CREW CHIEF vs DRE
Compare and see the differences between the best spotters for iRacing: Digital Race Engineer and Crew Chief (CC)
Main Differences
DRE offers a plethora of features and quality-of-life changes and does this with a heavy focus on sound.
Crew Chief uses pre-recorded voices and adds visual overlays and has support for various sim-racing titles.
DRE
- Audio-only: Maximize your ears and free up your eyes to drive
- Signals: Non-verbal sounds streaming info continuously
- Ambiance and SFX
- Sim UI navigation
- Additional Tools: File Starter, Race Strategy (WIP), Action Camera, Gear Shift
- And much more, see the comparison below
Crew Chief
- Overlay: Visual aids, charts
- Profiles (WIP in DRE)
- Multi-Sim (WIP in DRE)
- Sampled voices: Pre-recorded voices relay the information
- Pace Notes (WIP in DRE)
- Corner Info (WIP in DRE)
Feature Match
All features in Crew Chief are already included in DRE or planned work*
DRE Free alone covers 91% of CC features and extends with further 50+ free features
Comparison Crew Chief & DRE
| Crew Chief | DRE Free | DRE Essentials | DRE Performance | DRE Ultimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
General | |||||
Navigate UI & Black Boxes  | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Audio Controls | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Setup Tips & Guidance | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Profiles  Use different sets of keybinds, configurations and options, depending on your type of racing, wheel on your rig, etc.Switch automatically based on conditions, or manually when needed | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP |
Multi-Sim Support for various sim-racing titles like:ARCA Sim Racing Assetto Corsa (AC) Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC) Automobilista Copa Petrobas de Marcas Dirt Rally F1 Formula Truck GTR2 Project Cars Race Room rFactor Richard Burns Rally Stock Car Extreme | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP |
Feature Conditions - Track TypeEnable features based on track types (off, on, road, oval) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Feature Conditions - Session TypeEnable features based on session type (practice, qual, race) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Controller bindingAllows binding DRE commands to controller buttons | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Controller POV bindingAllow binding DRE commands to controller POV hat movements | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Support The Dev’s WorkLet me know that my development work is extra appreciated | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Exclusive Discord Channel For Ultimate UsersGet access to a magical, mythical Ultimate channel on Discord | ✓ | ||||
Race For Trees DRE commits to greener sim racing by planting trees.For subscribers, there will be a possibility to build up race mileage that can be converted to planting trees. DRE App will calculate and show how much emissions have been saved by not racing in real life vs sim racing. For x amount of sim racing distance, DRE will plant x amount of trees. The exact details are yet to be determined. | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP | |
App | |||||
Mini WindowQuick-Toggle to shrink the window from a regular size into a small form factor, neat for having side-by-side with the sim | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Stand-alone app (User Interface) In the past, DRE used VoiceAttack as a host UI, but with the new DRE you'll have everything you need in one program | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Small download-sizeDRE utilizes a Downloable-Content-System (DLC) to only download what you need - nothing else. This saves on bandwidth and gets you racing as quick as possible | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Sleek DesignGreat looking app to dial in your sim-racing experience with DRE | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Easy UXUse the Get Started Wizard to set up DRE in no time. Navigate DRE easy with the side menu, tabs, and global search | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Localized App Use DRE in your language. Support for Spanish, Portugese, French, German, etc. | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP |
Auto-saveDRE saves every configuration change, and you don't have to restart the app for the change to take effect | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Auto-updaterDRE automatically downloads and installs new updates in seconds | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
LoggerShows a log window of all alerts, commands, recognitions, and much more. Possible to filter by text search and verbosity | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free Theme | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Essentials Theme | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Performance Themes | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Ultimate Themes | ✓ | ||||
Voice Output | |||||
Radio Comms FX: Radio ClicksAdvanced audio filtering processes brings you realistic radio communication effects when DRE speaks to you. Hear clicks and pops when radios are used | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Radio Comms FX: SignalAdvanced audio filtering processes brings you realistic radio communication effects when DRE speaks to you. Hear signal noises, and quality which degrades as your car moves farther away from the garage | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Localized Voice Output Hear DRE speak in your language. Support for Spanish, Portugese, French, German, etc. | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP |
