Have Your Own Personal Race Coach with a Garmin Catalyst
From carving through the corners to hitting triple digit speeds down the straights, track days are the safest place to find the limits of your car and your driving abilities. More practice can make you a better driver, but you’ll get much better must faster with a good coach. A qualified instructor is one route to go because they can show you what’s working behind the wheel and what isn’t. Or you can get Garmin’s new in-car coach, the Catalyst, and can get real-time instruction to improve your driving ability at any track, in any car.
The industry-first Garmin Catalyst takes your driving data and combines it with pre-loaded information about the track you’re on to deliver real-time audible driving tips via a Bluetooth-enabled car stereo or headset. Garmin’s True Track Positioning Technology determines exactly where a vehicle is on the track. This tech uses a combination of image processing software from the included HD camera, built-in accelerometers, and high-resolution 10 Hz multi-GNSS positioning to generate your car’s actual racing line. Armed with this information, the Catalyst’s True Optimal Lap Technology displays the driver’s best achievable line to get around the track in the lowest time possible via prompts like when to brake, when to turn in, where to position the car on the track, and so much more.
Off the track, you can play back the session on the Catalyst’s high-resolution seven inch touchscreen. The data gathered can be overlaid so you can compare your latest performance against your previous test sessions. It even allows you to skip to specific laps or even individual segments if you prefer.
Other key features of the Garmin Catalyst include
- Pre-loaded track database includes road courses from around the world, and the ability to auto-generate new course maps for tracks not on the list
- Automatically interprets your data to show the biggest areas of improvement on the built-in touchscreen—no separate computer needed
- Compares performance data from other driving sessions to deliver immediate improvement suggestions
- Shows best lap time, adaptive delta time, number of laps recorded, and session time
- Review in-depth performance data directly on the device itself, or access a summary of your data on your mobile device or computer using the free Garmin Connect app
- Backlit display for easy viewing in low light conditions
- Secure mounting inside the car using the included heavy-duty suction cup or screw-down mounting systems
