power Calculations

DriftBox can help you to measure the power developed by your car’s engine, either at the
wheels or flywheel. Having set the vehicle weight, results are calculated from the
measurements taken by the fast GPS engine to give you useful guidelines to the car’s
brake horsepower or kilowatt output. Because these calculations are made from the GPS
data rather than accelerometers, your results are likely to be more consistent and accurate.

Data Logger

For drivers keen to improve their lap times and get valuable feedback on technique,
DriftBox includes a sophisticated, fully functioning datalogging package. If used with a
64mb SD card, DriftBox can log up to 50 hours of continuous data, which can be analysed
in great detail in the available software.

This software allows graphical analysis of acceleration, braking, cornering and lap times.
You can overlay up to four files, and you get an accurate track map to compare your
driving line between different laps. The software also features a graph measure tool,
allowing for precise analysis of performance figures. Data-logging capabilities are further
enhanced by automatically generated text data on the SD card.

Page 3

Racelogic Ltd Introduction

Contents

DRIFTING ...........................................................................................................................1

P

ERFORMANCE...................................................................................................................1

L

AP TIMING.........................................................................................................................2

S

PEED DISPLAY..................................................................................................................2

P

OWER CALCULATIONS .......................................................................................................3

D

ATA LOGGER....................................................................................................................3

CONTENTS .........................................................................................................................4

DRIFTING............................................................................................................................7

DRIFTING TECHNIQUES ........................................................................................................7

QUICK START GUIDE........................................................................................................9

CONNECTIONS....................................................................................................................9

M

OUNTING DRIFTBOX IN YOUR CAR......................................................................................9

Aligning Your DriftBox................................................................................................. 10

R

EGISTERING YOUR DRIFTBOX AND ACTIVATING ALL AVAILABLE FUNCTIONS. .........................10

Registering Your DriftBox...........................................................................................10

Activating Your DriftBox additional functions..............................................................10

USING DRIFTBOX ............................................................................................................12

D

RIFTBOX KEYPAD ...........................................................................................................12

C

HANGING MODES............................................................................................................12

C

HANGING THE UNITS OF MEASUREMENT ...........................................................................13

S

ATELLITE RECEPTION ......................................................................................................13

Searching for satellites at power up............................................................................13

DRIFT MODE ....................................................................................................................14

P

RACTICE ........................................................................................................................14

S

ECTORS .........................................................................................................................14

Selecting Sector Mode................................................................................................ 14

D

RIFT MODE DISPLAY SCREENS ........................................................................................15

Resetting the screens.................................................................................................15

Score Codes...............................................................................................................15

S

ECTORS .........................................................................................................................16

Creating Sectors.........................................................................................................16

Loading and Saving Sectors.......................................................................................17

PERFORMANCE MODE ...................................................................................................18

M

EASURING THE 0-60 TIME OF YOUR VEHICLE.....................................................................19

E

DITING A PERFORMANCE MODE TEST RANGE ....................................................................20

1 F

OOT ROLLOUT .............................................................................................................20

R

ESULTS FILES ................................................................................................................21

S

PEED BUZZER ................................................................................................................21

M

EASURING LAP TIMES .....................................................................................................22

Big Speed @ Split display ..........................................................................................22

Split to Split time.........................................................................................................23

Split Widths.................................................................................................................23

Clearing your Best Lap time .......................................................................................23

Laptime Pulse / Laptime Telemetry............................................................................23

Page 4

Racelogic Ltd Contents

Laptime Pulse.............................................................................................................23

Split Output.................................................................................................................24

S

TART / FINISH AND SPLIT LINES .........................................................................................24

Setting start / finish lines.............................................................................................24

Saving start / finish and Split Lines.............................................................................24

Loading start / finish and split Lines............................................................................25

Clearing start / finish and split Lines...........................................................................25

O

NE SHOT MODE .............................................................................................................25

R

ECORDING AND REVIEWING LAP AND SPLIT TIMES.............................................................26

SPEED DISPLAY MODE ..................................................................................................27

POINTS OF INTEREST (POI) ...............................................................................................27

POWER MODE .................................................................................................................28

P

OWER TESTING ..............................................................................................................28

Setting the Vehicle Weight..........................................................................................28

Power Runs................................................................................................................29

C

ALCULATING LOSSES ......................................................................................................29

DATA LOGGING...............................................................................................................31

U

SING THE SD CARD ........................................................................................................31

F

ILE TYPES.......................................................................................................................31

CONNECTING THE DRIFTBOX TO EXTERNAL DEVICES ............................................32

D

RIFT DATA OUTPUT .........................................................................................................32

NMEA

DATA OUTPUT........................................................................................................32

SETUP MENU ...................................................................................................................33

A

LIGNMENT ......................................................................................................................33

C

ONTRAST & BRIGHTNESS ................................................................................................33

D

IAGNOSTIC SCREENS ......................................................................................................33

GPS Diagnostic Screen..............................................................................................33

Yaw-rate Sensor Diagnostic Screen...........................................................................34

COLD START ....................................................................................................................34

Performing a Coldstart................................................................................................34

S

PEED BUZZER ................................................................................................................34

U

PGRADING THE DRIFTBOX FIRMWARE...............................................................................35

TROUBLESHOOTING ......................................................................................................36

DRIFTBOXTOOLS SOFTWARE.......................................................................................38

I

NSTALLATION...................................................................................................................38

O

VERVIEW .......................................................................................................................38

Graph Screen.............................................................................................................38

G

RAPH SCREEN BASICS....................................................................................................39

Loading Files..............................................................................................................39

Loading Compare Files...............................................................................................39

Removing Compare Runs ..........................................................................................39

Appending Files..........................................................................................................39

Viewing a Text File .....................................................................................................39

Loading a Circuit Overlay ...........................................................................................39

Removing a Circuit Overlay........................................................................................40

M

OVING AROUND THE GRAPHS..........................................................................................40

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Racelogic Ltd Contents

Zoom ..........................................................................................................................40

Pan.............................................................................................................................40

Cursor.........................................................................................................................40

X-Axis.........................................................................................................................40

S

ELECTING CHANNELS ......................................................................................................41

Drift Results................................................................................................................42

Lap timing results........................................................................................................43

C

HANNEL AND AXIS SETUP ................................................................................................43

Channel Setup............................................................................................................44

Axis Setup ..................................................................................................................45

E

DITING A DRIFTBOX FILE .................................................................................................46

S

AVING A DRIFTBOX FILE ..................................................................................................46

P

RINTING GRAPH DATA.....................................................................................................46

E

XPORTING GRAPH DATA..................................................................................................46

GRAPH MEASURE TOOL ....................................................................................................47

Creating a Measure Tool Window...............................................................................47

Saving and Printing the Measure Tool Data Table .....................................................47

S

TART / FINISH LINES AND SPLITS.......................................................................................48

Defining start / finish lines and splits in the DriftBox software.....................................48

Loading and Saving start / finish line and split data....................................................48

Clearing start / finish line and split data......................................................................49

Moving Splits..............................................................................................................49

S

ECTORS .........................................................................................................................49

Defining Drifting Sectors in DriftBox Tools.................................................................. 49

Loading and Saving Sectors.......................................................................................49

Clearing Sectors.........................................................................................................49

C

REATING A CIRCUIT OVERLAY..........................................................................................50

Aligning Circuit Overlays and Laps.............................................................................50

D

ISPLAYING DRIFTING RESULTS .........................................................................................51

Displaying Drifting Data from a Logged file.................................................................51

D

ISPLAYING LAP TIMES .....................................................................................................51

Loading and comparing individual laps in the Graph screen ......................................51

R

EPLAYING DRIFTBOX DATA .............................................................................................52

Replaying data with the drifting table active................................................................52

Replaying data with the Lap timing table active..........................................................52

T

OOLS .............................................................................................................................53

Formatting SD Cards..................................................................................................53

Exporting Data to Mapping Software..........................................................................53

File Repair..................................................................................................................54

O

THER FEATURES ............................................................................................................54

Summary....................................................................................................................54

Units of Measurement.................................................................................................54

Help............................................................................................................................54

INDEX................................................................................................................................55

Page 6

Racelogic Ltd Drifting

Drifting

DriftBox is the first performance meter to measure Drift Angle. A car is said to be drifting
when the rear wheels have a lateral (sideways) motion in relation to the road as well as a
longitudinal (fore-aft) motion. In fact, the moment a car starts to turn a corner, the rear
wheels need a certain amount of side-slip to go around the corner, even if you are going
very slowly.

DriftBox will measure the angle between the
direction the car is pointing, and the direction the car
is going.

Because the rear wheels need to slide a small
amount to turn a corner, DriftBox will show a small
angle (usually <5 degrees) when cornering normally,
but round very tight bends this can sometimes be up
to 10 degrees.

