crew chief pro or ifamily

[S/P G673]

just wondering what one is better.and pro's and cons for them. I dont have one yet,but am looking into it and dont want to buy the wrong one.

[Lou SG2340]

Don't know ifamily. Crew Chief is the best I ever used. Don is a racer & updates the system on a regular basics. His isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for. You have to have good weather gagues for it to work right

[Chris Williams]

With all due respect to Don (who has done a lot of fine work on his program), I prefer iFamily. It too is built by a racer (Bob Kodadek). It uses a state of the art, commercially available weather station (from Davis instruments) not the other "designed in the 60's" weather stations that seem to be common in drag racing. And it can use as little as one run to get a solid prediction. In addition, in my opinion based on 25 years in the software business, the user interface is clearer and easier to use. I've used both, and prefer iFamily.

[Bill Baer]

I haven't used ifamly software but I have and do use Crewchief pro and it works well and Don does provide excellent support after the sale which I really appreciate.

[GRIGGS]

My father and I use Crew Chief Pro. Haven't used the other brand. Don gives great tech support and is easy to deal with. Also being able to page two different cars at the same time is an added bonus with the team portion of the Crew Chief 7.
Mike and Ernie Griggs

[Chris Williams]

Gee, a tad touchy aren't we? It seems that only you are entitled to your opinion. I have "done my homework" on weather stations, and I know that none of the systems we're using are up to NOAA standards, that would require a Campbell or other similar system costing 10x what these do. But that's a whole different story.

I put "designed in the 60's" in quotes because I meant it as an exaggeration. The user interfaces on everything in drag racing is terrible. The UI on all the weather stations require 20 clicks where two would do, most of the software is cumbersome and obtuse, and 90% of the tools for everything from EFIs to Data Loggers and so on are far too difficult to use. All designed by people who may have a grasp on the nuts and bolts but surely don't know how to design for the end user.

I spend 1/2 my time at the races on any given weekend helping people get software (yours, Bob's, Racepak, whoever) to talk to the weather station or the pager or... or how to set the transbrake on their delay box or... even to work at all. What with all the serial to USB connectors and the terrible interfaces, and Windows being a PITA, the state of the art in drag racing software and hardware has barely made it out of the late 80s...

[Chris Williams]

Congratulations on meeting Bill. Having worked for Microsoft for the better part of a decade and including working directly for Bill, I know him personally. Also, having endured many project reviews with him, I can tell you that anything more than a cursory review of your software would be a painful experience you would not soon forget. I and my team wrote the database system that underlies your software, so I know of what I speak.

But Don, this thread indicates clearly to me why I no longer use your software. I started by making a relatively mild supportive remark for your competitor and you dissed the competition as "farmers". You slammed me telling me I don't know anything about weather systems. When I mention that I am constantly called upon at the track to explain why the system doesn't work, you tell me I'm wrong, it just works. And finally you try to pull the "Bill Gates" card on someone who actually knows and worked with him personally.

Congrats on your national win, must have been fun. If I was to slam you back, I'd say "even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then". But I won't. Best of luck with your software and your company.

[S/P G673]

Chris,were you at mission this last weekend? i recognize that car.i also was there but only running s/pro.will you be at pacific this weekend?

[Chris Williams]

Originally Posted by S/P G673

Chris,were you at mission this last weekend? i recognize that car.i also was there but only running s/pro.will you be at pacific this weekend?

Yep we were at mission, and won Super Comp on Sunday (with iFamily ). We are a Pacific, just got back from tech, will have time runs tomorrow, eliminations start Saturday.

[roseracing]

We use Don's Crew Chief Pro and it works pretty good. We like it because we have 3 cars and can use it for all 3.

We've never tried iFamily, in fact I've never heard about it before until now.

Also, I know quite a bit about weather stations and software - but I've never met or worked for the real Microsoft Bill Gates. I did work for a guy that had the same name though. Does that count?

Anyway, I Hope you two can get along and good luck to both of you wherever you may be racing.

Thanks,
Brad Rose
Rose Racing