How useful is the Daytona for a driver?

[SDRider]

I'm curious to hear because when I'm driving, I'm generally focused on the road and not timing myself from behind the wheel. Has anyone tried using the chronograph feature while driving?

I do go to auto races at least once a year so having a chronograph would be kind of useful for timing cars as they lap the circuit but otherwise I don't really see it being a useful tool for the driver him/herself.

I definitely couldn't use it on the motorcycle.

[LuminousMaximus]

Very profound statement---> "I think it's easier as a passenger..."

[faz]

If you have enough time or attention span to look at your watch on a race track, you are not going fast enough.

[tkerrmd]

use it for multiple things at the race track but in the race the only thing I use it for is how much time is left in the race

I time laps etc while on pit wall






rracing/BF0BCBB9-6A2A-4E2F-BEE8-EA051AD2DB9A_zps1x7q6teo.png[/IMG]

[SG56]

I would think, just like with motorcycle racing, car racers have GPS lap timers that tell you all you need to know, including split times, optimum lap time, predicted lap time and gps calculated speed, if desired.

Daytona is just so sexy!!!
I've been trying to reach Santa, but his phone is busy and his voicemail is full...

[jcatt]

I don't look at my watch at all when I'm on the track. And I'm an amateur. Pros have pit crews that tell them what they need to know about their lap times, time remaining for enduros, etc.
JCATT

[jcatt]

Originally Posted by SG56

I would think, just like with motorcycle racing, car racers have GPS lap timers that tell you all you need to know, including split times, optimum lap time, predicted lap time and gps calculated speed, if desired.

Yes, dedicated track cars do. And those also have telemetry to a pit crew that can tell the driver anything they might need to know, from brake temp to driver's body temp and heart rate. Time, lap times, etc. are easy.
JCATT

[breitlings]

you can drive without a daytona?

[SDRider]

Originally Posted by jcatt

I don't look at my watch at all when I'm on the track. And I'm an amateur. Pros have pit crews that tell them what they need to know about their lap times, time remaining for enduros, etc.
JCATT

I'm aware of that. It just seems that reading the brochures for the Daytona they make it seem like it is an essential tool for the serious driver. I personally see very little use for it in that role. I could see using it to time various cars from the track side but as a driver you are focused on that, not your watch.

So, it's basically just marketing... as I thought.

Originally Posted by breitlings

you can drive without a daytona?

[grimps]

Ive owned two and never been able to read the dial in anything but perfect light , I used to struggle seeing the dial in bars but that was probably due to my drinking
Theres no way i could drive and read the dial of a Daytona

[Jdreg]

When I was choosing the dial colour for mine, my wife advertised that I get the one that was most legible. She didn’t understand I wasn’t buying it to tell the time. As for the sub dials a can’t see them well enough to time anything.

[Juantxo]

A $20 chronograph from Amazon will be much more useful.

[r.afn]

I believe it’s more so for the heritage factor of the Daytona. The Chrono and stuff is obsolete in today’s day and age of telemetry and radio communication. The last time I raced professionally the cars had F1 style projected ‘delta time’. Which is basically + - to thousandths of a second of your current lap vs fastest lap. So the Daytona Chrono pales in comparison. For me, it’s for the drivers of the 60s and 70s that actually used the Chrono on the Daytona to go faster and faster what makes it special.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jimcameron]

Not unlike the Sub or SD. Technology in the form of "dive computers" has pretty much eliminated their utility.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OU8JPKY...&pd_rd_w=gMKG6

[Devildog]

The Daytona is a nod back to these days

[oldman2005]

Originally Posted by faz

If you have enough time or attention span to look at your watch on a race track, you are not going fast enough.

x2

[ratty]

I used to use a chronograph watch to calibrate car's speedometers, but because the 'units' on the later Daytonas start at 60, this was not very helpful.

I am a driving enthusiast and a watch enthusiast, but I think in this day and age a Daytona has very little realistic use other than telling the time when driving. I find the chrono on my old Tag 2000 chrono much easier to use because it displays seconds and minutes on full size hands and can display tenths of a second.

[tkerrmd]

Originally Posted by SDRider

I'm aware of that. It just seems that reading the brochures for the Daytona they make it seem like it is an essential tool for the serious driver. I personally see very little use for it in that role. I could see using it to time various cars from the track side but as a driver you are focused on that, not your watch.

So, it's basically just marketing... as I thought.

obviously it is not in current day with technology used in racing, it is its racing heritage they are referring to back to a time when you couldn't race without a stop watch. its an historic racing icon watch

and if you don't have a Daytona on while racing at Daytona, no one will talk to you!

[regnant]

I use chronograph feature to time my trip time not for reading average speed. It's not as easy as other chronograph counterpart because hour subdial needs more refinement to me

[Andad]

How useful is the Daytona for a driver?

For a driver its about as useless as any other watch.

As for accuracy the Daytona movement runs at 1/8ths of a sec but the dial is in 1/5ths.

Go figure.....

Bring back the 36000 movement Rolex...

[geebob]

Originally Posted by SDRider

I'm curious to hear because when I'm driving, I'm generally focused on the road and not timing myself from behind the wheel. Has anyone tried using the chronograph feature while driving?

I do go to auto races at least once a year so having a chronograph would be kind of useful for timing cars as they lap the circuit but otherwise I don't really see it being a useful tool for the driver him/herself.

I definitely couldn't use it on the motorcycle.

I use the chronograph function often, but only to time my trip to and from the office...it's really useful that way Other than that, I think it's pretty much useless.

It was completely useless when riding my bike, because I sometimes used the lap timer function, but not often...my Monster dashboard has this function.

[Rocketman39]

The best way to understand the whole "Daytona" Theory is to show up at the Rolex 24 hour Race in "Daytona". Everyone except me is wearing a Rolex Daytona. You will see the coolest stuff ever. Every kind of exotic Car known to man or Beast is in the Infield. Everyone is part of the 30 or so hour Party that goes on All day and All Night. You will see the most Beautiful European Women in the World. They came with the Guys who are driving those Lambo's,Ferrari's and Porsche's.
Yes, The old "War Horse" 5513 was on my wrist in 1970 when I watched my first one. You can see pretty much anything. I've seen trailers on Fire,Nekked Women, and Good Men die. When I was a Tampa Cop, my buddy and I caught
a Burglar breaking into a Concession Stand. Got in the Race Free for the next ten years! Best we ever did was three of us attended 17 years in a row,even after we were married. I just hated all that Beggin ! Come on Down !

[DmXmD]

I own a Tag Heuer chronograph, and over the 3 years I've had it, I think I used it to actually time something of importance once or twice. I use the diver bezel function on that watch and my SubC all the time, but my phone would be just as capable.

These watches are jewelry. Sure, it's jewelry that stirs a bit of masculine nostalgia in all of us, but still jewelry. There's nothing wrong with that. I've made peace with it. If my Sub is ever more than 12ft under water, I must have dropped it off the boat.

[Amiroo]

I love Daytonas but for driving I would much rather have this:

[Calatrava r]

You will have ask someone who has one. New ones seem hard to come by. Give the market 4 or 5 years to settle out.

[79280_116520]

The only time I ever need to look at my watch on track days is to figure out how many laps I can get out of my track time before the next group comes out.

[rossi46]

It's great for measuring subway rides

[cab56]

Originally Posted by SG56

I would think, just like with motorcycle racing, car racers have GPS lap timers that tell you all you need to know, including split times, optimum lap time, predicted lap time and gps calculated speed, if desired.

Yep. When driving, I drive. I let the GPS lap timer track my position and times. Then I do some analysis on my computer to see where I can improve.