Suunto Race 2 General Discussion

[jjpaz]

Question to V2/R2 owners who have had previous models:

Have you noticed if the new hardware measures less distance in activities than the previous watches?
In my case: I own the V1 and Race S. I’ve been testing the Race 2 for a few days comparing with my previous watches. In all activities, the V1 and RS were virtually identical in distance and kilometer markers. The Race 2 is measuring between 1% and 2% less distance than the V1 in the three runs I’ve done comparing the two watches.
On runs of 9-10km to 13-14km, the Race 2 is measuring between 150 and 200m less (it marks each 1km lap 4-6 seconds later than the V1 or RS). Even in the first kilometer, it “loses” 20-30m compared to everything I have measured, and during the activity, it accumulates more “loses”.
I also notice that the V1 tracks are more stable, as is the pace, especially in boulder fields or forests; it’s more stable in open areas.
To test this, I tried using distance correction on Strava for activities with both watches, and with the V1 and RS, there’s practically no correction. Strava gives the same distance as the watches did. With the Race2, Strava adds the 150-200m difference compared to the previous watches.

Is anyone else experiencing this? I’m going to compare a couple more activities and see if I can compare tracks. Yes, I know that 1-2% difference is small, but it’s curious that the two older watches were so similar and this one deviates more. I suppose the hardware change has been more significant and could be the reason.

Another detail: when downloading the GPX/FIT of activities from Race2 and putting it into track viewers, the distance it gives is similar to that of activities with V1, and the one corrected with Strava, that is, with the 150-200m more.

[Stavrogin]

@jjpaz I have had consistent distance from all my Suuntos. I have used both generations of Race and Vertical as well as the Race S. They have all been pretty much identical both in wooded and on asphalt. I have had complaints about the software, but GPS and distance accuracy have been spot on update after update for me.

[Liviu Nastasa]

@jjpaz Since I run on the same course a lot of times, with different devices I came to know the distance and I noticed that the last 4-5 runs on the same route (late December and early January) were shorter with some tens of meters… 7.25km vs 7.32km (with Race 2 and Vertical being also used on the same route to measure 7.31-7.33km). It’s not a lot, but still…it’s different. It might be the last firmware from November and some internal algorithm changes. The visual display of the track is not different than before.

[sky-runner]

@jjpaz Distance accuracy is important enough topic to have its own dedicated forum post.

I don’t have V2 or R2, but when I initially tested RS against Garmin Fenix 7X with dual-band GNSS, which is very accurate, I noticed that RS distance was perhaps 1-2% longer than F7X distance - that is on twisty wooded mountain trails. Also I definitely noticed that RS tracks were less accurate with a bit more deviation from the map. For example when I did multiple loops, F7X tracks usually were more aligned on top of each other, but RS track show more deviation between multiple loops. The same applies to R1. When I compare both R1 and RS distances to distances recorded by others using recent Garmin devices, Suunto distances are consistently longer by the same 1-2%.

But to be fair, it is hard to tell, which ones are more accurate as it can be very tricky on mountain trails. It is quite possible that Suunto distances recorded by the previous generation of devices are more accurate.

The only objective result that I have is one local trail race route that is supposedly certified and measured by wheel to be 5.2 miles. Suunto R1 and RS both measure 5 miles, but other brands typically measure 4.75-4.9. So in this case Suunto seems more accurate.

[wakarimasen]

Just a daft question, as I’ve been going through the Forerunner 955 manual recently. Is the 3D distance active on the Garmin? This used to be an option on the Ambit 3 Peak, but I ‘think’ is built-in to the Race & Vertical models (@mods - please correct me). It’s not enabled by default in my Garmin, and could explain differences in distance measurement.

[jjpaz]

@sky-runner I oppened a new thread with my tests: GPS and distance accuracy vs previous Suunto models

Thanks!

[jjpaz]

@Liviu-Nastasa That aligns with what I’m seeing.
Looking at reviews of the watch when it was released, some criticized it precisely for not being as accurate in GPS tracking as previous models and for overestimating the actual distance. Perhaps the algorithm was corrected in the November update, and now it reports a shorter distance than the actual distance… I’ve had the watch for a week now, with the November software (and since today with the new update). I’ll test it again against the SV tomorrow.

An example from yesterday activity:

• Suunto Vertical, distance showed in the watch: 12.48km. Distance showed in GPX file: 12.49km.

• Suunto Race 2, distance showed in the watch: 12.33km. Distance showed in GPX file: 12.49km.

So Race 2 is “cutting” distance respect data showed in GPS data file. May be this behavior was introduced with november update.

Furthermore, you can see that the Vertical track seems cleaner in the various curves and loops. I went through the same route several times; it’s a park I do six or seven times, looping around it.

[dani_degi]

welche vorteile hat das 2.50 update gebracht ???

[Svenning]

@dani_degi see here
My favorites for Race 2:
• Bis zu 3 SuuntoPlus-Apps gleichzeitig während einer Aktivität
(Exklusiv für Suunto Race 2 und Suunto Vertical 2)

ZoneSense

• ZoneSense-Zeitzonenübersicht direkt auf der Uhr nach der Aktivität

Verbesserte Navigation

• Größere Pfeile, Abbiegesymbole und POIs
• Option zur Nordausrichtung der Karte

Verbesserter optischer Herzfrequenzalgorithmus

[Egika]

@dani_degi check here: https://www.suunto.com/Support/Software-updates/Release-notes/suunto-race-software-updates/
or here: https://forum.suunto.com/post/182494

I think it is possible to find this with a little search

[Mff73]

@Egika
You are so patient to help lazy forumers.

[jjpaz]

My Suunto Race 2 Technical Test - Final comments:

I have conducted a side-by-side analysis of the Suunto Race 2 against the Suunto Vertical and Suunto Race S across multiple activities during more than 2 weeks.

Suunto Race 2 systematically under-reports total distance by 0.5% to 1.5% compared to reference devices (Suunto Vertical and Suunto Race S).

Analysis of RAW FIT files confirms that this is not a GNSS reception issue. The Race 2 records valid GPS coordinates but seems to discard valid distance data during post-processing. In every activity analyzed, the Suunto Race 2 records a “Session Summary” distance that is significantly lower than the mathematical sum of its own recorded GPS coordinates.

Pattern: The device records the correct path (lat/long points) but the internal software filters out valid distance.
Example: The Race 2 RAW file contains GPS coordinates summing to 11.35 km, yet the final session summary displays 11.20 km.
Comparison: The Suunto Vertical and Race S show a near-perfect match (99.9% accuracy) between their GPS point sum and the displayed distance.

The Race 2 consistently reports a higher average cadence than the reference units, likely due to hardware inertia or accelerometer sensitivity.
Pattern: Race 2 reads +2 to +4 spm (steps per minute) higher than Vertical/Race S in every activity.
Consequently, the device systematically calculates lower power (-7 Watts) and shorter distance (-0.7% to -1.5%) compared to reference devices (Vertical/Race S), despite identical GPS tracks.

Do you have this difference between devices? Is the current performance acceptable for a flagship device when compared to the older Vertical and the cheaper Race S?

If you are interested in deeper details, specific thread here: Race 2: GPS and distance accuracy vs previous Suunto models

[jjpaz]

Bug detected: Race 2: wrong cadence/step calculated during activities