I'm a big Geez fan (and one of the earlier owners, back when it was "box"
which was way before it was a cube), so take this for what it's worth and
what you paid for it. :)
We had this question come up on our local list. I made the suggestion of
Geez when somebody was asking about how to get faster. He was a rookie,
and we all advised that the Geez money would be better spent on tires, an
Evolution school, trips to a Tour or Pro, etc. etc.
BUT!
Geez does have many many good uses and it is pretty good at what it was
designed to do. For those of you trying to find tenths or hundreds to be
competitive nationally, I think it will get to the point where (like $3000
shocks) you may _have_ to have it to be competitive in some classes.
For those of you that like spending money on your car, like geek toys,
have a codriver that always beats you, are stuck in a rut, want empirical
data for past and future upgrades, want a record of all the events you've
run, do a lot of structured testing, and more then it is a very good buy for
the money.
Having said all that, I've never bothered to hook up my Geez to the kart
since they've come up with the fuzzy-bomb trick. And I haven't really
autocrossed much else since. I have leant it to many people and find
great delight in analyzing their data (when I get time). I've also done
exchanges of rides in trade for Geez use and driving comparison.
The downsides:
Mapping is not accurate enough to be used to change lines or braking points
Map adjustment is tedious if you try to make it look like the course
Secure but removable mounting is not easy (not Geez fault, but a downside)
Analysis is more useful with a codriver and/or lots of runs
No quick and easy way to analyze even basic data between runs
Doesn't have hard hooks into wheelspeed or RPM sensors (although having
that has it's own set of problems)
Doesn't do great on bumpy surfaces, or in cars that run loose.
Palm storage is a hassle and costly (relative) if you want a dedicated one
Byron never fricking updates his website!
Is expensive (relative to a G-Tech, or that Blitz device)
The upsides:
Empirical data, even if it doesn't show your line exactly, it does show
you the number of seconds you were accelerating and how quickly you got
on the brakes and things like that.
Ratings and usage values are pretty good at overview analyzing the run
Used with a codriver, it can usually prove which method of X works better
(late brake, heavy throttle, left foot braking, hard start, etc. etc.)
Can be used for performance measures (0-60, peak and sustained lateral G)
Allows you to log testing and run data
Autostart makes things much easier than they used to be
Multilap is good for track days or enduro autocrosses
Is cheap (compared to real data aquisition, a set of $3000 shocks, or a
trip to Nationals)
The alternatives:
Knowledgable codriver or instructor that is honest and fair for each run
Data aquisition systems (DRACK, MyChron, Edelbrock, Pi, etc.)
In car video-camera with wide angle lens
Lots of Evolution schools and events
Does it live up to my expectations? Expectations? Yes. Desires? Not
quite. It does all (and actually more due to some clever programming
from Byron) that an accelerometer-based solution can do. To get more
accurate mapping and data you need to go with hard-wired sensors which
is out of most peoples price (and interest range). I purchased a DRACK
system for my kart... I might still use the Geez software to analyze my
runs (I still need to send Byron a sample datafile) but I really wanted
EGT, cylinder head temp, water temp & wheelspeed sensors which are more
critical on a kart (sprint racing) than they are for the average autox
car.
Hope that helps!
--Darren
p.s. The best part of Geez is Byron... who is always willing to answer
questions and give driving advice (at least the theory). He's also
pretty open to suggestions and enhancements (as he can get to them).
You wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I hate to break the silence, but I was hoping some of you could let me know
> how well you like Extreme GEEZ. I'm considering buying the system and I'm
> curious about how well it has lived-up to your expectations.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Ed Cavalier
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