Hey Guys, thanks for the lively discussion, all points are welcome.
If anyone missed it, I am not looking for 10 seconds, give me 4 or 5 and consistency. For those that are not familiar, the Garmin collects 'data' thru GPS and accel/decelerometers (and maybe more). It then analyzes your current lap section against your fastest section and then coaches you what to do (Sebring has 12? sections), for example: brake sooner, apex later, or good job if you did it right. It will also give a review showing your lines, accel and decel points on the track so one can compare and an average lap against the fastest lap.
It will also 'stich' together your fastest section to create your perfect lap and tell you what your time could be. I could generally pick up a few seconds if I could run my perfect lap. It does have speed displayed so I will take the tip and see if I can compare my lap to a video on YouTube or something to that effect.
I like the 'coaching' aspect of the Garmin but one area I would change is instead of coaching me to 'brake later' (where exactly is later), it would be better to give me a countdown "3, 2, 1, brake now". My brake points may vary so 'later' is relative. My racing friend has one and we compare fast laps to see where one of us does better than the other and it is helpful. A good situation would for me to put it in someone's car that runs a lap that is attainable to me (it would not do me any good to say... put it in Danny car b/c I can not drive on the edge of performance like he does.
Steve - feel free to correct any incorrect statement, or add additional capabilities, if I recall, you run the Catalyst and are quite familiar w/ them. - what are your best practices with the catalyst?
Danny - ultimately I agree that granular and specific data comparing laps would tell me a lot. I.E. that driver Johnny McGofast brakes later, lets off sooner, apexes later, carries 4 more mph through the corner and holds a tighter line. This this may be a better solution and is literally telling me what to do, and one day that's what I will have, but for now I have to work with what I have.
So - I although I have no idea how much a driving coach would be, I will ask anyway - would money be better spent on a driving coach or full data acquisition?