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Your Data Files

Which files GP Data opens, and what it does with each one.

Opening files

Use Add New Data Files and pick one or more files. You can open several at once, from different loggers, and compare them on the same plot. Opened files are kept in your browser, so Pick Uploaded Data brings them back later without finding them again.

GP Data works out what each file is from its contents, so a file renamed or saved as .csv still opens correctly.

Supported loggers and formats

AiM (Race Studio CSV, or .xrk / .xrz)

• Open: a CSV exported from Race Studio, or the logger's own .xrk / .xrz file directly. No export needed.
• How it's read: .xrk files are decoded in your browser by libxrk, an open-source reader (see Open-source Software). Every channel is lined up on the GPS fixes' times, at 10 rows a second or more, so faster channels keep their detail.
• Laps: from the logger's beacon markers, unless the track's start/finish line times them (see Laps).

Racelogic VBOX (.vbo, and VBOX CSV exports)

• Open: a .vbo file, or a CSV exported from VBOX Tools or Circuit Tools, including single laps exported one per file.
• How it's read: VBOX writes latitude and longitude in arc-minutes, with longitude positive to the west. GP Data converts both to ordinary degrees, so the track lands in the right place on the map. VBOX's time-of-day clock and its running distance are handled too, so a single exported lap is measured from its own start.
• Not yet: .vbb, VBOX's newer binary format, which isn't publicly documented. Convert it to .vbo or CSV in VBOX Test Suite or VBOX File Processor first.

MoTeC (.ld, or CSV export)

• Open: the .ld log file directly, or a CSV exported from MoTeC i2. Pick the .ld together with its .ldx (the file of the same name beside it) to get the logger's laps.
• How it's read: GP Data reads .ld files in your browser with its own reader. MoTeC loggers record channels at different rates, so they're lined up on one timeline at the fastest channel's rate, up to 100 rows a second. Common channels are named to match the other formats.
• Laps: from the .ldx beacon markers when picked with it; otherwise from the track's start/finish line (see Laps).

GP Bikes (PiBoSo CSV)

• Open: the CSV telemetry log GP Bikes writes.
• How it's read: its laps come from its own lap distance. GP Bikes positions are in the game's coordinates. For tracks with a GP Bikes alignment, GP Data places them on the real circuit's map, so a sim lap can sit beside a real one.

VI-grade (.res)

• Open: a VI-CarRealTime results file (.res).
• How it's read: its simulation channels, named from VI-grade's own channel names.

Garmin (.tcx)

• Open: a .tcx activity file.
• How it's read: watches record a point every second or so, so the track is smoothed to 10 rows a second, and speed and acceleration are worked out from the GPS. The recorded points are kept as "(original)" channels, so you can check the smoothed line against what was actually recorded.

GoPro videos (.mp4 / .lrv)

• Open: the video files from a GoPro with GPS (HERO5 Black and later). A recording split into several files is joined back together.
• How it's read: GP Data reads the GPS and accelerometer data GoPro stores inside the video, and makes a log from it. The accelerometer is smoothed to take out engine and road vibration, and turned from the camera's direction into the bike's (forward, sideways, up). For this it reads only the data part of the file, not the picture.
• With Pro, the video itself too:
  • It plays above the map, kept in step with your data: hover or tap the plot, and the video jumps to that moment.
  • Data overlays are drawn over the picture, such as speed, lap and lap time, the gap to a reference lap, throttle and brake, the track map, and a g-g circle.
  • You can export a clip with the overlays burned in: trimmed to the part you choose, resized if you like, with the sound kept. It's saved as an MP4 on your device.
  • Playing and exporting both happen in your browser, using your device's own video hardware. If your site storage is protected (User → Site Storage), the app can keep a copy of the video in the browser so it opens without picking it again; Remove from browser or Clear Site Data deletes it.
• Either way, the video is never uploaded.

ScanMyTesla (CSV)

• Open: a ScanMyTesla CSV log.
• How it's read: its channels are logged at different rates, so they're lined up at 20 rows a second.

Any other CSV, TSV or .dat

• Open: a comma- or tab-separated log with a column for time, distance, or latitude and longitude.
• How it's read:
  • The header row is found for you, even below lines of notes or settings at the top of the file. A units row under it (km/h, m/s², …) is read as units.
  • Without a distance column, distance is worked out from the GPS.
  • If the columns aren't picked up the way you want, the file's ✎ → Channels & import lets you set which row is the header and what each column is.

Not supported yet

• VBOX .vbb and 2D Datarecording logs: these are binary formats without public documentation. Export to CSV (or .vbo for VBOX) in Racelogic's or 2D's software, then open that.
• Another logger that doesn't export CSV? Tell us at support@gpmech.com, ideally with a sample file.

Laps

• At a known track, laps are timed where your GPS crosses its start/finish line, and split into sectors at its split lines. GP Data finds the track from the file's venue name, or from where the GPS is. You can also pick it, or draw your own lines in Tracks.
• Otherwise, the file's own laps are used: the logger's beacon markers, or where its lap distance starts again.
• Each lap's time and distance start exactly at the crossing, worked out between the logged samples, not at the next sample after it.
• A file's first and last laps (usually the out-lap and in-lap), and laps through the pit lane (marked ⚠), are left unticked to start with, so comparisons use real laps.

Channel names

Loggers name the same thing differently ("GPS Speed", "Speed", "Velocity"…). GP Data maps common channels to one name, such as Speed, RPM, Lateral and Longitudinal acceleration, and GPS position. That way a plot set up for one logger works for another, and files from different loggers line up for comparison. Every original channel stays available under its own name too.

Where your data goes

• Files are read and processed in your browser, on your device. We never receive them, on the free plan or on Pro.
• They're stored in your browser's own storage, so they're there next time. With Pro, that can include copies of your videos (see GoPro, above). Clear Site Data (User → Site Storage) removes it all.
• Clips you export are saved where you choose on your device.
• Backups go only where you choose: a file on your device, or your own Google Drive.

See the Privacy Policy for the details.

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