Suspension Setup Tracking Software

[dualdj1]

I've been tracking suspension changes and effects on our Late Model with a spreadsheet over the past year, and finally decided to build a program to make tracking from race to race, night to night easier. It is in the very early stages, but my intent is to provide it to the racing community free of charge as a means to help low budget teams better track their changes to help improve on track performance.

Currently the software is a very early version, but I have it available for download at:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/setuptracker/

Right now it's based on swingarm, but I will be making a 4 bar version soon as well. It is also primarily rear suspension, though I can also add front if there's enough desire.

I look forward to having others try it out, and letting me know what they'd like to see added. I currently plan to have either a reporting setup or some way to view data based on track conditions, as well as just previous nights/races.

Feel free to message here or PM me with any questions/comments.

[rubbinsracin]

I would be very interested in this if you created a 4bar version!

[mab18]

In the weights/springs/tires area I would add a place for tire circumfrence for each corner of the car.

[dualdj1]

I'm hoping to get either a separate 4 bar version, or have 4 bar incorporated into this version by mid next week.

mab thanks for the suggestion, I'll go that route instead of a stagger field and have a calculated stagger in there for display instead.

[basscatcher89]

glad to know im not the only one working on this. Mine has been stalled for the last couple months though with work getting in the way. Very handy tool to have. What language are you building yours in?

[dualdj1]

It's in C#, as that's what I've got the most experience in lately. The source is available on the project page if you want to check it out and see if it's something you can use/add to. I'm always open for suggestions!

[dualdj1]

Updated today. Now has settings that can be used for either 4 bar or swingarm, along with a few other additions. You may have to start fresh with the new data (xml) file if you are using the first version, but can try with your old file first if you'd like.

[jdpower]

After extracting the Zip file, I get windows error message when trying to open the .exe

[joedoozer]

Yup me too. I get an error message.

[dualdj1]

Thanks for letting me know, I have to do a few things this morning, then will get the issue fixed.

[dualdj1]

the problem was in the formatting of the xml data file, and has been fixed. the current zip posted has the correct xml file. let me know if there are any other issues that come up. I plan to keep revising this week and updating with new/revamped features.

Let me know if you like the radio button setup for the bars, or if you would prefer a drop down box (like selecting panhard type) with 1,2,3, etc. I kinda prefer the visual location style with the radio buttons, but that's just me.

[5m Racing]

I just downloaded the software and like it a lot. Had a few questions tho. I started a night and put in qualifying data. Then changed to heat race data and made changes and save the set up changes and the race info and it save the track condition changes but did not save the bar changes and my qualifying bar data and my heat bar data were the same. Also is there anyway of putting a spot that i can record all my shop scaling data w/ ride hieghts, lf %, rear % and total wieghts and bite. I think your software is gonna be a great help to my racing operation as keeping notes is the hardest think to do for us. Thanks a lot.

Mike Fryer
Performance Automotive Racing
5M - Dirt Late Model

[dualdj1]

Mike,
Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure as we go there will be more and more things to put in, so we have to figure out the best way to do so. This will be a work in progress, until probably after the season is started. I hopefully can come up with a way so data doesn't need to be reentered when I do version updates, but at this point as I add fields I've been having to reenter data.

I think I already have a spot for weights, though I could have it display the calculated %'s/total weight/etc. Is this something that we need to have for every race, or would it be something on the night as a whole? (ie before going out, this is what we scaled/set the car to, then maybe have place to note changes made during the night)

Right now all the settings you have for the last selected race will carry over, so you only have to enter your changes.

I think I will change the update buttons to just a single one, that updates both the selected race condition, and the chassis settings at the same time, rather than have 2 separate buttons.

[5m Racing]

yes there is a place for weights but no %'s etc. I think that is just something just for the night as a whole just like you said. That sounds like a great idea. The combining the save buttons sound like a good idea too. I see how the changes carry over which is great but the problem i encountered was that when i changed the bar settings for the heat race it changed my bar settings for the qualifying session as well. I think when i changed bar selections on the feature, amain and bmain it changed them all the way up to the qualifying bar settings. I dont know if i am making sense or not.

Thanks,
I look forward to continuing to work with you on this.

[joedoozer]

yes there is a place for weights but no %'s etc. I think that is just something just for the night as a whole just like you said. That sounds like a great idea. The combining the save buttons sound like a good idea too. I see how the changes carry over which is great but the problem i encountered was that when i changed the bar settings for the heat race it changed my bar settings for the qualifying session as well. I think when i changed bar selections on the feature, amain and bmain it changed them all the way up to the qualifying bar settings. I dont know if i am making sense or not.

Thanks,
I look forward to continuing to work with you on this.

