In my quest for a lap timer for my Android phone I found Track Addict. I already have a Racelogic Performance box so I thought, why not check the accuracy of a free product (Track Addict) versus a device (Performance Box) that costs over 400 Euro.
What exactly do you get for the extra money? Is the free solution worth using?
Lap Timer Comparison – The Test Procedure
I set the same start and finish points on both products. I then ran the devices simultaneously as I drove the lap six times.
I recorded the lap time from each lap and then compared the data in excel to see how accurate the Track Addict lap time was versus the Performance Box.
The Results
The Track Addict lap timer was within +/- 0.4 seconds of the Performance Box.
The average accuracy was 0.06 seconds sounds excellent but what we are really interested in is how far away from the baseline can the times be. eg, the recorded time we are looking at could be +/- 0.4 seconds away from the performance box time.
Considering the Track Addict is a free app, I think the accuracy is acceptable.
Track Addict Thoughts
So the accuracy is there but what is the Track Addict like to use? Do I recommend it?
Good Points.
Setting up the co-ordinates of the lap is very nice because you can enter the actual GPS figures.
Bad Points.
The live timing on the screen is not good for me. I want to see where I am on the lap ie am I up or down at each split. Basically the ideal lap timer for me is one that works like the timer in Gran Turismo.
The Track Addict is trying to give you a predictive lap time, which is also constantly changing. This for me is completely pointless.
In short setting up is great, accuracy is acceptable but the information it gives me when driving is not helpful.
If you just want to record a lap time it might be of some use, if you want to get live split updates then its not the answer. In my opinion.
Anyway, check the video, if you think I missed anything, let me know in the comments.