3D VoiceOn selected speaks, you'll hear DRE speaking to you in spatialized 3D around your head. For example, Overtake Alerts are positioned "on" the overtaking cars, making it quicker to know where the overtake happens | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Sample VoicesPre-recorded voices | ✓ | ||||
Local TTS VoicesUse your own Windows Text-To-Speech engine with DRE. Set your preferred TTS engine in Windows and use it with DRE. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Neural TTS VoicesChoose between 6 natural sounding English voices with vibrant intonations and expression. Choose between male and female voices for US, GB, AU, CA dialects | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
2,000 neural words/mo2,000 words limit per month to let you test the voices. You can opt-out by switching to Local Voice (Windows Text-To-Speech), or increase the limit upgrading to Performance or Ultimate. Once the limit is reached, DRE will automatically switch to using Local Voices. Neural Voices are unlocked and replenished to 2000 words after every 30 days. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
7,000 neural words/mo7,000 neural words limit. You can opt-out by switching to Local Voice (Windows Text-To-Speech), or increase the limit by upgrading to Performance or Ultimate. Once the limit is reached, DRE will automatically switch to using Local Voices. Neural Voices are unlocked and replenished to 7,000 words after every 30 days. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
15,000 neural words/mo15,000 neural words limit. You can opt-out by switching to Local Voice (Windows Text-To-Speech), or disable the limit with Ultimate. Once the limit is reached, DRE will automatically switch to using Local Voices. Neural Voices are unlocked and replenished to 15,000 words after every 30 days. | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Unlimited neural wordsUnlimited number of neural voice word generations | ✓ | ||||
Neural Quality: NormalNeural Voices are generated in 8 Khz | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Neural Quality: GoodNeural Voices are generated in 16 Khz in garage / 8 Khz through comms | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Neural Quality: HighNeural Voices are generated in 16 Khz in garage / 16 Khz through comms | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Neural Quality: ExtremeNeural Voices are generated in 24 Khz in garage / 16 Khz through comms | ✓ | ||||
Spotter Voice OverrideUse another voice for spotter messages like Proximity, Overtake, Flags, Pit countdown, Pit stall enter/exit, Pit stop complete, Pit lane speeding | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Breath in pauseOccasionally pause for breath in messages | ✓ | WIP | WIP | ||
Rants DRE expresses disappointment | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP |
Swearing DRE expresses cussing and swearing | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP |
Complaning DRE complains about your performance | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP |
Pearls of wisdom DRE encourages you | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP |
Responses delayed with Stand-by Some commands will trigger a "stand by" response followed by the info later | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Voice Interaction | |||||
400+ Voice Commands Control DRE and the sim using your voice | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Command BindsBind one or more commands to any of your buttons Examples of possible mappings: - Map the command to clean the windscreen to a controller button - Map a button to clean the windscreen, then change all tires - Be able to hit a button to hear the average lap time for the car ahead for position - Bind a button to go to iRacing Relative tab (F3) - Trigger starting/stopping OBS recordings - Trigger auto fuel calculations A list of current commands binds is found in `Controls -> Command Binds`. Make new command binds from `Commands -> Right-click a command -> Bind`. See the `How to edit Controls` expander in `Controls` view for more information | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Disable commandsDisable commands you don't need or experience false positive recognitions with - Right-click any command in `Commands -> General` and toggle it using `Disable / Enable` - Manually disabled commands will have a strike-through red phrase text: - A list of manually disabled commands can be found in `Commands -> Manually Disabled` | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Extend command phrasesCustom commands now allow to trigger built-in commands using phrases - Example: You want to expand the command phrase variations to hear your last lap time - Make a new custom command in `Commands -> Custom` - Type the Voice Grammar like `Last lap` - Type the phrase this grammar should trigger like `last lap time` which is a valid phrase to trigger the Last Lap Time command - DRE will popup a message box to warn you if the phrase entered hasn't been found. Don't worry though, as some dynamic grammar (like DDLastTime used in this example) only activate once connected | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Voice Input ModesVoice Activated, Hotword Activated, Push-To-Talk modes available | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Localized Speech Recognition Speak your language. DRE will support multiple languages such as Spanish, Portugese, French, German, etc. | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP |
