Telemetry is the live stream of data a racing simulation outputs about the car and the session: speed, engine RPM, gear, throttle and brake position, steering angle, tire slip and temperature, suspension travel, g-forces, lap and sector times, and more. Real race teams record the same data from real cars; sims expose it so software and hardware can react to it.
What uses it
- Dashboards: a phone, tablet, or small display showing gear, RPM lights, lap times, and fuel, driven by software such as SimHub.
- Bass shakers and haptic pads: RPM, shifts, wheel lock, and curbs become specific vibrations.
- Motion platforms: g-forces and road surface become movement.
- LED rev strips and button box displays on the rim.
- Driver analysis tools that compare your inputs against a faster lap, corner by corner.
Where it is available
PC sims expose telemetry through shared memory or a network protocol, and most support it natively (iRacing, Assetto Corsa and Competizione, Automobilista 2, rFactor 2). Some console games broadcast telemetry over the local network (Forza Motorsport, Forza Horizon, F1, and Gran Turismo 7 have network telemetry features that a PC or phone app on the same network can read), but consoles do not let local hardware use it directly, which is why telemetry driven haptics and motion need a PC or companion app in the loop even for console racers.