When using DriftBox, a drift is defined as anything over 5 degrees and 25kmh, but in most
cases you are not really drifting unless you are showing 10 degrees or more. The very top
drifters have recorded angles (using DriftBox of course!) of 65 degrees, at over 100km/h,
but this requires a lot of power, sticky tyres, a modified steering rack and a large amount of
skill.

NOTE: Drifting should only be carried out in a controlled environment, and under no
circumstances on the public highway. Please make sure you are in a large open
area, and you are wearing a suitable helmet. Drifting can be immensely rewarding
when you have mastered the technique, but you run a high risk of spinning out of
control every time you lose traction of the rear wheels.

Drifting techniques

There are many ways of making a car drift, here is a brief explanation of some of the more
popular methods. Techniques vary depending on whether your car is Front engined Rear
wheel drive (FR) or Front engined Front wheel drive (FF).

Hand Brake (FR & FF)

This is the simplest way of breaking traction on the rear wheels. Pulling on the handbrake
will lock up the rear wheels, and this will cause the amount of grip at the rear end to drop
very suddenly and the car will slide from the rear. The downside is the car will slow down
during application of the handbrake. This technique is normally used to initiate the drift, but
you cannot use this for sustained drifting.

Page 7

Racelogic Ltd Drifting

Power Oversteer (FR)

In a powerful car, flooring the throttle whilst turning the steering will cause the rear wheels
to start spinning, which will reduce the amount of grip at the rear end, causing the tail to try
and overtake the front of the car. Applying opposite lock on the steering, and then
modulating the throttle to keep the rear wheels spinning is the method of controlling this
situation. However, the more the wheels spin, the less grip they give, so if you apply too
much throttle, the car will spin out, and if you use too little, the car will stop sliding. Get the
balance right, and you’ve cracked it!

Feint or Scandinavian Flick (FR & FF)

In a high speed corner, you can usually make the rear end start to slide by turning one way
under power, lifting off, and then quickly turn the other way, so you are making a ‘feint’ the
opposite way before you go round the corner. There is a weight transfer to the front of the
car making it grip, whilst the rear becomes unloaded and should start to slide.

Clutch kick or Diff-lock (FR)

To perform a clutch kick, the throttle is floored and then the clutch is very briefly
disengaged (the ‘kick’). This causes the engine revs to rise suddenly and then immediately
transfer the extra momentum of the engine/flywheel to the rear wheels, thereby promoting
wheel spin. If you are going round a bend when you use this technique, the car should
start to slide immediately.

Be prepared to wind on opposite lock very quickly, and come off the throttle because there
is a very quick transition from gripping to sliding using this method. Ideally the throttle
should then be re-applied to keep the car sliding.

Trail Braking

This involves keeping the brakes on as you turn into a fast corner, this works best on a
downhill corner as less speed is lost.

There are many ways to drift a car, and we have only covered the basics. For more
detailed information please use resources such as

www.drifting.com, www.dailydrifter.com,

www.driftworks.co.uk, www.drift411.com and www.driftbox.com.

Page 8

Racelogic Ltd Quick Start Guide

Page 9

Quick Start Guide

Connections

Mounting DriftBox in your car

1. Connect the cigar lighter adaptor power cable to the power socket on the back of
your DriftBox.

2. Slide DriftBox into the windscreen mounting bracket.

3. Using the suction cups of the windscreen mounting bracket, fix the DriftBox
assembly to a suitable place low down in the centre of your windscreen.

4. DriftBox has an internal GPS antenna, so try to mount DriftBox where it will have
the largest possible view of the sky.

5. Park your vehicle outside in an open area away from obstacles such as tall
buildings and trees.

6. Insert the DriftBox power cable into the vehicle cigar lighter socket. If power is not
permanently available at this socket, turn on the ignition to ensure power at the
socket.

7. The first time DriftBox is used it will need to be left for 10-15minutes to acquire fully
the latest satellite constellation information.

8. After this initial period, DriftBox will then only take 1-2 minutes to lock onto satellites
when you use it next time.

9. Wait for the satellite image to disappear which means lock has been obtained.

10. Before using DriftBox for measuring Drift performance you will need to align the
internal motion sensors.

Racelogic Ltd Quick Start Guide

Page 10

Aligning Your DriftBox

1. Park your vehicle on flat ground and turn the engine off.

2. Press the MENU button, then highlight ‘Setup’ and press the OK button.

3. Highlight the ‘ALIGNMENT’ option and press OK

4. The following alignment screen appears :

5. The screen shows two small lines, a horizontal line and a vertical line within a large
cross.

6. Loosen the mounting screws if required and move the suction mount position so
that the two small lines align in the centre of the screen and make the shape of a
cross.

7. When the alignment is correct the screen will say ‘Alignment OK’, then tighten up
the mounting screws. If the unit needs aligning left to right, release the suction cups
and rotate the DriftBox.

8. Confirm the screen still says ‘Alignment OK’ then press OK. For a more detailed
instruction regarding the alignment procedure see the ‘Setup Menu’ section of this
manual.

9. Now press the MENU button to exit the menus screen and return to the Drift Mode
screen.

Your DriftBox is now ready to show your Drift Angle. Note that this alignment is only
needed when using the Drift Mode.

Registering your DriftBox and activating all available functions.

To get full DriftBox functionality including data logging, lap timing and performance mode,
you need to register your DriftBox at the DriftBox website.

Registering Your DriftBox

Log onto the DriftBox website www.driftbox.com then go into Product Registration where
you will be asked to input information including the serial number of the unit. The serial
number is displayed when you first switch on, or alternatively you can note it from the
underside of the DriftBox hardware itself. Once you have entered your details you will be
given an activation code.

Activating Your DriftBox additional functions

1. Switch on DriftBox

2. Press MENU and select ‘SETUP’

3. Select ‘UPGRADE’

Racelogic Ltd Quick Start Guide

Page 11

4. Use ▼▲ to move the alphanumerical list across the screen and then press OK to
enter each character of your activation code. The centre character on the screen
becomes larger and surrounded by a box to indicate that it is ready for selection.

5. Highlight and click on the symbol à if you need to delete a character.

6. Then when you have entered all the characters of the activation code highlight the
symbol  and press OK to enter the activation code.

7. A confirmation screen will display ‘Code OK’ and then the screen will go back to
SETUP MENU.

8. Now disconnect and then reconnect the power to DriftBox.

The full functionality of your DriftBox will now be available.

Racelogic Ltd Using DriftBox

Page 12

Using DriftBox

Your DriftBox can be used in a variety of modes, as described in this section.

DriftBox Keypad

Used to show next screen,
or to navigate menu.

Changes Mode.

Select the menu item that
is highlighted on the screen
and used to show Score
Code.

Accesses the relevant
menu, or will exit from
current menu.

Used to show previous
screen, or to navigate
menu.

Resets totals, averages
and peaks if held for 1.5s.
Hold for 5s for global
Reset.

Changing Modes

Press the MODE button to swap between the 5 display modes

DRIFT MODE

PERFORMANCE

LAP TIMING

SPEED

POWER

Racelogic Ltd Using DriftBox

Page 13

Changing the Units of Measurement

• Press the MENU button from any of the Display Modes.

• Highlight UNITS and press OK.

• Highlight SPEED and press OK.

• Highlight KMH or MPH and then press OK to tick that selection.

• Highlight EXIT and press OK.

To change the Distance units from metres to feet, follow the same procedure but highlight
DISTANCE and press OK.

Satellite Reception

DriftBox calculates all of its logged data from the information it receives from GPS
satellites and relies on being able to get a good lock to produce this data. So it is
imperative that DriftBox (or optional external antenna) is placed in the best possible
position for a clear view of the sky.

The location that you drive in can also affect data quality, if you drive in a very built up area
or an area with overhanging trees then the signal quality can degrade. If the satellite
reception does drop out in use, you will see the following screen and hear three quick
beeps.

Searching for satellites at power up

Whilst the DriftBox is acquiring satellites it will flash the image of a satellite, the location of
the flashing image depends on the screen you are in.

Racelogic Ltd Drift Mode

Page 14

Drift Mode

Drift Mode is used to measure your drifting ability, showing current and maximum drift
angles and give a grading of your performance as a score between 0 and 10 points.
Scores can be sent to the DriftBox website for publishing on the Top Scores database.

On a fully activated DriftBox an SD card can be inserted to log your scores and data from
your runs that can then be downloaded and viewed on your computer and in the DriftBox
Tools PC software.

The Drift Mode can be used in two different ways; Sectors and Practice. The default is
Practice, but you can turn on Sectors in the Drift Menu.