Disable alertsShut up and leave me alone: Choose to silence DRE unless you ask it for info | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Push-To-Talk Release DelayPush To Talk delay added when releasing the PTT button | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Alias Name Override Override your name to anything you like, or select a part of your name | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Gender support: MaleLet's you refer to other drivers with 'he', 'him', and hear DRE referring to drivers as males. DRE automatically figures out the likely gender | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Gender support: FemaleLet's you refer to other drivers with 'she', 'her', and similar, and hear DRE referring to drivers as females. DRE automatically figures out the likely gender | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Speech Queue System | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Interrupt Queue - BasicSpeaks can either be spotter only, important, or critical. Will down-prioritize non-critical speaks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Interrupt Queue - AdvancedSpeaks have gradual increasing priorities based on importance in the moment and may self-cancel based on various events while being queued | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Radio squelch confirmationsHear clicks at start and end when you speak to DRE. Heard when Push-To-Talk button is used, or when DRE detects speech using Hotword or Voice activations | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Radio static confirmationsHear signal noise as you speak to DRE. Heard when Push-To-Talk button is used, or when DRE detects speech using Hotword or Voice activations | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| 'Say Again' | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Custom CommandsCreate your own custom commands that will send keybinds to other apps. This is useful to trigger actions in OBS, Racelabs, etc. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Automatic Minimum Confidence adjustmentsLet DRE find the sweetspot between signal-to-noise and adjust the speech recognition minimum levels. Use the Settings -> General -> Get Started Wizard to calibrate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Min Confidence for Dynamic CommandsAdjust minimum confidence needed for dynamic commands like asking for driver information using names, car number, positions, etc. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Min Confidence for HotwordAdjust minimum confidence needed for recognizing the hotwords, using Input Mode: Hotword | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Situational Awareness | |||||
Busy Detection - Player SpeaksDRE won't start new speaks when you speak. It listens to active mic input | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Busy Detection - CornersAlerts are delayed approaching corners | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Busy Detection - Basic | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Busy Detection - Mute ListeningPrevent DRE from listening to your speech while you are busy driving | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Busy Detection - Teammates SpeakDRE won't start new speaks when your team mates speak. It listens to output of other apps and shuts up | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Busy Detection - Team Volume ThresholdAdjust the speech detection volume level from your team mates | ✓ | ||||
Busy Detection - Skip SpeechWhen team mates start speaking, DRE will immediately stop any speech happening | ✓ | ||||
Camera | |||||
| Camera Control | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Auto Live ReplayWhen exiting the car or joining a session, replay automatically jumps to LIVE | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Action Camera V2: Build further on the Action Camera features, to expand on the immersion of DRE as a commentator, TV-producer, etc..Construct drone-like camera operations that bring the sim racing camera work to the next level. See https://roadmap.thedigitalraceengineer.com/roadmap/action-camera-v2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Action Camera - Voice & Text AnnouncementsLet action camera changes be announced via speech and text in the Drive Log | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Action Camera - Text Only AnnouncementsLet action camera changes be announced only through the Drive Log as text | ✓ | ||||
Session | |||||
| Session Info | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Race Strategy DRE takes ownership of race strategy planning and execution during races.Get forecasted pitstops fuel and tire predictions based on weather changes, congestion on track, tire sets available, and more. | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP | |
Driver History Let DRE profile opponents from their historic performance in official and hosted racing and give you on-the-fly tips about their potential on-track behaviorHas the driver not driven for a while? They might be shaky and risky in close contact Has the driver won in the last races or been on a good streak? Maybe it's better to let them by and focus on other battles DNF'ing frequently? Hang back and let the driver make the mistake. DRE to feature multiple alerts to present the driver analysis as you go. | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP | |
Setup Versioning Let DRE keep a record of changes to your sim racing car setups.Allow for tracking and sharing setups between your teammates easily. Makes it possible to go back in time and revert changes. Makes it possible to clearly see what changes affect what sectors and lap times. | WIP | WIP | WIP | WIP | |
