The Garmin Catalyst made a huge splash when it was introduced to the track enthusiast market. A year later, is it still a revolution?

Sponsored Content Presented by Garmin.

“The response has been fantastic. Through our own use we felt like we had a great product, but it has been extremely rewarding to see how many people it has helped and the positive reception.”

That revelation comes from Adam Spence, product manager for Garmin’s Catalyst™ Driving Performance Optimizer, the seemingly revolutionary …

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I've been using one this year, and I'm still in love.  All of the fast drivers I know are using them as well now.  I love having that voice in my ear to tell me to apex later or carry more speed :)

I still really wish it had CAN or OBD2 integration to fully analyze the driver's inputs (braking pressure, steering angle, throttle position) and car data (RPM) to further optimize those aspects too. 

Imagine it being able to tell you to shift sooner/later or hold a different gear through a corner. Or imagine it offering advise on steering input rate, or brake pressure release in the critical trail braking phase.

If that was offered, even at a slightly higher price, I would have bought one 12 months ago.

Rick O'Shea said:

I still really wish it had CAN or OBD2 integration to fully analyze the driver's inputs (braking pressure, steering angle, throttle position) and car data (RPM) to further optimize those aspects too. 

Imagine it being able to tell you to shift sooner/later or hold a different gear through a corner. Or imagine it offering advise on steering input rate, or brake pressure release in the critical trail braking phase.

If that was offered, even at a slightly higher price, I would have bought one 12 months ago.

I thought it was a bit odd too. The functionality seems inexpensive to add. Cheap BT dongle and app. Trackaddicts can do it.

Does it work for Autocross?  Is that planned?  Lastly, does anybody know if Santa claus and the little elves make this so I can put it on my Christmas list for next year?  

It doesn't work for auto-x.  Given the variable course designs and it not knowing where the start/finish lines are, it can't handle it.  Not sure if Garmin is working on that or not.

I wouldn't be surprised if they do add the ability to incorporate a BT OBD2 dongle to grab more information.  Right now it does everything I want it to do, very happy they figured out the audio/video export feature. 

They sent me one to test and review, it showed up broken, and I never got another one to try out. 

Everyone I know with one seems to like it, though.

fatallightning said:

Rick O'Shea said:

I still really wish it had CAN or OBD2 integration to fully analyze the driver's inputs (braking pressure, steering angle, throttle position) and car data (RPM) to further optimize those aspects too. 

Imagine it being able to tell you to shift sooner/later or hold a different gear through a corner. Or imagine it offering advise on steering input rate, or brake pressure release in the critical trail braking phase.

If that was offered, even at a slightly higher price, I would have bought one 12 months ago.

I thought it was a bit odd too. The functionality seems inexpensive to add. Cheap BT dongle and app. Trackaddicts can do it.

It's a little more complex than that, Garmin would have to generate and maintain CAN translation files for every application. Easy for Corvettes and Cameros, less easy for Miatas, impossible for older cars and unlikely for weirdos. 

OBD-II wouldn't get you brake pressure and even throttle position might be a bit laggy. I'm cool with it being a standalone, after dealing with what it takes to move an AIM Solo from car to car. Besides, it's showing you the actual effect of the acceleration and braking which is what really counts.

A local track guy has one and will happily proselytize at length about it. If I was still chasing track times, I'd probably have to pick one up.

sounds like an awesome piece.  Ill never be able to afford one

Careful what you wish for with OBD2 compatibility.  I've got a 2014 BMW X3 and was told adding a dongle for the car insurance company to see how I'm driving drives the ECU crazy.

I have two friends just getting started.  How do you think it would deal with a car problem like a tire cording or a trailing arm bushing that is weak on an E46 BMW (Toes out)?   

In reply to ganseg :

That's a driver thing, not an electronic thing.  It's up to the driver to know they have a bad tire or suspension bushing.