Practice

Without Sectors enabled, the DriftBox measures a single run at a time, where a run is
defined as anything larger than 5o of drift and a speed greater than 25Km/h. The run
finishes when you go below these thresholds. You can then see Peak Drift angle, speed at
which that drift angle occurred, the peak Lateral G during the run and the overall Score
which is based on Lateral G and Drift Angle.

Sectors

When Sector Mode is selected, a run starts at one virtual gate and finishes at another, see
the ‘Sectors’ section later on for more details.

Selecting Sector Mode

To set DriftBox to Sector mode

• In Drift Mode, press MENU

• Select ‘Sectors’, then press the OK button.

DRIFT MENU

UNITS
√ SECTORS
SET SECTORS
LOAD SECTORS

Racelogic Ltd Drift Mode

Page 15

Drift Mode Display Screens

DriftBox has three different screens, available in each mode, which are selected by using
the

▲▼buttons.

This screen shows speed and drift-angle in real-time, as well
as the peak drift angle achieved.
Holding the reset button for 1.5s will reset the peak drift
angle.

Practice Mode Only

This screen shows the peak drift angle, the speed at which it
was achieved, the maximum lateral acceleration achieved,
and the score awarded by DriftBox for the run.
Sectors Mode Only
Shows the peak drift angle, the speed at which it was
achieved, the sector number, the score awarded by DriftBox
for the run, and the cumulative score in brackets.

SPIN! is displayed if the drift is greater than 100 degrees, or
the drift is greater than 45 degrees with the speed<10 kmh.

Resetting the screens

In any of the Drift mode screens, the Peak, Average, Score and Speeds can be reset by
pressing the RESET button for 1.5 s.

Score Codes

Scores are generated by DriftBox based on the performance of a drift, you can enter the
DriftBox league with your own scores, but you will need the validation code to verify your
score. You can enter this validation code onto the website under My DriftBox Æ My high
score.

Viewing the Score Code

Validation codes are automatically saved to a file on the SD card called ‘Scores’.txt’, but
you can also press the OK button to display a score code on the screen of DriftBox.

Racelogic Ltd Drift Mode

Page 16

Sectors

A sector is made up of two virtual gates. If you have enabled Sectors Mode, the
measurement process starts at the first gate, and ends at the second. You can have up to
6 sectors defined, and you will be awarded a score for each sector along with a cumulative
score. You do not have to have all 6 sectors defined, you can use just one if required. Note
that to score in a sector you have to be drifting continuously, if you straighten up at some
point, your score is zero’d at that point.

Sectors are defined separately from Splits because they come in pairs.

Creating Sectors

• Press the MENU button to enter the Drift menu.

• Highlight the option ‘SET SECTORS’ and press OK.

• Drive the towards the start of the first sector and press OK.

• Carry on driving to the end of the first sector and then press OK.

• The screen will now highlight ‘Start2’ and you can continue to set up to six sectors

in the same manner. If you want to skip over any sectors, press RESET

• When you have completed the setting of your sectors press the MENU button to
return to the Drift screen.

Racelogic Ltd Drift Mode

Page 17

Loading and Saving Sectors

After creating sector information in your DriftBox you can then save this information to a
sector file on the SD card. This allows the sector information to be copied onto your
computer and used in the DriftBox software when you analyse your logged data.

Saving a sector file

• Press the MENU button to enter the Drift Menu

• Highlight the ‘Save Sectors’ option and press OK

Loading a sector file

• Press the MENU button to enter the Drift menu

• Highlight the ‘Load Sectors’ option and press OK

Racelogic Ltd Performance Mode

Page 18

Performance Mode

The Performance mode is used to measure the acceleration and braking performance of
your vehicle. Press the MODE button to scroll to the Performance Mode screen. This
mode is divided into six screens, each of which displays different performance data.

Navigate between these screens by using the

▲▼buttons. Each screen will automatically

display the results as they happen, e.g. if you drive from 0 Mph to 60 Mph then the 0-60
section will show the time taken.

Below is a list of the available Performance Mode display screens.

This Acceleration Screen displays a live velocity in the left
half and in the right it shows the times of the following preset
test ranges. 0 to 60, 0-100 and 0-100-0.
It also shows the maximum speed.
Acceleration 2 screen shows the 30-50 and 50-70 times.
However these two test ranges are user adjustable through
the setup menu. Peak lateral g (cornering force) is also
shown along with an average velocity value.

This screen shows the best results of the two test ranges
from each of the acceleration screens.

This screen shows the time and distance of two user
adjustable deceleration ranges. These test ranges can be
configured in the setup menu.

This screen shows the same information as the previous
Deceleration screen, but for a different user-defined speed
range.

This screen shows the time and end velocity of two preset
distances, i.e. 0-100m. If the units are changed to feet then
the two test ranges are 1/8 and 1/4mile.

This screen shows the time and end velocity of two preset
distances, i.e. 0-400m. If the units are changed to feet then
the two test ranges are 1/2 and 1 mile.

Racelogic Ltd Performance Mode

Page 19

This screen shows the current acceleration and peak
acceleration achieved by DriftBox. A level bar at the bottom
of the screen also shows this information in graphical form.
The MAX value is cleared by pressing the RESET button.
This screen shows the current deceleration and peak
deceleration achieved by DriftBox. A level bar at the bottom
of the screen also shows this information in graphical form.
The MAX value is cleared by pressing the RESET button.
This screen shows the current lateral acceleration and peak
lateral acceleration achieved by the DriftBox. A level bar at
the bottom of the screen also shows this information in
graphical form. The MAX value is cleared by pressing the

RESET button.

Measuring the 0-60 time of your vehicle

1. Install DriftBox into your vehicle as described in the ‘Quick Start Guide’ section of
this manual.

2. Press the MENU button to select the Performance Mode.

3. Now use the

▲▼ buttons to scroll to the ACCEL screen. This screen shows 0-60

in the top right hand corner:

4. The left hand side of the screen shows your live velocity unless you are in an area
of poor satellite reception in which case it flashes an image of a satellite.

5. Now perform your 0-60 acceleration run. As your vehicle goes over 60 mph the time
will instantly show in the 0-60 section of the window.

6. If you come to a stop you will see that this time remains on view. The Vmax section
will also show the highest speed you attained during this particular run.

7. You can now instantly start another 0-60 acceleration, as you pull away the screen
will reset and show your new values as you cross 60 mph.

8. After doing a number of runs you can view your best 0-60 time by scrolling to the
BEST screen.

9. If you have your SD card inserted then your run data will be stored.

Racelogic Ltd Performance Mode

Page 20

Editing a Performance mode Test Range

You can configure the two speed ranges of the Accel2 and Decel screen to your own
custom tests.

If you wish to change the speed range over which performance is measured, press the
MENU button from any of the performance mode screens and select the range you wish to
change from the ‘Performance Menu’ and press OK

PERFORMANCE MENU

UNITS
WRITE RESULTS FILE
ACCEL RANGE 1
ACCEL RANGE 2
0-100-0 RANGE

Example: Editing ACCEL RANGE 1

1. Highlight ‘ACCEL RANGE 1’ and press OK

2. The following screen will appear with the start speed of ACCEL RANGE 1
highlighted:

3. Whilst the START speed is highlighted use the

▲▼ buttons to change the speed.

4. Press OK and repeat this procedure for the END speed:

1 Foot Rollout

The DriftBox normally takes the start of a performance run at the point at which the vehicle
moves, but at drag strips the vehicle starts 1 foot behind the timing start line. You can

make the DriftBox start all timing runs from 1 foot by enabling this feature.

Enabling 1 Foot Rollout correction

• Press the MENU button to enter the Performance Menu.

• Highlight the 1 FOOT ROLLOUT option and press OK

Racelogic Ltd Lap Timing Mode

Page 21

Results Files

If an SD card has been inserted, DriftBox will create two results files on the card. The first
file, ‘results.txt’ gives the results for every performance test made using DriftBox. The
second file, ‘best.txt’, displays only the best results achieved for each type of test. Results
text files are only created on the SD card if the ‘Write Results File’ option has been chosen
from the Performance Mode Menu:

PERFORMANCE MENU

UNITS

√ WRITE RESULTS FILE

ACCEL RANGE 1
ACCEL RANGE 2

Speed Buzzer

The Speed Buzzer can be used in such tests as 0-100-0, as an audible warning when a
certain speed has been reached. This means that during such testing the driver will not
need to watch the display and can listen for the buzzer instead.

To change the speed at which the buzzer will sound, enter the MENU from any mode,
scroll to Setup and click OK. The speed buzzer is one of the options in the Setup menu.
Pressing either the ▲▼ alters the speed setting.

SETUP MENU

DIAGNOSTICS
COLDSTART
SPEED BUZZER
UPGRADE

The speed buzzer will only sound once when the set speed is reached. It will not continue
to activate every time the vehicle passes through the set speed, on acceleration or
deceleration. In order to arm the speed buzzer once more the vehicle must either come to
a complete halt for five seconds, or DriftBox must be power-cycled.

