Garmin Catalyst 2 Driving Performance Optimiser

Garmin Catalyst™ 2 — the logical next step, at half the size

When we put the first Catalyst on sale, we wrote in black and white: "we'll probably be the first to buy it, and if it's rubbish we'll take it off sale". We bought it. We drove with it... It never left the catalogue and became one of our best sellers. So much for the lineage.

The second generation follows exactly the same idea — analysing the video of every lap, cross-referencing it with the GPS line, and telling you where you are losing time — but Garmin has fixed the main criticism we had of the first one: its bulk. Gone is the 7-inch slab with its remote camera connected by 3.5 m of cable. The Catalyst 2 is an 8.5 cm wide unit weighing 113 g, with an integrated camera, mounted at the top of the windscreen. It no longer eats into your field of vision and can be moved from one car to another in thirty seconds.

What really changes compared with the Catalyst 1

• Format: 3″ touchscreen versus almost 7″, and 113 g versus 437 g. One unit instead of two.
• Integrated 1440p camera with Garmin Clarity™ HDR optics, versus a remote 1080p camera. No more cable to route through the cabin.
• 25 Hz multi-GNSS GPS versus 10 Hz. Combined with the accelerometers, gyroscopes and image processing, this is the True Track Positioning™ building block: the apex is placed in the right spot, not within two metres.
• True Optimal Lap™: the patented technology that stitches your best sectors into a single continuous video of the lap you could have driven. It's no longer a theoretical time in a table, it's a film you watch.
• Online leaderboards (new): compare your times with other drivers, filterable by session, day, year or car model.
• Vault backup (new): automatic Wi-Fi upload of your best laps to online storage. Paid subscription, not included.

What it does, in practice

• Real-time audio coaching during the lap: speed, braking point, line correction, delivered via Bluetooth earphones or the car stereo.
• At the end of each session, it identifies your three most worthwhile areas for improvement, ranked by time gained.
• HD video with data overlay: track map, speed, adaptive delta, G-G diagram. Exportable as is.
• Preloaded worldwide track database, plus the ability to create your own tracks (private days, karting, airfields).
• Garmin Catalyst app to review, compare and share sessions from your phone.

In the box

• Garmin Catalyst™ 2
• Preinstalled 32 GB microSD card
• Low-profile magnetic mount
• Action camera mount adapter
• Polarised lens cover
• 4 m vehicle power cable
• 1.5 m power / data cable
• Dual-port cigarette lighter adapter
• Documentation
• 1-year warranty

Team Lupos's take and our experience with the Catalyst

We won't lie to you: if we've kept it in the range, it's because it has managed to go further than what the first one already did well!

With the first Catalyst, we told you it made our mouths water. This time we know what we're talking about, with several seasons of data behind us with the first generation.

The real value of the Catalyst isn't the lap timer — any €15 app will give you a lap timer. It's that it makes you improve: it tells you which of your three weaknesses costs you the most, and in which order to tackle them. It's a real coach, and that's what 95% of data acquisition systems lack — they drown you in graphs without ever drawing a conclusion.

As with the first one: we're driving with it, and if we change our minds, we'll take it out of the catalogue!