Karting is one of the purest forms of motorsport. No engine management system to hide behind, no traction control, no ABS. It’s you, the kart, and whatever information you can extract from the data. And now, thanks to a new integration cable kit from Autosport Labs, AIM Mychron users can plug into the same real-time telemetry platform used by professional teams across every level of motorsport.
This post covers what real-time telemetry means for kart racers, how the PodiumConnect/Micro works with the AIM Mychron, and what the new AIM Mychron Integration Cable Kit does to make it all possible.
Why Real-Time Telemetry Matters in Karting
The conventional approach to kart data analysis goes like this: run a session, come into the pits, download your Mychron data, and review it on a laptop. You analyze lap times, look at speed traces, and try to piece together what happened on track. Then you make a change to the kart and go back out.
There’s a fundamental problem with that workflow: the feedback loop is too slow. By the time you’ve reviewed the data, the session is over, track conditions have shifted, and your window to react to emerging issues has closed.
Real-time telemetry changes all of that. With live data streaming to the pits, your crew chief can see exactly what the kart is doing while it’s still on track: engine temperature rising before it becomes a problem, a driver carrying too much speed into a particular corner, tire temperatures drifting out of the optimal window. You can make informed decisions during a session, not after it.
For teams running multiple drivers in an endurance or rental kart format, live telemetry is even more powerful. You can compare laps in real time, coach drivers from the pit wall, and track fuel and performance trends across stints without waiting for a data download.
PodiumConnect/Micro: A Live Data Bridge for Your Existing Data System
The PodiumConnect/Micro is a compact, standalone device that connects to your existing data acquisition system via CAN bus and streams up to 100 channels of live sensor data to the Podium platform over WiFi. It works with AIM, MoTeC, ECUMaster, VBOX, Lowrance, and any other CAN-enabled data system.
The device measures 94 x 61 x 16mm, weighs just 100 grams, and is IP65-rated for the dirt, rain, and heat that are part of life at a kart track. It supports 10Hz telemetry streaming over WiFi to Podium, while also logging locally to an onboard SD card at up to 100Hz for post-session deep-dive analysis.
On the Podium platform, that live data becomes immediately actionable:
- Real-time sensor alerts: configure thresholds for engine temperature, oil pressure, battery voltage, and any other channel available from your Mychron. Get notified on your phone or pit display before a problem ends your race.
- Live lap trace vs. reference lap: overlay a driver’s current lap against their best or a reference lap in real time, identifying where time is being lost corner by corner.
- Time-gap analysis: see exactly where gains and losses accumulate as soon as the data is live-streamed. No waiting for end-of-session downloads.
- Driver ID tracking: using a compatible Bluetooth device, PodiumConnect/Micro can identify which driver is in the kart, making it easy to separate and compare lap data across team members in a shared-kart or endurance format.
PodiumConnect/Micro connects to whatever WiFi hotspot you bring to the track. A cellular hotspot or satellite internet like Starlink Mini both work. There’s no proprietary modem to manage and no additional subscription just to get data moving.
The AIM Mychron Challenge: Power
AIM’s Mychron series is the dominant dashboard system in karting. The Mychron 5 and Mychron 6 are ubiquitous at club and professional levels alike, and they expose CAN bus data that the PodiumConnect/Micro can read and stream directly.
However, the Mychron presents a hardware challenge that other AIM systems don’t face. It cannot supply sufficient power to run the PodiumConnect/Micro from its CAN expansion port. Other AIM dashboards such as the MXS and MXG power connected CAN accessories without issue. The Mychron’s design keeps power delivery to the expansion connector limited, which means the PodiumConnect/Micro needs its own dedicated power connection when used with a Mychron.
That’s exactly what the new cable kit solves.
The AIM Mychron Integration Cable Kit
The AIM Mychron Real-Time Telemetry Integration Cable Kit ($67.95) is a complete hardware bundle that gives you everything needed to correctly wire the PodiumConnect/Micro into a Mychron-equipped kart. The kit contains three components:
- AIM integration patch cable: connects to the Mychron’s CAN output or the AIM data hub
- Mini CAN bus splitter: creates the branch point that lets both the AIM cable and the power pigtail connect to the PodiumConnect/Micro
- Power + CAN pigtail: routes independent 12V power from the kart’s power supply to the PodiumConnect/Micro, solving the power delivery limitation of the Mychron expansion port
The connection sequence is straightforward:
- Plug the AIM integration cable into the Mychron or the AIM data hub
- Plug the PodiumConnect/Micro into the mini splitter
- Plug the AIM integration cable into one port of the mini splitter
- Plug the power + CAN pigtail into the other port of the mini splitter
- Connect the power + CAN pigtail to your kart’s 12V supply
Once wired, proceed with the standard PodiumConnect/Micro setup to configure WiFi, set your Podium streaming key, and verify telemetry is flowing. The setup wizard walks you through the full process step by step.
Mychron 6 Note
If you’re running a Mychron 6, there’s one additional prerequisite: the Mychron 6 requires a connected SmartyCam system to correctly broadcast CAN bus data. Without a SmartyCam, the CAN bus output is inactive and PodiumConnect/Micro won’t receive data. Mychron 5 and earlier units don’t have this limitation, as CAN bus is enabled by default with no SmartyCam required.
What Data Are You Actually Getting?
The specific channels available through your Mychron will depend on what sensors are configured, but through the CAN bus integration you can typically stream:
- Engine RPM
- Speed
- Water temperature
- Exhaust gas temperature (EGT), where configured
- Lap timing and sector splits
- GPS position and track map data
- G-forces (lateral and longitudinal) from the Mychron’s internal sensors
With PodiumConnect/Micro’s support for up to 100 CAN channels, there’s headroom to add further sensors alongside your Mychron data in a single unified telemetry stream. TPMS tire pressure sensors and TireX thermal sensors are both compatible, giving you a richer picture of what the kart is doing on every lap.
The Bigger Picture: Real-Time Strategy While the Race Is Still Running
Post-session data analysis will always have a place in motorsport development. But for in-event decision making, real-time data is categorically different in its usefulness. The coaching call between sessions, the engine temp spike at lap 12, the driver who’s half a second slower than their teammate through the hairpin: all of these are opportunities you can act on only if you see them while the session is still live.
The combination of an AIM Mychron, the new cable kit, and a PodiumConnect/Micro gives kart teams access to a live telemetry workflow that was, until recently, the exclusive domain of well-funded professional programs. The infrastructure cost has dropped to a level accessible to any serious club racer or regional team.
The gap between reviewing data after the race and acting on it during the race is where wins and championships are decided. Now the tools to close that gap are available for the platform most kart racers are already running.
Getting Started
- AIM Mychron Integration Cable Kit: $67.95
- PodiumConnect/Micro: $349.95
- Full setup documentation on the Autosport Labs wiki
- Create your Podium account at podium.live
The cable kit is available now. If you’re already running a PodiumConnect/Micro with another AIM system and considering adding a Mychron-equipped kart to your setup, this is the only additional hardware you need.