[VIDEO] Here’s a Primer on the C8 Corvette’s Performance Data Recorder

The Performance Data Recorder, or PDR for short, made its debut on the 2015 Corvette and since then, track dates and valeting your car have never been the same.

The PDR records video of your driving with an overlay of technical data that includes speed and gear indicator, throttle and brake positions, a G-Force monitor and more. After your driving session, you can pull up your data on the Cosworth Toolbox computer program to compare your lap times against yourself or other drivers.

One of the favorite uses of the PDR is with the included “Valet Mode” which allows you to secretly record the valet guy has he parks and retrieves your car.

The Performance Data Recorder was a pet project of Corvette Product Manager Harlan Charles who had to wait a few years from his initial idea for the technology to catch up. As the system was also planned for the next-generation C8 Corvette, it’s received several significant upgrades.

The camera system for the PDR on the 2020 Corvette records in 1080P which helps create the high-definition memory of your driving. The video is recorded to an SDHC flashcard in the Corvette.

Users can still choose to have all the data visible as an overlay on the video and you can you record without the data overlay. Here’s the Corvette’s telemetry data that’s being recorded via the PDR.

• Acceleration
• Speed
• 0-60 MPH
• 0-100 MPH
• 100-0 MPH
• G-Forces
• GPS Location
• Accelerator and Brake Usage
• Gear Choice
• Sound

New features for the PDR include automated recording options where the PDR can act as a dash camera, activating when the car is turned on. The oldest clips are overwritten so that you keep a record of your most recent drives.

The 2nd Generation PDR also contains a database of start/stop locations from popular race tracks so you no longer have to program it yourself.

Users can create point-to-point “road courses” that can be timed, which can be used for autocross courses where the starting line is different than the finish line. Also, we see it as an opportunity to chart your times to work or other locations as well!

Here’s Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter in this new video on the 2020 Corvette Stingray’s PDR:

The Performance Data Recorder will be available on 2020 Corvettes equipped with the 2LT and 3LT trim packages. No costs for the option are known yet but we are expecting full pricing on August 15th.

Source:
Chevrolet / YouTube

Related:
[PICS] PDR Screenshots from VIR Show Just How Much Faster the Corvette ZR1 is Versus the Z06
[VIDEO] C7 Corvette Owner Uses the PDR to Record Valet Driving Recklessly
Chevy Aims to Improve the Picture Quality of the Corvette’s Performance Data Recorder