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Lap Timing Mode

The DriftBox can measure your lap time by storing the position of a virtual gate and using
this to trigger the start and end of a lap.

• Start/Finish Line: Defines the point at which one lap ends and another starts. It
also defines the start of a sprint or slalom stage.

• Split Line: Defines a point on the track or stage at which intermediate time and
speed measurements are displayed.

• Finish Line: Used only in sprint or slalom (point-to-point) tests, to mark a finish
point that is in a different location to the start point.

Measuring Lap times

• Firstly set the start/finish line or load a previously saved set from the SD card (see
Setting Start/finish and Split Lines below).

• If you want to save your lap times to a file, insert an SD card.

• Drive around the circuit, your times will automatically appear on the DriftBox

display:

Big Speed @ Split display

There is a choice of what is displayed on the Lap Timing screen, either your current lap
time, or the exit speed of the last split:

Displaying this exit speed is very easy way to help you improve your speed out of a
particular corner. To change between these two displays, press the MENU button and
change the ‘BIG SPEED @ SPLIT’ option.

LAPTIMING MENU

UNITS
SET START & SPLITS
CLEAR ALL
LOAD SPLITS
SAVE SPLITS
ONE SHOT MODE
SPLIT TO SPLIT TIME
√ BIG SPEED @SPLIT

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Split to Split time

There are two different ways of measuring split times, the default is from the start of the
lap to the split, the other way is from one split to another. You can change the method of
calculating split times by using the option ‘SPLIT TO SPLIT TIME’ in the LAPTIMING
MENU.

Split Widths

When setting a start / finish or split line, DriftBox will set the width of the line at a default
value of 25m (12.5m either side of the point at which the OK button was pressed.)
However this can be changed by selecting the Split Widths function and altering the value
using the ▲▼ buttons. This feature is useful if DriftBox is being used on a track where
separate sections pass closely by each other, and eliminates the possibility of going
through a split line in the wrong direction.

Clearing your Best Lap time

Press and hold the RESET button for 1.5s.

Laptime Telemetry

LAPTIMING MENU

ONE SHOT MODE
SPLIT TO SPLIT TIME
BIG SPEED @SPLIT
SPLIT WIDTHS
SPLIT OUTPUT
LAPTIME PULSE
√ LAPTIME TELEMETRY
SETUP

The Laptime Telemetry option makes DriftBox send lap time data via the telemetry serial
port whenever a start/finish, split line or dedicated finish line is crossed. The lap time serial
stream has the following format, sent at a baud rate of 115200 bit/sec, no parity, 8 data
bits and 1 stop bit.

$$llttnnnllluuusscc

• ll: length of message

• tt: message type (type 10 - LapTime)

• nnn: serial number

• s: number of sats currently in view

• lll: laptime(seconds) * 100000

• uuu: UTC time(seconds) * 100

• ss: speed at this point*100 (kph or mph, depending on the units selected)

• cc: checksum

Each telemetry message will be sent twelve times unless an acknowledge message is
received.

Laptime Pulse

If the Laptime Pulse option is enabled, a 250ms pulse is output on the serial port instead.
Note that selecting either of these two options disables the other option. It is possible to
deactivate both modes by un-ticking whichever option is currently ticked, if any.

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Split Output

Similar to the Laptime Telemetry option, this enables split time data or a 250ms pulse to
be output via the telemetry serial port whenever a split line is crossed. The output given
will be the same type as the lap timing output, so if you have enabled Laptime Telemetry
the split output will be in the Telemetry format; if you have enabled Laptime Pulse the split
output will be in the Laptime Pulse format. If this option is disabled, no output will be given.

Start / finish and split lines

Before DriftBox can measure and display times, you will need to either load previously
recorded start / finish lines or create new ones in your DriftBox.

Setting start / finish lines

• Press the MENU button to display the Lap Timing Menu.

• Highlight ‘SET START & SPLITS’ and press OK

• As you drive across the start / finish line press OK

• This will set the start / finish line and the screen will now show the SET SPLIT1

screen.

• To set the first Split, press OK when you pass this point or press RESET to skip.

• If you wish just to place a separate Finish line, press the ‘RESET’ button to skip all

the split points and scroll to the SET 2

nd

FINISH screen.

• Press OK to set a separate finish line as you drive over it.

Note: you must be moving to be able to set virtual lines.

Saving start / finish and Split Lines

After creating start / finish, Splits or Finish lines you can save them to a file on the SD card
which can be loaded back into DriftBox at a later stage, or used in the DriftBox Tools
software. The file created on the SD card is an ‘.dsf’ file.

To Save the lines you have created:

• Ensure the SD card is inserted.

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• Press the MENU button to enter the Lap timing menu.

• Highlight the SAVE SPLITS option and press OK

Loading start / finish and split Lines

You can load the split line information from a previously stored file on the SD card into
your DriftBox. This facility allows you to keep a library of split lines files on your computer
from each circuit you have driven around.

To Load a split line file:

• Press the MENU button to enter the Lap timing menu.

• Highlight the ‘LOAD SPLITS’ option and press OK

Note: only a split file with the correct name can be loaded. When you use DriftBox to
save a split file it is called DBOX.dsf and it is only this filename that DriftBox
recognises and will load. If you have several split files stored on your computer you
will need to rename the one you wish to use to the default filename, prior to
transferring it to the SD card.

Clearing start / finish and split Lines

This option will erase the split line information from the DriftBox memory, not from the SD
card.

• Press the MENU button to enter the Lap timing menu.

• Highlight the ‘CLEAR ALL’ option and press OK

One Shot Mode

By default, DriftBox starts the lap time from a start / finish line. If you want to start the lap
time from the moment you start moving, then you need to select ‘One Shot Mode’. To set
this mode:

• Press the MENU button to enter the LAP TIMING menu.

• Highlight ‘ONE SHOT MODE’ and press OK to activate.

• Bring the car to a halt at the start point.

• After two seconds the following screen will appear:

• The screen will count down from 5 to 1 after it reaches 1 the following screen will

appear:

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• When this screen shows you can then start your lap. Timing of your lap will start as
soon as you pull away and will then stop as you cross the start / finish line at the
end of your flying lap.

Recording and Reviewing Lap and Split Times

To record your run data and lap and split times, simply insert a SD card into DriftBox, the
run data will be recorded in a ‘.dbn’ file on the SD card and the Lap Time information will
be recorded in a text file e.g. ‘Laps-01’.txt’

Using DriftBox to review lap times

To review a ‘Laps-xx.txt’ file with lap and split time data:

• Enter Lap Timing Mode and then press the OK button.

• DriftBox will then display any Lap Timing files stored on the card:

• Press the

▲▼buttons to scroll to the required file, then press the OK button to

select it. The file will then be displayed in DriftBox:

In each file, the best lap is indicated with an asterisk. To change the lap for which split
times are displayed, use the

▲▼ buttons to scroll between the laps; the split times will

update automatically. Pressing the OK button in this screen will return you to the Lap
Timing Mode’s main screen.

Using a computer to review lap times

Any of the ‘Laps-xx.txt’ files can be opened using a text editor program such as notepad.
The files have the following example format:

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Speed Display Mode

The Speed Display Mode consists of one screen with a compass and current speed in a
large font, and will also give on-screen and audible notification of Points of Interest.

Points of Interest (POI)

In the Speed Display Mode, there is a ‘Points of Interest’ (POI) facility that can be used to
indicate when the vehicle is near to a pre-determined geographical position. This option is
active whenever the inserted SD card contains a valid.ov2 POI file. A common use of POI
files is to store the location of safety cameras, but custom POI files can also be created to
give locations of any other points that might be useful for testing purposes.

DriftBox will beep and display an icon on-screen whenever the vehicle moves within 250
meters of a POI, unless the vehicle is moving away from the POI. DriftBox can display
different icons for different locations, even within the same POI file, according to the
settings within the file.

The Points of Interest feature will only function if the relevant POI files are present on the
SD card. These files can be downloaded from various websites such as

www.poihandler.com. The only file format recognised by DriftBox is the .ov2 type.

Fixed Mobile Red Light

Warning:

If DriftBox is being used as a Safety Camera detector, note that this option is designed to
make you aware of potentially dangerous areas where they may be in force. We do not
guarantee that all of these areas are listed in any file you download. We accept NO liability
whatsoever in the event that you receive a speeding fine through not being warned by this
option on DriftBox. Nor do we guarantee the accuracy of the data either expressed or
implied.

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Power Mode

Your car’s power output can be measured using the Power Mode. There are two parts to
this process: the acceleration run, which gives you the power at the wheels minus the
losses caused by tyre and air resistance. The second part of the test measures these
losses and also estimates gearbox losses. The Power Mode is also an additional tool for
car tuning, where access to a chassis dynamometer is not possible.