Split FinderWhen joining a race server, DRE tells you which split you’re in | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Race Simulation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Next Race Warning | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Mixed Ai FieldWarns your if the driver field is mixed between real and AI drivers | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Pace Car Gap AlertInterval to the pace car during cautions when first approaching it on track | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Set a timerLet DRE alert you when the time is up. Set a time between 1 to 120 minutes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Set an alarmAlerts you at a certain time | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Chat messagesLet DRE type chat messages into the sim racing chat. Use 'Say ...' and one of the following: good luck, no problem, okay, pass left/right, sorry, thanks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Dictate chatLet DRE type chat messages into the sim racing chat. Use 'Start chat ...' followed by your voice input. Once complete, you can confirm the message with 'Send chat' | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Session endDRE gives a synopsis of the completed session | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
DRS Beeps Hear audio signals of DRS states:- Armed (F1): DRS will be available at the next DRS marker (always in practice and qual, in races when within 1 second of the next car) - Ready To Deploy (F1): When DRS is available crossing the DRS marker and it's possible to enable it - Enabled: Confirmation of enabling DRS - Disabled: Confirmation of DRS being disabled (from braking, lifting, pressing DRS again) Formula Renault 3.5 has a certain amount of times you may enable DRS, and you can enable this anywhere during full throttle. FR3.5 will only hear the enabled and disabled states, however for this car there's the `DRS Count` and `DRS Remaining` commands available | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Opponent pit exit estimatesPit lane time loss? | ✓ | WIP | WIP | ||
| Pace notes | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | |
Corner Info Track landmarks, names of corners can be read out loud | ✓ | WIP | WIP | WIP | |
Ambience | |||||
Pitlane Noises & Ambience - GarageAdd atmosphere to your sim-racing. Hear wheel-guns rattling, cars passing and crowd noise while in garage/replaying. Cars passing by are synchronized to the actual cars driving by your garage. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Pitlane Noises & Ambience - MicAdd the sound of the pitlane to DRE's microphone when it speaks to you. Cars passing by are synchronized to the actual cars driving by your garage. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Grid | |||||
| Pre-Race Checklist | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Gridding Started (Qual And Race)Get notified of qual and race sessions beginning their gridding process | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Grid CountdownRelax yourself during gridding as DRE makes sure you get on the grid in time. DRE calls out 30 seconds intervals | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Get ReadyDRE calls out before red lights into green, or just before the pace car starts rolling | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Lap | |||||
New Lap InfoHear the last and best lap times, deltas to others and more at the start of every new lap Choose to randomize between: Session Laps Left Session Time Left Session Track State Player Last Lap Time Player Last Lap Time Delta To Best Player Fuel Left Player Fuel Laps Left Player Fuel Time Left Player Fuel Used Last Lap Player Fuel Used Average Player To Opponent Last Lap Time Delta Player To Opponent Average Lap Time Delta Player To Opponent Gap Opponent New Best Lap Time Opponent Last Lap Time Stint Laps Elapsed | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Customize New Lap InfoChoose what DRE randomized between and says when crossing the S/F. DRE weighs the various pieces of information available and selects the most valuable | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
New Lap Command TriggerEnter command phrases that you want to trigger on every new lap - Find exact command phrases in the `side-menu -> Commands`, or use the global search to find them - Delimit commands by commas - Example: `Last lap time for the car ahead on track;Do tear off` triggers every new lap to tell you the lap time ahead on track (if available), and attempts to tear off your visor or clear the wind screen | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Joker Lap Count And ReminderIn dirt racing with jokers, DRE will keep track of jokers needed and completed | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Practice & Qual Laps Left | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Race Laps Left | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Laps Left IntervalAdjust how often the laps left countdown should trigger | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Flags | |||||
Flag AlertsHear when being served various flags | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Blue Flag AlertEnable or disable the blue flag alert separately. Requires Flag Alerts enabled | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Checkered Flag AlertHear when the session ends | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Position | |||||
| Real-Time Positions | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Position Change AlertHear your new position once confirmed in all sessions. Possible to disable for qualification focus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Projected Position AlertUnderstand your performance along a hotlap. Useful especially in practice and quals | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Estimated Irating AlertAt position changes, enable this to allow for a probability that DRE announces the estimated iRating to get for the position ahead | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Projected Finish PositionDRE extrapolates current performance of all drivers and estimate your finish position at the end of the race | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Incidents | |||||
