How to analyze AiM data without Race Studio
Race Studio is a capable tool, but it is a Windows desktop install — and sometimes you just want to see where you lost time, not boot a laptop, install software, and export files first. If your car runs an AiM logger, you can go straight from the .xrk file to a lap comparison in a browser.
Here is what that path looks like, what LapLift reads out of an AiM file, and the parts of the job that genuinely stay in Race Studio.
Why skip the export step
Race Studio runs on Windows. If you are on a Mac, a Chromebook, or a phone in the paddock — or you simply do not want another desktop app in the loop — that is friction between you and the one thing you are after: where am I slow, and against whom. LapLift is a browser tool, so the answer is a drag-and-drop away on whatever device you have in your hand.
This is not Race Studio versus LapLift. It is using the right one for the moment: Race Studio for setting the logger up, LapLift for reading the session back. For analysis you do not need the desktop app open.
The no-export path
LapLift reads the native AiM file directly. Drop in a .xrk (or the compressed .xrz) exactly as it came off the logger or the SD card — no conversion, no CSV step. If you happen to already have a Race Studio CSV export, LapLift reads that too, as a fallback for the occasional file that will not open as .xrk. Either way you are comparing laps within seconds of the upload finishing.
What you get from an AiM file
AiM loggers carry GPS speed, position and the IMU — lateral, longitudinal and vertical G plus yaw rate — on every file. When the logger was bridged to the car's ECU or OBD-II, you also get the engine and driver-input channels. Any extra CAN or analog channels the file holds are plotted alongside.
- Speed (GPS), GPS position and heading
- Lateral, longitudinal and vertical G, plus yaw rate
- Throttle, brake pressure and steering angle (with an ECU/OBD-II bridge)
- RPM and gear (with an ECU/OBD-II bridge)
- Any extra CAN or analog channels your file carries
From there it is a full analysis session: overlay your lap on a faster driver's, read a corner-by-corner delta trace that shows exactly where the time changes hands, see your line and the speed you carried through every corner on the track map, compare against the field with crowd percentiles, build a Theoretical Best from your quickest sectors, and auto-sync your GoPro or DJI video to the data.
What stays in Race Studio
Being honest about the boundary: LapLift replaces the analysis half, not device management. Setting the logger's channels, calibrating sensors, updating firmware, configuring the ECU stream — that is Race Studio's job, and it stays there. Think of LapLift as where the file goes after the session, not a replacement for the software that set the logger up.
From file to overlay
- Get the .xrk off the logger — copy it from the SD card, or, if Race Studio is already open, export or save the session file.
- Open LapLift and drop the .xrk in. (No account yet? It is free to create one.)
- Pick the lap you want to study and a lap to compare against — your own best, a session-mate's, or your Theoretical Best.
- Read the delta trace worst-corner-first, and watch the video follow the cursor once it is synced.
Questions
Does LapLift read .xrz files too?
Yes — the compressed .xrz reads natively, the same as a .xrk. Upload it as-is; there is no need to unpack or convert it first.
Solo 2, MyChron, an MXm dash — do the files differ?
Not in a way you have to think about. Anything that logs the AiM .xrk/.xrz format through Race Studio works — the Solo 2, MyChron and the EVO/MX dash family among them. GPS speed and position come through on every file; RPM, throttle, gear and steering appear when the logger was reading the car's ECU or OBD-II.
What is the brake channel actually showing?
On AiM setups the brake channel is usually a real line-pressure reading, not a pedal on/off switch, so LapLift shows it as a 0–100% pressure trace. That lets you see how hard and how progressively you are braking, not just whether you are on the pedal.
Is it free?
Yes. Create an account, upload your AiM session, and analyze it in your browser at no cost.
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