Note that this is an estimation of power, and as such when carried out correctly will
probably be within 5% of the true figure. It is very important that the test is carried out on a
completely flat road and the correct procedure is followed very carefully.

Power Testing

Please note that due to the nature of this test and the amount of space required, it is
strongly recommended that such measurements are conducted on private roads.

Setting the Vehicle Weight

In order for accurate measurements to be made, the vehicle weight must first be entered
via the Power Menu:

POWER MENU

UNITS

SET WEIGHT

SETUP
EXIT

The weight you enter must be as accurate as possible - for best results have the car
weighed prior to carrying out any tests as even a small inaccuracy will not give correct
power figures, a 10% error in weight will give a 10% error in power. Use the ▲▼ buttons
to increase or decrease the weight value. Altering the units from the menu will change the
weight values from lbs to kg, and the power values from bhp to kw.

Power and losses runs should be carried out on level ground and always in the same
direction, and it is recommended that power runs are conducted with the car in second
gear.

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Power Runs

Once the vehicle weight has been set, a simple power run can be carried out to give
engine output at the wheels. Put the car into second gear at a low RPM, 2000 RPM or
less.

Press OK, the next screen indicates that DriftBox is ready to record the run:

Once the car begins to accelerate, the power is being recorded:

Accelerate to the top of the engine’s rev range, disengage the clutch and coast for a few
seconds. DriftBox will record the amount of power as soon as it recognises deceleration:

Calculating Losses

So as to estimate power output figures at the flywheel, you will need to configure the
amount of loss generated by tyre and air resistance. To do this requires a ‘coast-down’
test. It is recommended that this is carried out in third gear.

With the weight correctly entered, switch from the Power Run screen to the Losses Run
screen using the ▲▼ buttons. The screen will display a similar initial instruction to the
Power Run:

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Begin to accelerate, and press OK. Continue to accelerate to the top of the engine rev
range.

At the top of the rev range, disengage the clutch and put the gearbox into neutral. Once
deceleration has begun the screen will display the recording information:

Let the vehicle coast down to a speed a long way below the speed at which maximum
power is likely to occur, then accelerate briefly to finish the run:

Press OK to save the losses; pressing RESET will cancel the recorded losses so that you
can start the process again. Losses are permanently saved, but you should generally carry
this out on the same piece of road in the same direction as your acceleration runs. Note
any small gradient can have a large affect on the measurement.

If you have not carried out any power tests at this point then accessing the Power Run
screen will simply display the priming instructions. If you have already carried out power
runs the results will now be displayed as output from the flywheel rather than the wheels.
Any further power runs will display the results at the flywheel, until the RESET button is
pressed when in the Losses Run screen.

Pressing the RESET button when in the Power Run screen will clear the result in order for
a new run to commence

.

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Data Logging

Providing that you have registered your DriftBox (see Quick Start Guide) then it will be
capable of logging data to an SD card.

Using the SD card

Files logged by DriftBox are named ‘DBOX_001.dbn’, where 001 increments when a new
file is created. A new file is created every time DriftBox is powered up, or when the card is
re-inserted. If you wish to log data to the SD card then simply insert the card into the slot in
the front of DriftBox. DriftBox will log vehicle position, speed and acceleration into a binary
‘.dbn’ file which can be opened in DriftBoxTools software for analysis. This data is logged
when velocity is above 0.5Km/h.

Because DriftBox is writing to the SD card whenever you are moving, only ever remove
the SD card when you are stationary, otherwise you will risk losing data or corrupting
the card (which would require a re-format).

To read data from the card either insert the card into a SD card reader connected to your
computer or connect your computer directly to DriftBox via the supplied USB cable to read
the data from the card. DriftBox must not be writing to the card when you connect to your

PC, so you must be stationary. To ensure Windows recognises a DriftBox, power up your
DriftBox before connecting the USB cable to your PC.

File types

Below is a list of the file suffix’s and definitions that are used by DriftBox and DriftBoxTools
Software:

Type Definition

*.dbn Binary format file containing logged Position, Speed, Acceleration data
*.txt Drift Scores and Lap times are stored in text format
*.dsf Split files containing Start/finish and Split line locations
*.sct DriftBox sector position information
*.cir Circuit overlay file for track mapping
*.dat Binary Points of Interest file

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Connecting the DriftBox to external
devices

Drift Data output

The DriftBox transmits live data on its serial port at the rear of the DriftBox when it is in
Drift Mode. Any other devices with a serial input, such as a video overlay unit, can use this
data. A serial output cable will be required, please see the DriftBox website or contact your
local supplier for details.

In Drift Mode, the RS232 serial port outputs the following message at 57600bps at 10Hz
intervals:

$DBOX,sss.s,±gg.g,±ll.l,±ddd.d,pp.p<CR><LF>

sss.s = speed in kmh
±gg.g = g-force in g (lateral)
±ll.l = g-force in g (longitudinal)
±ddd.d = drift angle
pp.p = points

NMEA data output

When DriftBox diagnostic mode is active the DriftBox serial port outputs NMEA standard
format GPS information. This makes it directly compatible for use as GPS input to
mapping software programs for navigation use, such as Microsoft’s Streets and Trips,
Route 66 or similar software.

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Setup Menu

There is a single Setup Menu that is accessible in all of the DriftBox’s modes.

To access the Setup Menu, press the MENU button in any mode and select the ‘SETUP’
option and press OK

The Setup Menu contains the following options:

SETUP MENU

ALIGNMENT
CONTRAST
BRIGHTNESS
DIAGNOSTICS
COLDSTART
SPEED BUZZER
UPGRADE
EXIT

Alignment

The alignment option allows you to perform a physical alignment of the internal motion
sensors. It is important that you align DriftBox correctly whenever it is moved to a new
position in your car or even to another car. To do this, park the vehicle on level ground and
turn the engine off and select ‘ALIGNMENT’ from the SETUP MENU. Reposition DriftBox
so that the two cursors form a small cross at the centre of the larger cross.

The two cursors do not have to line up perfectly, just make sure ‘ALIGNMENT OK’ appears.

Contrast & Brightness

Use these to adjust the Brightness & Contrast of the screen, OK to return.

Diagnostic Screens

DriftBox has two different diagnostic screens, use ▲▼ to swap between the two.

GPS Diagnostic Screen

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This screen allows you to view the following basic GPS information:

• Number of satellites being used by
DriftBox.

• Signal strength of each satellite.

• Satellite time (UTC)

• Latitude.

• Longitude.

• Height (with respect to sea-level at

Greenwich).

Note: In this screen data is logged to the SD card at 1Hz not 10Hz

Yaw-rate Sensor Diagnostic Screen

This screen displays the following information relating to the internal YAW sensor

• YAW rate in degrees per second.

• Angle (calculated from Yaw Rate)

• Temperature of the YAW rate sensor

Cold Start

A cold start completely re-initialises the GPS engine and after performing a Cold Start the
vehicle to which DriftBox is connected should be left in an open area for at least 15
minutes, to re-acquire. You should only need to do a cold start when you first receive your
DriftBox, or you are experiencing poor satellite reception in an open area.

Performing a Coldstart

• Press the MENU button from any Display mode.

• Highlight the Setup option and press OK

• Select COLDSTART

• The following screen appears and a coldstart is performed

When it is finished DriftBox will automatically go back to the Setup Menu.

Speed Buzzer

The speed buzzer is generally for use whilst in Performance Mode, during 0-100-0 style
tests. The speed is configurable from this menu option – see the Speed Buzzer section
under Performance Mode.

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Upgrading the DriftBox firmware

It may be necessary in the future for you to perform an upgrade to the firmware inside your
DriftBox to add new features. Connect your DriftBox to the computer onto which you have
installed the DriftBox software.

• Download the upgrade file from the website and save it to your computer.

• Press and hold the MODE button whilst you connect power to your DriftBox.

• This will force the DriftBox into Upgrade mode.

• Connect the USB lead from DriftBox to your computer.

• Double click on the upgrade file, this will auto run the upgrader software.

• If this doesn’t happen automatically, run the ‘Upgrader.exe’ software, which should

have been installed when the installation CD was used, and load in the relevant file.

• If you want to read your SD card through USB directly after this upgrade you will

need to disconnect then reconnect power.

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Troubleshooting

My DriftBox does not pick up or lock onto satellites

Some modern cars are fitted with a special windscreen that cuts down the amount of UV
(Ultra Violet) rays that will be transferred through the windscreen which help cut down on
glare. These windscreens are called Athermic, or UV Coated and will dampen/reduce GPS
signals coming through the windscreen, so if you have an Athermic windscreen, it means
you will not receive the same quality of signal as you would do by taking the DriftBox
outside of the car.