Offtrack AlertGet an incidication when you went outside the track limits | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
High-Incident Count AlertBe warned when approaching the incident limit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Incident CountGet your total incident count in the session (offtracks, crashes included) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Offtrack CountGet your total offtrack count in the session. This differs from total incidents, which also counts contacts, where this is only counting the offtracks | ✓ | ✓ | |||
High Incident Count CustomizationAdjust the incident count buffer which triggers the alert | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Weather | |||||
| Weather Info | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Weather Update At New SessionsBrief weather info as you enter a new session | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Weather Change Alerts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Weather Change Thresholds - BasicAdjust thresholds for weather changes (air temp, track temp, wind strength) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Weather Check Interval CustomizationAdjust how often DRE should check for any weather changes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Weather Change Thresholds - AdvancedAdjust thresholds for weather changes of air pressure and humidity | ✓ | ||||
Wind Gust SignalHear an enhanced wind effect to know where to brake before corners. Headwinds make you able to brake later | ✓ | ||||
Headwind AlertIndicates the headwind direction when driving into it the first time after a change - Whenever a smoothed wind direction changes more than 22.5 degrees, this is triggered again - This is triggered on new servers - This is only triggered between sessions like qual -> race if the wind direction differs more than 22.5 degrees | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Car | |||||
| In-Car Controls | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Car Info | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Engine AlertsOil, water temperatures and levels, voltage, manifold pressures | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Pedal Deadzone Checks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Pedal Deadzone Threshold CustomizationAdjust the amount of deadzone on each pedal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Engine Warning Threshold CustomizationAdjust the thresholds for engine warnings | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Team Data | |||||
Shared Team Data - Receive Get team data from other DRE drivers in your team, every 10 Seconds(Fuel Levels, Oil + Water Temperatures) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Shared Team Data - Send Send team data to other DRE drivers in your team, every 10 Seconds(Fuel Levels, Oil + Water Temperatures) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Rapid Team DataGet and send near real-time team data (updates every 2 seconds) | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Gear | |||||
Gear Shift RPM LimitNon-verbal sound beeps when reaching the RPM limit on each gear | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Gear VolumeAdjust the volume of the non-verbal sounds | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Gear Shift ConfirmationsNon-verbal sound beeps confirming up- and down shifts | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Fuel | |||||
| Fuel Info | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
KWh supportSupport for electric vehicles, that use kWh as fuel | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Reset Fuel DataClear the fuel data for calculation. Handy for major changes to the track or conditions | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Set Pit Stop FuelSet, increase or decrease the fuel set for the pit stop | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Fuel BufferAdditional fuel to add on every pit stop determined by percentage of an lap's fuel | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Fuel Window AlertGet a heads up the earliest you can come in to top up the car with fuel to make it to the end of the race. This needs +2.5L extra space in tank compared to the advanced feature before this alert is called | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Fuel Lap TargetDrive to a certain fuel amount each lap. Adjust it on the fly or in the app | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Auto Fuel Automatically calculates and sets the fuel for the next pitstop. Enable for practice, qual, race or any combination | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Auto Fuel AlertGet notified when DRE changes fuel on the car before a pit stop | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Green-White-Checkered (GWC)DRE factors in potential GWC laps at the end of the race when doing fuel calculations. You can customize the expected number of GWC laps | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Fuel Average ModeChoose the way fuel average is calculated. Laps during cautions, in-laps, out-laps are automatically omitted from calculations. Select between: All - Every completed lap from this session Last N - Eg. the last 10 laps completed First N - Eg. the very first 10 laps driven in this session Top Consumption 10% - Of all laps in this session, DRE takes all laps within 10% of the lap with the highest fuel consumption | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Fuel Average Modes - Median & Stint First NMedian 30% - First finds the median fuel lap of all laps in this session, then takes all laps within 30% of that lap's consumption Stint First N - Eg. the first 10 laps driven in this stint | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Fuel Average Modes - Stint Top Consumption & Stint MedianStint Top Consumption 10% - Of all laps in this stint, DRE takes all laps within 10% of the lap with the highest fuel consumption Stint Median 30% - First finds the median fuel lap in this stint, then takes all laps within 30% of that lap's consumption | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Tires | |||||
