I'm looking to spend about $500 on a data logger and software. There are so many options out there, what is the best setup for my budget? Position information (GPS) is most important, I'm not sure I'd be able to get much more for the money.

I'd be looking to use it with the Track Vision software (trackvision.net) for mostly track days and amateur use.

 

Performance box is the only one that price I know of: http://www.vboxusa.com/performancedrift/

loving mine so far

 

Agreed, Performance Box is a lot of data for $500.

 

What about MaxQ?

 

This is what I use.

 

PerformanceBox is pretty good for $500. I have review of it on my site.
Another solid option is a used system.

What do you want to use it for? That's can help focus the recommendation.

 

I want to use it for track days, primarily to acquire and overlay data on my HD camera system in the car.

It seems like the cheapest option would be Track Vision and the Qstarz BT-Q1000. That would only get me position data. Accelerometers would be nice. I'll look into the Performace Box...

 

The Performance Box is great for track days and simpler to use than the MaxQ, but adding video means spending a bit more for TrackVision and spending a little time syncing it all up.

MaxQ has a really neat budget video system now too.

 

I've used the MaxQ system quite a bit for autocrossing, and it is excellent.