How do I know if I have an Athermic Windscreen ?
You can either contact the manufacturer of your vehicle, or talk to the main authorised
dealer who may be able to tell you. If you cannot receive a firm yes or no, then another
way to check is to power up the DriftBox and hold it outside of the vehicle, receive a
satellite fix and use the GPS diagnostic screen to see how many satellites you can see.
Once you have noted this down, move the GPS inside the car and see if the GPS signal
drops by 2-4 sats. If it does immediately then you probably have an Athermic windscreen.

There is list of cars in the table below that we believe have had Athermic windscreens
fitted throughout part of their history. Please note that manufacturers don't always use the
same windscreens through the life of a car model, so even though a model may be listed
below, it does not necessarily mean that the current model that you have may have an
Athermic windscreen. If you are unsure, try the above test or talk to your car
manufacturer/dealership.

BMW 3 Series Ford Mondeo Renault Laguna

BMW 5 Series Fiat Multipla Renault Clio

BMW 7 Series Mercedes W220-S Class Renault Master

BMW X5 Mercedes Vaneo Renault Kangoo

Citreon Picasso Peugeot 206 Renault Scenic

Citreon C5 Peugeot 306 Renault Espace

Citreon Xsara Peugeot 307 Renault Megane

Citreon Xantia Peugeot 607 Renault Safrane

Ford Galaxy Renault Traffic Vauxhall Zafira

If your car does have this type of windscreen you will need to use an external GPS
antenna that magnetically fixes to the roof of your car. An external antenna is available,
see the website for details.

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If you still have reception problems:

• Obstructions to the open sky will reduce GPS performance. Try to ensure
placement of DriftBox is away from the windscreen edges so it has the widest view
of the skies possible. With an external antenna place it away from roof bars and at
least 10 cm way from any other roof mounted items.

• Driving in built up areas and close to tall trees reduces satellite reception.

• DriftBox may require a Coldstart, see the DriftBox setup section of this manual for

more information.

DriftBox displays an drift angle when the vehicle is not drifting

• Values of Drift up to 10

o

can be expected on a normal corner without drifting.

DriftBox displays an angle > 10

o

when the vehicle is not drifting

• Check the ‘Alignment’ of the DriftBox; see the alignment section of Setup Menu in
this manual for further information.

• If the road has a severe camber / gradient this will slightly affect the Drift angle
calculation.

• If you are in an area of poor reception quality then this will affect the Drift angle
calculation.

The Drift angle reading appears too big or too small

• Check the ‘Alignment’ of DriftBox; see the alignment section of Setup Menu in this
manual for further information.

• If the road has a severe camber or gradient this will affect the Drift angle calculation.

• If you are in an area of poor reception quality then this will affect the Drift angle

calculation.

• If the Drift angle is consistently incorrect in good conditions then the YAW sensor
may need to be zero’d, but this is very unusual.

To check whether you need to zero the YAW sensor:

Use the Yaw sensor diagnostic screen and sit DriftBox very still on a flat surface. The
angle reading will change slowly over time. If the angle changes every three seconds or
less, go to the Diagnostic screen press and hold the RESET button for two seconds then
follow the on-screen instructions. The process will take thirty seconds, during which the
unit must be kept very still. If the sensor is subjected to a sudden movement, the
procedure will be cancelled.

Note: If you wish to cancel the procedure, press any key other than OK to return to the
diagnostic screen.

No data files are appearing on the SD card

Make sure the SD card is not full. If your DriftBox does not beep twice when you insert the
card, then you may have to re-format the card, you should use the utility in DriftBox Tools.

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DriftBoxTools Software

The DriftBoxTools software allows you to view the driving data recorded by DriftBox in a
‘.dbn’ file. The software also allows you to display Lap times and Drift results.

Installation

Each DriftBox is supplied with a CD containing the DriftBoxTools software. Insert the CD
into your computer, the installation should then auto run. The Installation will place a
shortcut onto your desktop for the main analysis software, and also install USB drivers for
upgrading your DriftBox.

Overview

Graph Screen

The DriftBoxTools Graph Screen allows DriftBox files to be viewed and compared in three
main display windows: a main graph window, a data table window and a map window. In
the graph window different channels can be plotted, either against time or against
distance. There is a facility to extract minimum, maximum, average and delta values
between points in the viewed data. Up to four ‘.dbn’ files can be overlaid on the graph.

The map window shows the path of the vehicle, calculated from the latitude and longitude
data. A circuit overlay can be applied to the map window, allowing you to see the position
of the vehicle in relation to the edges of the track

The Data window shows a table of the data of following the available channels:

• No. of SATs

• Time

• Velocity

• Lateral Acceleration

• Longitudinal Acceleration

• Heading

• Height

• Yaw Rate

• Distance

• Slip Angle

• Radius of Turn

• UTC Time

There are a number of other channels which are shown, but these are not relevant to the
DriftBox and will be blank. For reference, these channels are: Vertical velocity, Glonass
Satellites, GPS Satellites, Lat Acc from Yaw rate sensor, Brake Trigger and DGPS.

Each of the three display windows can be resized by stretching the window, and all of
these windows can be printed.

All of the parameters logged by DriftBox can be displayed, and the colours of each line can
be customised. In addition to the logged parameters, a number of calculated channels
(such as lateral acceleration and longitudinal acceleration) can be displayed.

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Graph Screen Basics

Loading Files

Load a file into the Graph Screen by clicking on the ‘Load All’
icon in the main toolbar.

Loading Compare Files

The Graph screen also has the facility to load up to three more
files for comparison. Click on the small down arrow to the side
of the ‘Load All’ icon to expand a drop down menu. Then
select one of the ‘Load Compare File x’ items.

Removing Compare Runs

Click on the ‘Remove Run’ icon in the Graph screen (second)
toolbar and then select the relevant file to remove.

Appending Files

DriftBox files can be joined together using the ‘Append file to Main’ option, found by
clicking the arrow next to the ‘Load All’ icon.

Viewing a Text File

A DriftBox file can be opened in Notepad by selecting the ‘Open In Notepad’ option from
the ‘Load All’ drop down list. Note that for large files, it may take some time for Notepad to
load all of the lines of data.

This function can also be used to open the other text files on your SD card such as the lap
time results files.

Loading a Circuit Overlay

A circuit overlay is a template that can be
placed on the circuit map, over which the
vehicle position data can be overlaid. A
circuit overlay file can be loaded into the
map window using the ‘Load Circuit Map’
option from the Load All drop down menu.
A circuit overlay file is a standard DriftBox
file, but saved with the suffix ‘.cir’ instead of
‘.dbn’. Any file can be loaded in as an
overlay file, just change the default ‘Files of
type’ to ‘.cir’ when loading it in. For more
details on how to create a circuit overlay,
see ‘Creating a Circuit Overlay’ later in this
chapter.

Circuit files may be exchanged between DriftBox owners and may be available on the
DriftBox website and/or forums.

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Removing a Circuit Overlay

To remove a circuit overlay, click on the ‘Remove Run’ icon in the Graph screen toolbar,
and then click on the ‘Remove Circuit Map’ option.

Moving Around the Graphs

Once a file is displayed the data from the file can be examined more closely using the
following basic functions: zoom, pan and cursor movement.

Zoom

Zooming in on the data in the graph or map window can be done three ways.

• Use the left mouse button to click and drag a window from left to right around the
area of interest. Click and drag from right to left to zoom out.

• Use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to zoom in around the current
cursor position. Pressing the shift key at the same time makes the zoom happen in
bigger steps.

• If your mouse has a scroll ball then this can be used to zoom in around the current
cursor position. Pressing the shift key before using the mouse roller ball will make
the zoom occur in bigger steps.

Pan

To pan the view in the graph or map window, put the mouse over the area you wish to pan
then click and hold the right mouse button and move the mouse in the direction that you
wish to pan.

Cursor

The position of the cursors in the graph and map windows are linked and move together.
The left and right arrow keys control the movement of the cursor. If the shift key is pressed
then it moves faster across the screen. The cursor can also be placed in the graph
window by left-clicking the mouse button at the desired cursor position.

X-Axis

To swap the X axis from Time to Distance either press the right mouse button anywhere
on the screen or click the ‘Graph Set-up’ icon, then select ‘Graph Type’, then choose one
of the two options, ‘Speed Against Time’ or ‘Speed Against Distance’.

Speed against distance is useful for overlaying laps with different lap times around the
same circuit (eg. different time, but same distance)

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Selecting Channels

All channels logged by DriftBox appear in the data window; all except speed are initially
greyed out, but the data can still be seen. To enable a particular channel and make it
visible in the Graph window, click in the tick box to the left of the channel name. For
example, to display lateral acceleration:

Click here to
turn the channel
on or off

DriftBoxTools will automatically scale the channel to its minimum and maximum values
and show it in the graph window. The enabled channel will then be highlighted in its
display colour.