When you want to update your set up, make sure you click the race first. In the upper left menu. Make sure qualifying (for example) is highlighted Blue. Then click update setup. It will save the changes.

[joedoozer]

I really like this. This is going to clean things up in my setup book.

I know you could add 100 different things to this. How hard would it be to have more locations for panhard/J-bar? I have 7 locations on the frame and 8 on the pinion. Or would it be easier to just add a manual height for both locations? Then I could just put the heights in. 5th coil shock? Ride heights? Gear? Caster, Camber and Toe for the front end.

Just throwing out some ideas. This is really good stuff. Thanks for doing this.

[dualdj1]

Adding stuff is simply having the space to do so on the form. At this point I'm thinking I may have to change to combo boxes (drop down list, click the little arrow at the side to see all the numbers and pick which one you want) for the bar settings, as I don't think there's going to be enough room to add more holes. I like the visual aspect of the radio buttons to be able to "see" where your bars are set, but if it's not gonna fit, it's not gonna fit. I will also put a measured height box in there for manually typing it if you so choose. I want to make this as universal as possible to fit the largest variety of cars.

Gear is something I just forgot, and would've caught, so that'll be in. I see no problem adding all the rest of that stuff as well. Let me see if I get time today, but should be able to get it going.

[5m Racing]

Thanks JoeDozer. I agree with you. This is gonna make my notes and set up a lot more organized and easier to deal with. I cant wait to use it at the track and be able to look up previous changes on similar track conditions at a click of a button instead of looking through pages of unfinished notes and finding nothing.

[joedoozer]

Adding stuff is simply having the space to do so on the form. At this point I'm thinking I may have to change to combo boxes (drop down list, click the little arrow at the side to see all the numbers and pick which one you want) for the bar settings, as I don't think there's going to be enough room to add more holes. I like the visual aspect of the radio buttons to be able to "see" where your bars are set, but if it's not gonna fit, it's not gonna fit. I will also put a measured height box in there for manually typing it if you so choose. I want to make this as universal as possible to fit the largest variety of cars.

Gear is something I just forgot, and would've caught, so that'll be in. I see no problem adding all the rest of that stuff as well. Let me see if I get time today, but should be able to get it going.

I like the idea of the drop down boxes, is it possible the "default" selection in the box is blank?

This is what I am doing now :). Not sure if it will help anyone else. Or if OP even thought of anyone doing this.

I take a screenshot of the program. Open up MS Paint and paste the screenshot. Then I cut out the section I want, and paste it in Excel. I do this for all the sections (Bars, Weights, and Shocks). I move stuff around so I get a printable version for my notebook, so I can take it in paper form to the track.

If the drop down boxes had a default blank setting. I could print out a "blank" form, and then write in everything at the track. I could print out the completed one (with all my car settings), because that is the way the car is going to the track. Then print out a bunch of "blanks" so when changes are made to the car, I can write them in without scribbling things out.

It would be nice to have a print button in the program. Something with a clean format that was similar to the layout in the program. Here is a link to the "blank" form I created.
http://www.speedyshare.com/files/28092194/Set_Up_Sheet_Blank.xlsx

[dualdj1]

You're gettin ahead of me man :P Yeah I have a lot of that stuff planned, this is just early on. I did a revamp of the bars page and hope to have it posted later today, but came into work to a ton of stuff broken/down, so I don't know if it'll go up today or not. Will keep ya posted. I did plan to make a setup sheet to go with it, but if you get one that works good that saves me the trouble :D

[dualdj1]

On your setup sheet, can you save in Excel97/2000/2003 format (.xls)? I think you're in office 2010 and us people with older office versions can't open it.

[apr28]

I couldn't down load it for the same reason.

[dualdj1]

OK New version (0.3.1) is up, with significant changes, mostly in the bar settings section. I've done some quick testing, but haven't had much time to get into it too extensively. It should also work with your existing data file for those upgrading, though it may not populate all fields. Let me know how it works!

[joedoozer]

yeah I can save it as an xls format. Its just a copy and pasted picture of what I did a screen shot of. You can't actually type anything in the fields. I just needed a blank form for the book.

I have a set up sheet I made (before I found your program), and it worked well. But to take that info and put it in the program can be a bit confusing. Since my original form was not in same layout as your software. Its much easier if the write on form is identical to the computer one.

Just providing some 2 cents is all. Merely suggestions is all :). I am happy I have anything to use at all. If you never made any changes it is 1000 times better then the way I was doing it.

[dualdj1]

more updates coming this week. Made a couple minor changes already based on some suggestions over the weekend. Hoping to get some reporting capabilities added this week as well.

Any other thoughts/comments/suggestions from use so far? Areas that need improving?