Tire InfoRequest individual tire ages, compounds, sets used and remaining, and much more. Most info is available on all drivers in the session | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Tire HealthRequest wear, raceable laps remaining, expected wear on your tires | WIP | WIP | |||
Change tiresTell DRE to change a specific tire, all tires or any combination | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Adjust pressures onlyTell DRE to adjust the pressures in the tires - without changing them | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Grid Fuel | |||||
| Grid Low Fuel Warning | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Grid Low Fuel Warning DetailsHear how much fuel you should have on the car to be able to finish the race | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Grid Low Fuel Warning ThresholdAdjust the treshold for the low fuel warning when gridding | ✓ | ||||
Low Fuel | |||||
| Fuel Low Alert | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Low Fuel Alert - Trigger amountAdjust the fuel amount left in order to trigger the Low Fuel alert | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Fuel Low Alert - At Pit EntryGet a call to enter pits immediately before pit entry when your fuel is low | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Proximity | |||||
| Proximity Alerts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Proximity Alert CustomizationAdjust thresholds for drivers on track, off track and at pit exit proximity | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Proximity Alert While SpottingGet alerted of drivers in the proximity of your team car when you are spotting for another driver | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Overtake | |||||
Overtaking Alert (Cars Left And Right) Alerts you when cars are on your side. Advantage to using the DRE spotter is that it gives you either eg. left rear, left or left front, so more precise reports than the iRacing standard spotter | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Overtaking SignalsSpatialized audio beeps during overtaking which places cars around you in a 3D audio scene with cars left, right or a combination. Supports up to three-wide in total Constant Tone: You're gaining on the opponent Beeping Tones: The opponent is faster than you Pitch Change: The progress of the overtake (High pitch = Opponent is farthest ahead, Low pitch = Opponent is farthest behind) Rapid Rattle: The opponent is at the padding zone just ahead or behind your car | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Sector | |||||
| Sector Performance | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Clear Sector DataReset all sector information for all drivers when track conditions change drastically | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Optimal SectorAlerts when the previous sector was the personal quickest | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Best Sector In ClassAlerts if previous sector was the quickest in class | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Sector VulnerabilityInforms you about which sector you are quicker than the class car ahead on track, and which sector you are slower than the class car behind on track | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Sector Drop-OffAlerts if next sector lately has been significantly slower than your best | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Sector Drop-Off TresholdAdjust the time threshold which triggers the alert | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Sector Vulnerability Only For PositionsLimit the sector vulnerability alert to only trigger from car battling for your position | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Pit | |||||
| Pit Info | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Pit Limiter Toggled Verbal alert letting you know you engaged the limiter | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Pit Limiter On (Signal)Audio Signal letting you know when the limiter is active. It continuous while the limiter in activated | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Pit Stall Countdowns | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Car In PitstallHear when your car has parked correctly in the pitstall | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Pit Service FeedbackHear if you need to position the car differently, or if the car is unrepairable | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Repair Countdown AlertsHear the time left of required and optional repairs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Pit Stop ChangesWhat is bound to happen in the pitstop. Triggers at the start of the pit lane | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Pit Stop CompleteHear when the pit stop and repairs complete | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Cars Around PittingHear when cars battling for your position pit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Leaders PittingHear when overall and class leaders pit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Pit Speeding (Alert) Alerts you when speeding in the pits. This may occur if you forget to turn on your pit speed limiter | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Pit Speeding (Signal)Audio Signal when speeding in the pits (exceeding the limit) | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Pit Approach SignalNail the perfect de-acceleration before pit entry with the gradual sound towards the pit speed, giving you instant feedback on your braking into the pitlane | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Competitors | |||||