The data table contains all of the logged channels from the DriftBox file plus Lateral and
Longitudinal Acceleration and Radius of Turn channels, calculated when the file is first
loaded. Scroll up and down the channel list to find the desired channel.

A channel can also be found by typing the first letter of the channel, for example ‘S’ for
Satellites, providing that the data table is the currently active window. If there is more than
one channel that starts with the same letter then press the key again until the software
stops on your desired channel.

Show Selected Channels Only

The data table channel list can be reduced to show only the ticked channels, as in the
example above, by clicking the right mouse button when the mouse pointer is in the data
table, then selecting ‘Show Selected Channels Only’. This is very useful when you are
moving the cursor through the graph window and wish to see the displayed channels data
at the cursor point.

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Drift Results

Pressing the Drift Mode button in the Graph Screen toolbar causes the software to scan
the loaded file and apply loaded sector file information to produce a Drifting data:

• Peak Drift angle

• Peak G

• Average G

• Average Speed

A G meter and Drift meter window also appear when the Drift Mode button is pressed.

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Lap timing results

Pressing the Lap timing button in the Graph Screen toolbar causes the software to scan
the loaded file and apply loaded split file information to produce a table of Lap times with a
V Max for each lap of the loaded file.

This facility also allows individual laps from the loaded file to be loaded and compared in
the main Graph window

Channel and Axis Setup

For each channel there are a number of attributes that can be configured, including those
relating to the y-axis. These are set up in the Channel Set-up and Axis Set-up screen,
which are accessed by double-clicking on any of the channels in the data table or by right
clicking the mouse button and selecting the ‘Channel scaling & Axis setup’ option, or by
clicking the ‘Graph Set-up’ icon.

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Channel Setup

Column descriptions:
Visible

The tick boxes in this column switch individual channels on or off in the graph window.

Channel Name

This column contains the names of the available channels in this file.

Units

Shows the units of each of the available channel.

Smoothing

In this column a smoothing level can be applied to each channel individually. This can be
useful for the Acceleration channels. The smoothing level number directly relates to the
number of samples used in the smoothing routine (moving window).

Axis

Displays which axis the channel is associated with. To change the associated axis, click
the mouse in the right hand end of the axis box once the channel has been made visible.

Run 1

This column shows the selected colour for each active channel. To change the colour click
on the colour box of the channel and select a new colour from the colour selection box that
appears.

If compare files are also loaded then Run2, Run3 etc columns will be present in which the
colours of these compare file channels can be set.

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Axis Setup

The Axis Setup window contains all the controls needed for assigning and configuring the
y-axis of the Graph screen:

Column descriptions:
Visible

Each tick box in this column switches an individual axis on or off in the graph window.

Axis Title

Shows the title of each available axis. The axis title is edited by clicking on the box and
entering a new name.

Min / Max

The Min and Max boxes allow the scale ranges for each axis to be set.

Autoscale

The autoscale option causes the axis scales to automatically fit the minimum and
maximum values of the loaded channel.

Symmetrical

This option will cause the positive and negative maximum values on the axis to be the
same magnitude. The magnitude of these will be determined by the largest positive or
negative value of the channel.

Position

This option controls whether the channel axis appears at the left or right of the Graph
window.

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Editing a DriftBox File

Sections of a DriftBox file can be removed using basic editing commands accessed
through the ‘Edit Data’ icon in the Graph screen toolbar.

Cut All Data before Cursor

This feature removes the entire file up to the cursor
position in the main memory only. You can use this to
select an area of the graph you are interested in and
then save just a portion.

Cut All Data after Cursor

This feature removes the main memory file from the point of the cursor onwards.

Cut Data between Two Points

This feature removes the main memory file between two specified cursor points.

Saving a DriftBox File

Save a file by clicking on the ‘Save’ icon in the main toolbar. If you have made changes or
edited your DriftBox file it is wise to save this file to a new name so that you do not lose the
original file.

Printing Graph Data

You may print out the graph data currently being displayed by selecting an option from the
‘Print’ icon’s drop-down list. It is possible to print a single window (Graph, Data or Map) by
selecting the relevant options, or all three by selecting the ‘Print’ option (or by clicking the
‘Print’ icon itself, rather than its arrow.

Exporting Graph Data

It is possible to export the graph or map as a picture file, which can either be saved or
copied onto the computer’s clipboard for use with other software. Simply click the ‘Export’
icon and then choose the image to export. A dialogue box will appear that will allow you to
choose several factors, including the format in which you wish to export the file.

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Graph Measure Tool

This tool can be used to highlight a section of data in the Graph window and produce a
table that summarises the data captured in the window:

Measure
Window

Summary

box

Hold shift down whilst clicking and dragging to use the Measure Tool

The area of data that is displayed in the table is highlighted in blue in the Graph window.
This is often useful for quickly establishing average values between two points in a file. In
the screen shot example above the first gear section of the acceleration curve has been
highlighted and it can it can be seen from the table that an average Longitudinal
Acceleration during first gear is easily seen.

Creating a Measure Tool Window

To highlight a section in the graph window, move the cursor to the start of the section you
wish to highlight. Then place the mouse pointer over the cursor position and press and
hold the ‘Shift’ key, then click and hold the left mouse button. Keep the left mouse button
pressed and move the mouse cursor right to drag out a blue highlighted area. At the end of
the area you wish to highlight, release the left mouse button. On release of the left mouse
button a table of results for all channels in the highlighted area appears as in the
screenshot above.

Saving and Printing the Measure Tool Data Table

Click the ‘Save to file’ icon in the Measure Tool toolbar to save the data in the table in one
of two formats, .csv or ‘.txt’. Click the ‘Print’ icon in the Measure Tool toolbar to print the
table.

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Start / finish lines and Splits

Defining start / finish lines and splits in the DriftBox software

To define a start / finish line, move the cursor in the Graph window to the desired point,
then press the to mark a start / finish point, or press the Set start / finish
button in the Toolbar.

When the cursor is moved in the Graph
window the cursor in the Map window
follows this movement so you can see
where the cursor point relates to on the
track. After setting a start / finish line a
green dot will then appear in the Map
window at the corresponding cursor
position.

Up to 20 split points can also be set in the
software. However if you save this file to
the DriftBox only the first six will be saved
and used by the DriftBox

To define the split points, press the ‘S’
key at the desired cursor location or
select the ‘Set split’ option from the ‘start /
finish & splits’ drop down menu.

SPACE BAR

A separate finish line can be placed when the start line is not also the finish line. This is
used in situations such as hill climbs or data analysis along a stretch of track that does not
end where it starts.

Create a finish line by holding the + at the desired cursor location or
by selecting the ‘Set finish’ button from the ‘start / finish & splits’ menu.

SHIFT SPACEBAR

Note: It is important to try to place the start / finish line at a fast part of the circuit to reduce

the effects of positional error and to get the best lap timing accuracy.

Loading and Saving start / finish line and split data

Click on the ‘Save’ option from the start/finish drop down menu to save to the start / finish
and split line information created in the Graph screen to a ‘.dsf’ file. If you want to save
more than six splits for software use only then choose the file type ‘.spl’ instead which is
only compatible with the software and not DriftBox itself.

Click on the ‘Load‘ button in the Start/finish drop down menu to load in a ‘.dsf’ or ‘.spl’ file.

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Clearing start / finish line and split data

If the current start / finish and split file information needs to be cleared from the
DriftBoxTools background memory and display screens, select ‘Clear All’ from the ‘Start /
Finish & Splits’ menu in the Graph screen toolbar, or from the main ‘Tools’ menu.

Moving Splits

Splits can be moved by pressing ‘M’ in the Graph window and entering the number of the
split to be moved, or by selecting ‘Move split’ from the menu.

Sectors

Defining Drifting Sectors in DriftBox Tools

Each sector that you set requires that you define a start line and an end line. Each sector
is numbered from 1-6.

Setting sector Start

• Move the cursor in the Graph window to the start point of the sector.

• Press the key ‘1’

• A green dot will appear at this position in the Map window

Setting sector End

• Move the cursor in the Graph window to the end point of the sector.

• Press + ‘1’

SHIFT

• A red dot will appear at this position in the Map window.

To define other sectors use the ‘2’, ‘3’ etc. buttons.

Loading and Saving Sectors

Saving

Click on the ‘Save’ option in the Sectors drop down menu to save to the sectors created in
the Graph screen to a ‘.sct’ file.

Loading

Click on the ‘Load’ button in the Sectors drop down menu. You can then browse for a
previously generated sector file containing sector information.

