MyChron 5 vs MyChron 6: Should You Upgrade?

If you run an original MyChron 5 with the 10 Hz GPS, the MyChron 6 is a genuine data upgrade: 25 Hz GPS makes your track map, racing line, and braking analysis noticeably sharper. If you already run a MyChron 5S 2, which has the same 25 Hz GPS, the 6 is a quality-of-life upgrade (screen, battery, USB-C, WiFi) rather than a data upgrade, and your lap analysis will look nearly identical. Neither one will find lap time for you; how you read the data still matters far more than which unit records it.

The MyChron 6 is AiM’s first new kart logger in roughly a decade, so plenty of racers are asking the same question: is it worth replacing a MyChron 5 that still works? Here is an honest comparison, and a simple way to decide.

How do the MyChron 5, 5S 2, and MyChron 6 compare?

Does the MyChron 6 actually give you better data?

Coming from an original 10 Hz MyChron 5, yes. GPS rate is the one spec in this comparison that changes what your analysis looks like. At 10 Hz the logger records your position ten times per second; at 25 Hz it records twenty-five. That means a smoother speed trace, a more accurate track map and racing line, and cleaner braking and cornering zones when you read them from the accelerometer data. AiM also quotes roughly triple the position accuracy for the newer GPS module. On a 45 second kart lap, 10 Hz leaves visible gaps in fast direction changes; 25 Hz mostly does not.

Coming from a MyChron 5S 2, no. It already samples GPS at 25 Hz, so the traces you analyze are effectively the same. The MyChron 6 improvements are real but they are comfort improvements: a brighter, higher-resolution screen you can read in direct sun, double the battery life, USB-C charging, and wireless configuration from your phone through the RS3 app. Nice every race weekend, but they do not change a single line on your speed trace.

What stays exactly the same

• The workflow.Every generation downloads into AiM’s free Race Studio 3 on Windows, and exports the same way. If you can export a MyChron 5 session, you can export a MyChron 6 session. Our Race Studio export guide covers both.
• The channels that matter. GPS speed, RPM, lateral and longitudinal G, and temps. The 6 records them with a newer GPS module, but it is the same core data. More on which channels to care about in what MyChron channels actually matter.
• Compatibility with analysis tools. Speed Lab reads MyChron 5 and MyChron 6 exports the same way, so upgrading does not orphan your old sessions. You can compare a lap logged on your old 5 against a lap logged on a new 6 in one view.

Should you upgrade?

• Original MyChron 5, and you use the data: yes, when budget allows. The jump from 10 Hz to 25 Hz GPS is the single biggest data improvement you can buy, and it makes every map-based tool sharper.
• MyChron 5S 2: only if the screen, battery life, or phone connectivity genuinely bother you. Your data will not improve. Spend the money on track time, or on actually analyzing the sessions you already log.
• Buying your first logger: buy the MyChron 6 new, or a used 5S 2 if the budget is tight. Skip the original 10 Hz MyChron 5 unless it comes nearly free; the older GPS is where used bargains stop being bargains.
• Racing where everyone runs Alfano: the brand question comes first. See MyChron vs Alfano.

The honest caveat

A MyChron 6 will not make you faster on its own. A 25 Hz trace you never look at is worth exactly as much as a 10 Hz trace you never look at. If you are choosing between upgrading a working 5S 2 and getting serious about reviewing your data after every session, review the data. The kart data logger guide covers how to turn whichever logger you own into lap time.