Competitor Info (Around You For Position) There are many ways you can request information on an opponent around you for position. Some examples: Last time for the car ahead? Last time in front? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Competitor Info (Around You On Track) There are many ways you can request information on an opponent around you on track. Some examples: Last time for the car ahead on track? Last time in front on track? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Competitor Info (Look Up Driver By #, Name, position) There are many ways you can request information on an opponent. Some examples:Where's P1? Where's the 1st position? Where's Verstappen? Where's Max? Where's number 33? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Competitor Delta TimesGet the difference in time (last, best, sectors) to the other drivers around you | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Incident Count For All CarsEstimated incident count tracking for all cars. This is based on cars going off track | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Advanced Competitor Pit Info | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Marked Drivers | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Delta SignalTake action on your driving - Hear where you gain or lose time using a continuous audio signal Understand whether you are gaining time in entry, mid, or exit corner compared to yourself or others - Flutter/tremolo effect when improving time - Sustained sound when losing time. - Pitch change indicates the magnitude of delta time gained: Higher pitch means more time gained. - Silence with no movement to the delta, as your delta performance is in an equilibrium state Choose between session best or last lap time, or any competitor car | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Competitor Events | |||||
Low Irating And Safety Rating AlertsKnow if cars approaching are a danger to you. Define your own iRacing and Safety Rating thresholds | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Competitor TimelossKnow if cars around you have lost considerable time on the last lap | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Striking DistanceGet alerts of approaching cars and when they are expected to meet you. Works both when you gain time on others in front, and when competitors behind approach you | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Leaders | |||||
| Leader And Class Leader Look Ups | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Overall Leader ChangeHear when the overall lead changes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Class Leader ChangeHear when the class lead changes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Class Leader Launch SignalHear the class RPM before going green - Know instantly when to go by listening to the class leader response - Heard on rolling race starts - Heard on re-starts DRE tells you 'Class leader Launch signal' and you will then hear a tone indicating the RPM of your class leader. This fade away once the class leader goes | ✓ | ✓ | |||
File Starter | |||||
Auto-Start Apps & FilesAutomatically starts selected apps and open files of your choice when the sim connects | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Sim Start vs Sim ConnectChoose to start the files when the sim process starts or when the sim connects to a session | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Sim Re-FocusAutomatically puts the focus back on the sim window after the files have been started | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Sim Re-Focus DelayAdjust the wait time before the sim is refocused | ✓ | ✓ | |||
API & Integrations | |||||
LynxExtend DRE with other applications using the Lynx module. Trigger DRE commands, retrieve DRE and sim variables and events from other programs with DRE as a mediator app. Currently available: VoiceAttack | ✓ | ✓ | |||
Integration: VoiceAttackLynx integrates with VoiceAttack so you can control DRE (and the sim) from VoiceAttack | ✓ | ✓ | |||
EventsSubscribe and listen for racing events and do with them what you want in the integration. Some examples: - CommencedLastLap: triggers when the player starts the last lap (great for music build up towards the end) - DriverClassPositionChanged: triggers when a driver changes position (gives you the driver car number and class position it changed to) - DriverSwapped: triggers whenever any driver swap takes place (handy for strategic calls in your team) - EnteredExitedCar: triggers when the player jumps in and out of the car - And many more. Full list available through the integration documentation | ✓ | ✓ | |||
VariablesRead live variables off the sim. Some examples: - TeamRacing: True/False - Hosted: True/False - SessionLapsInt: Number - CurrentLap: Number - PitRepairLeft: Seconds (Float) - And many more: See the integration documentation | ✓ | ✓ | |||
ActionsTrigger actions in DRE from the integration. Some examples: - CameraNext: Switches to the next camera in the sim - CameraNextCar: Switches to the next car in the sim - Recenter: Resets the VR view - Set 8 down: Set the current black box option 8 steps down - And many more: See the integration documentation | ✓ | ✓ | |||
User review and comparison (iRacing Forum)
Jon Barton reviews DRE vs CC in Spring 2021 on the iRacing Forum.