Clearing Sectors

If the current sector information in the graph screen needs to be cleared from the
background memory and display screens, select ‘Clear All’ from the ‘Sectors’ menu in the
Graph screen toolbar, or press + ‘C’.

SHIFT

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Creating a Circuit Overlay

A circuit overlay is a file created to map the outer and inner bounds of a circuit.

Note: It is best to use an external aerial to get maximum position accuracy

• Power up DriftBox and let it acquire satellites for at least 5 minutes.

• Drive to the left hand side of the start of the circuit.

• Place the antenna on the left hand side of the roof.

• Insert the SD card, ready for logging.

• Drive round the left hand side of the circuit.

• Stop back at the place you started.

• Move the aerial from the left hand side of the roof to the right hand side slowly,

being careful not to cover the aerial – let it see the sky at all times.

• Drive at right angles across the track to the opposite side.

• Drive round the right hand side of the circuit.

• Load the logged file from the SD card using ‘File’ -> ‘Load All’

• Save using ‘Save’, select ‘Save as type’ and pick ‘Circuit file’ (‘.cir’).

The .cir file can be now be loaded into the Graph screen and viewed in the Map window:

Aligning Circuit Overlays and Laps

The standard positional accuracy of DriftBox is 3M 95% CEP for Longitude and Latitude.
CEP = circle error probable.

95% CEP means 95% of the time the position readings will be within a 3M diameter circle
of the true position. This error is due to the changing state of the ionosphere, constantly
changing the time taken for the satellite signals to reach the earth.

This means that overlaid laps may appear to miss the edges of the track, especially if the
laps or overlay were logged several hours apart. In order to be able to view true drive
lines, right-click on the Graph Map. The option to align either the lap data or overlay
appears – using the keyboard cursor keys the runs can be correctly aligned.

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Displaying Drifting results

To extract and display Drifting results from a file press the Drift Mode button
in the Graph screen toolbar. This causes the software to scan the loaded
file and apply loaded sector file information to produce a Drifting data grid
showing the following data:

• Peak Drift angle

• Peak G

• Average G

• Average Speed

A G meter and Drift meter window also appear when the Drift Mode button is pressed.
When the replay facility is used to replay the loaded file, the G and Drift angle windows
display data from the file that corresponds to the cursor position as it moves through the
replaying data.

Displaying Drifting Data from a Logged file.

• Click the Load all button to load a DriftBox file into the DriftBoxTools software.

• If you don’t have a sector file relevant to the logged data then you will need to

create one. See the Graph screen chapter for full instruction of this process.

• Press the Drift Mode button to scan the file and display results.

Displaying Lap Times

To display the lap times press the Lap Timing button in the Graph screen
toolbar. The software scans the currently loaded file and extracts lap times
and Vmax for each logged lap and displays the data in a Lap timing window.
Make sure you have already defined a start / finish line.

Including Split times

Click on the right hand arrow on the Lap timing button, then from the drop down menu
select ‘Lap timing with Splits’. Then if you have split lines defined the table will show the
split times as well as the Lap times for you file.

Loading and comparing individual laps in the Graph screen

Individual laps from the loaded file can be compared to each other in the graph screen
windows. Each lap shown in the Lap timing table has a Graph Icon associated with it in the
right hand column. Clicking one of these buttons allows that run to be graphed:

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To compare another run from the Lap timing results in the Graph screen, click on the
‘Graph’ icon of the chosen run. Then in the ‘Open As’ window press one of the ‘Compare
Run’ buttons. The run to be compared will now appear alongside the original run in the
Graph screen, as shown in the example screen below.

The main run is shown in red and the compare run in blue:

Replaying DriftBox Data

A DriftBox file can be replayed at real time speed, or at 2 x or 5x real time speed.

Replaying a file:

• Load the file into the DriftBoxTools software using the ‘Load All’ button.

• Then click the right arrow of the Replay button on the Graph screen toolbar to view

and select on of the replay speed options.

• Click on the Replay button to start the replay at the chosen speed.

Replaying data with the drifting table active

When the Drift Mode facility is active and the replay facility is used, the Drift results table
updates as the cursor passes through the sectors in the file.

Replaying data with the Lap timing table active

When the Lap timing facility is active and the replay facility is used, the Lap time data table
updates automatically.

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Tools

Clicking on the ‘Tools’ icon will reveal a drop-down list containing a number of useful
features, such as formatting SD cards and the Exporting Data to Mapping Software facility.

Formatting SD Cards

Any new SD card is formatted in the correct format suitable for DriftBox and there is no
need to format the card. You can delete any files created on the card by DriftBox through
your computer when connected to DriftBox or when the card is inserted in a card reader
connected to your computer.

However if your card has a problem and the card needs to be formatted it is best to do this
through the DriftBoxTools software SD card formatting facility.

Note: that the card will need to be inserted into a suitable card reader in order to format it;
it cannot be formatted through the DriftBox and USB cable.

Exporting Data to Mapping Software

This option allows the location data stored on a ‘.dbn’ file to be converted into a ‘.txt’ file
that may be used with Google Earth Plus, Microsoft AutoRoute and Microsoft Streets &
Trips, to show the vehicle’s path in the mapping software.

Exporting a Mapping Software Text File

Load the ‘.dbn’ file into DriftBoxTools using the ‘Load All’ button from the main toolbar,
then click on the ‘Export Data To Mapping Software’ option in the ‘Tools’ menu.

A small selection box will appear, in which the export rate can be chosen.

Exporting to Google Earth

Data can be exported to Google Earth by selecting the Tools menu and choosing the
Google Earth option. The resultant file .kml is recognised by the Google Earth software
and allows data to be viewed on the satellite images.

Exporting to AutoRoute or Streets & Trips

Open AutoRoute or Street & Trips. Click on ‘Data’ and then select ‘Import Data Wizard’.
When prompted, browse for the ‘.txt’ file you have just created with DriftBoxTools and
open it, then select ‘Comma’ as the delimiter and click ‘Next’. In column F2 select Latitude
as the column name from the drop down menu. In column F3 select Longitude as the
column name from the drop down menu and then click ‘Finish’. The program then
generates a map of your data location and places markers on the map at every data point
that was specified when the output file was, for example once every second.

There are no limits on the number of imported points in AutoRoute or Streets and Trips.

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File Repair

If the file being loaded into the software contains dropped sample data (caused by
travelling under a bridge, for example) then DriftBoxTools will prompt you to repair the file.
This can be done by clicking on the Tools menu and choosing File Repair. Areas of
dropped samples can then be repaired.

Other Features

Some useful features that apply to the whole of the DriftBoxTools software have been
included above the main toolbar. These are described in the following section.

Summary

You can view basic but important information about the main ‘.dbn’ file loaded into the
DriftBoxTools software by selecting Summary from the menu. The information displayed
includes basic information such as the time at which the file was logged and its duration,
as well as any errors, such as loss of satellites during the file.

This summary may be printed or e-mailed using the icons at the top of the window.

Units of Measurement

The ‘Units of Measurement’ menu allows you to set the velocity units to km/h or mph and
the distance units to metres or feet.

Help

This menu allows you to view basic information about the DriftBoxTools software. It also
provides a quick link to the user manual.

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Index

Cold Start, 35
Connecting to

Computer, 26
External devices, 33

Drift Mode, 14

Display Screens, 15
Resetting the screens, 15
Score Code, 15
Sectors, 16

DriftBox

Aligning Your DriftBox, 10, 34
Contrast, 34
Diagnostic Screens, 34
Keypad, 12
Modes, 12
Registering your DriftBox, 10
Setup menu, 34

DriftBoxTools Software, 39

Channel and Axis Setup, 45
Circuit Overlay, 40, 52
Comparing individual laps, 54
Displaying Drifting results, 54
Displaying Lap Times, 54
Drift Mode, 43
Editing a DriftBox File, 48
Exporting Data to Mapping Software,

56
File Repair, 57
Graph Screen, 39
Installation, 39
Lap timing, 45
Loading Files, 40

Measure Tool, 49
Panning, 41
Printing, 48, 50
Replaying a File, 55
Sectors, 51
Selecting Channels, 42
Start / Finish Lines and Splits, 50
Units of Measurement, 57
Zooming, 41

Lap Timing Mode, 22

Measuring Lap times, 22
One Shot Mode, 25
Reviewing Lap and Split Times, 26

Start/finish , and Split lines, 24
Mounting the DriftBox, 9
NMEA data output, 33
Pan, 41
Performance Mode, 18

1 Foot Rollout, 20

Display Screens, 18

Editing Ranges, 20
Points of Interest, 28
Power Mode, 29

Losses, 30

Vehicle Weight, 29
Satellite Reception, 13
SD Cards, 32

Formatting, 56
Speed Cameras, 28
Speed Display Mode, 28
Units of Measurement, 13
Zoom, 41