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CP911 in looking at your thread, I realized most of my comments weren't answering your question. M Laptimer, Harry's, TrackAddict, and ApexPro all rely on smartphone integration while on track to work. You're right that having to link and reliably start all those systems IS a pain. And, as I saw this past weekend, sometimes they get flaky. A checklist helps a lot, but it's still steps you have to go through and lots of things to futz with.
On the other hand, I keep going through the same pricing exercises I'm sure you do. Even if you add in an external GPS and OBD module, these cheap/free tools are really appealing compared to the $400 and up for an AIM device (~$700 for the DL). And I'm sure for most of us HPDE guys the instructor feedback and just more track time is way more important than the occasional data loss.
I would suggest that starting a GoPro (or similar) separately isn't that hard (especially with a checklist), and is likely to have way better video quality than the AIM camera.
dradernh I don't recall exactly what the Apex guy was calling the friction feature. It did go beyond the typical g-meter friction circle. Like many exotic tech things, it's in the realm of 'fancy magic', and the FM is the result of some algorithm that may or may not be real. The rep stated that it worked by watching the high data rate multi-axis accelerometers (9 axis ?), calculating yaw rates, and inferring the max level of grip based on the short instances you are meeting/exceeding them. It apparently takes a few laps to learn your car. I'm also sure there are some fudge factors in the FM. But several of advanced drivers tried the demo units, and we reviewed a lap by one of them in the classroom, and it seemed to be useful and accurate info.
However, I haven't seen the AIM output and can't compare them directly. Maybe the AIM has similar FM output.
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