He reviews DRE3 which is different from the current standalone version, so have this in mind:
Crew Chief challenges
[…] I struggled and struggled with voice recognition in Crew Chief, and some other miscellaneous things like being able to change my Pit options once I’m already in the box. My experience with CC was that I would turn off Fast Repair in the first couple of laps, then when I needed it, I couldn’t get it turned back on, and the same thing for tires and fuel.
I retired from my first 4 League races after I started using Crew Chief because I couldn’t get CC to give me any gas. When CC *would* set the setting, I’d have to drive out of the pits, make a lap, then come back into the pits to get the gas I asked for.
Could be unique to me, could be that I only used CC for 2 weeks before getting frustrated and quit using it (so at least I could finish a race without running out of gas!)
Flexibility with DRE
None of those have ever been a problem with The Digital Race Engineer. I can drive all the way down pit road and park THEN ask for autofuel and all 4 tires and a fast repair and get them all immedately. The voice recognition is top notch, since it relies on VoiceAttack, which relies on Microsoft’s voice APIs – so when those get better (and they definitely have over the years) then DRE gets better.
An additional benefit is that DRE is ultimately a profile for VoiceAttack, which means you can add (or change) commands however you like. I’ve added commands to dynamically show/hide RaceLab Overlays in VR, because Racelab supports keybinds for those commands, and VoiceAttack allows you to send keystrokes to a specific application when a command is triggered. I’ve also added commands to switch to my Trucksim and Elite Dangerous profiles with a voice command (and commands in each of those to flip back to DRE, of course)
Features
In early 2021, the primary differences between Crew Chief and Digital Race Engineer are:
Simulator support
- CrewChief supports a LOT of different racing games
- DRE supports iRacing only (at this time)
Voices
- CrewChief comes with a number of prerecorded voices for phrasing, and you’re locked into the specific recordings that exist.
- CrewChief voices are prerecorded, so you can create new voice sets if you like and want to put in the work to create the recordings.
- Conversely, CrewChief voices are usable only with CrewChief and can’t be used more generally.
- CrewChief has only one Crew Chief voice available. The rest of the voices in CC are available as Spotters only.
- Conversely – DRE uses software speech engines from Microsoft or others, like Ivona or Nuance.
- Additional TTS voices like Ivona or Nuance can be used with other VoiceAttack profiles and commands for any (every) game you have, so long as you have/create a VoiceAttack profile for it.
Pricing
- CrewChief is 100% free.
- DRE uses VoiceAttack for recognition and response, and this represents a small additional one-time cost.
Voice Recognition
- CrewChief has worse voice recognition overall.
- DRE + VoiceAttack uses Microsoft’s speech engine as the back end, and the Microsoft Speech Engine has consistently gotten better over time (I’ve been using it since 2010),
Commands
- CrewChief has an extensive, but limited, set of commands you can use.
- DRE is ultimately a very very advanced VoiceAttack profile, which means you can edit it to add your own commands – for instance, to hide/show RaceLabs Information Panels, or to start/stop streaming in OBS, etc., with voice commands.
Conclusion
DRE is absolutely 10/10 for VR use. My biggest challenge is simply remembering all the hundreds of useful commands that are available. What a problem to have!
GET STARTED NOW WITH DRE
* Comparing Crew Chief 4.16.2.2 and DRE 2022.1 and excluding: Sample Voices, Shared Memory (DRE has Lynx, which is more advanced), Mute spotter immediately on FCY, Restrict info and commands to track/car type, Overlays