[joedoozer]

Sorry guys. Just moved into a new house and we have been without internet for over a week. Here it is in PDF. Not perfect but its a work in progress. As the software changes I will try and keep a printable version on here.
http://www.speedyshare.com/files/28254846/Set_Up_Sheet_Blank.pdf

I like the drop down window idea the more I thin about it. It would save space, and give us the ability to print out a "blank".

[dualdj1]

cool joe thanks, the version that's up there now has the dropdowns on it, as well as some more fields for weight and such. I'll try and get a few more updates done and get a 0.3.2 version up today.

[dualdj1]

version 0.3.2 is up, with some minor changes and bug fixes. More to come!

[dualdj1]

0.3.3 is up, with bug fixes for new users on first load.

[dualdj1]

updated to 0.3.4 with a few more options, including setting a rating for the setup (will add some filtering later based on setup rating)

[joedoozer]

Here is a printable version of 3.4

http://www.speedyshare.com/files/28441830/Blank_Set_Up_Sheet_3.4.pdf

[dualdj1]

Thanks Joe. I haven't had much time to mess with it, but will try and get some reports started soon. I'd like to be able to print out current setup, with a space to note any changes made. so before the night can print out target sheets for each race, then note any tweaks/changes made, for updating in the history.

[joedoozer]

Thanks Joe. I haven't had much time to mess with it, but will try and get some reports started soon. I'd like to be able to print out current setup, with a space to note any changes made. so before the night can print out target sheets for each race, then note any tweaks/changes made, for updating in the history.

That would be great. Tough to fit that all on a single page haha.

[dualdj1]

I'm hoping to get back on this soon, but probably won't be this week. I had to re-evaluate my reporting methods, and think I came up with something that I like, so as soon as I get my other program updated, I'll be back on this one.

[dualdj1]

version 0.4.0 is up, with some minor updates/fixes, as well as Reporting capabilities. Reports require Microsoft Report Viewer 2008, available at:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=cc96c246-61e5-4d9e-bb5f-416d75a1b9ef

[dualdj1]

bump for revision 0.4.2

New Addition: Front Moment Center calculator under Tools. Only saves previously entered values at this point.


Upcoming: Setup Comparison reports (changes between settings)

[joedoozer]

I like this latest version. I also like that when I print a blank page everything is blank, with one minor exception. The weights auto calculate so when you print a blank form there are 0's and Errors written in. For most people this isn't a problem. But I don't have a printer at home, so I need to have a hand written copy in my set up book.

[dualdj1]

Joe thanks for the feedback as always. i've gotten real busy at the end of the season here and haven't had much time to mess with it lately. I'll have to see what I can do on fixing the autocalcs.

Overall I think it's worked pretty well for my team this year. There's still some changes and improvements that need made i think, maybe some usability fixes, but I think for a season in it's done pretty well. I'll try and keep working it this winter and see if we can have it better for next year!

[joedoozer]

It has worked well for me. Even with the updates and the changes. I wouldn't even worry about the autocalcs, its nice that it does it. I just need to hook up my printer and stop being lazy about it.

[zeroracing]

I am unable to get any of the download links to work other than the microsoft part. It takes me to the download site but states that the files are missing or deleted. Is anybody else having these problems? I would like to download the excel file and the pdfs if I can.

[joedoozer]

Those excels and PDF's are old version I created. You no longer need them, because the program has a report function now. So you can print set ups right from the program. I still have the version 3.4 PDF on my computer.

[dualdj1]

It has worked well for me. Even with the updates and the changes. I wouldn't even worry about the autocalcs, its nice that it does it. I just need to hook up my printer and stop being lazy about it.

Well I have the reporting side doing auto calcs, I can actually have the program figure it then send it to the report, so then when we do blank reports it won't error. Just a minor change in the way it's structured, not a big deal.

I also still want to add some better correlation and setup comparison, to see what changes were made between setups, and be able to report what needs to be changed between races, etc. so instead of having the full setup sheet and having to look back at your previous setup, you know exactly what to change by how much.

[dualdj1]

I am unable to get any of the download links to work other than the microsoft part. It takes me to the download site but states that the files are missing or deleted. Is anybody else having these problems? I would like to download the excel file and the pdfs if I can.


Yeah as Joe said those were just some temporary files we were using, and now the program should have everything you need. If you have any problems downloading and installing the software from SourceForge, please let me know.

[joedoozer]

Ok I found a few minor things. haha.

When I run the report its not formatted correctly. Weights and stuff aren't in the designated spaces. Is this something that is specific with me? Possible I have the wrong report version software?

And I would like to have more "race" options. A few Warm Up choices would be nice.