Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > Instrumentation
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 01-06-2015, 01:16 PM   #1 (permalink)
Beating EPA Unmodded
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Oklahoma City
Posts: 143

Blue Eagle - '10 Honda Civic LX
Team Honda
90 day: 31.12 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4
Thanked 29 Times in 23 Posts
DashCommand App for Android

Hello all,

I recently bought DashCommand for Android and wanted to do a quick review on it. Along with this I got a cheap ~$15 ELM327 Bluetooth Adapter. The adapter works really well, only problem is that it stays on when the key is off (just a flashing light, bluetooth isn't on).

Why I chose this app:
I chose this app because Torque for Android took too long to boot up whenever you turned the car on, so it just wasn't worth it. The reason that Torque was taking so long was because everytime it booted on, it had to do the OBDII diagnostic tests. So I found DashCommand and the free trial worked much faster than Torque, so I stuck with it. I bought the pro-version of DashCommand so I could get unlimited app use.

Setup:
This app works extremely well and is surprisingly accurate. There really isn't much calibration that you have to do on this app to make it work, just put in your engine size and fuel tank capacity and it is ready to go.

I have this app setup for two cars on my phone, my Civic and my parents' Odyssey. The Odyssey got lots of use this past week, since we went down to Mississippi, so I got to see how the car was doing the whole way down. Fully packed with 5 people + luggage, the Odyssey got a whopping 21 MPG! This was with my father speeding (9 over most of the time, resulting in speeds ranging from 69-90 MPH). This app displayed the MPG very accurately. The average MPG on the phone was the same as the actual MPG from the fillup.

Performance:

This app has the ability to display performance and how much HP / lb/ft your car is producing. Obviously I can't test the accuracy of this test, but I can say that the results of the app are similar to what the car really produces.

Here is a picture:


During the trip, we had to go WOT to get on the highway a few times. When these times came, the HP / torque reading was similar to the cars HP / torque specs (app was higher because it reads the engine outputs and not the wheel outputs).

MPG:

The MPG graphs in this app are very customizable. I can choose what to display and the default displays are really all I need. The instant MPG is accurate (speed divided by gal/h). The graphs look like this:


I really like this graph layout because I can see how I've been doing and the places that I need to improve in. For example, when I'm driving in the city, I probably shouldn't accelerate up to speed when there is a red light right in front of me.

For Manual Transmissions:

Manual transmission cars get special privileges with this app. You can upload your BSFC numbers in the advanced settings and the app will tell you when it will be economically feasible to make an upshift. Or if you are sporty, it will tell you where you should shift to get the most power. I'm not exactly sure how that works, since I don't have a manual transmission, but it is a pretty cool feature.

Summary:

This is a really cool app that I recommend to anybody that wants to get cheap instrumentation without getting a Scangauge. There are so many more features that are in this app that I didn't go over, but this is a free app so you can go ahead and check it out for yourself!

__________________

  Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to awcook For This Useful Post:
CVTCivic (02-16-2021), dongs (01-17-2015), oldtamiyaphile (01-17-2015)
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 01-06-2015, 02:23 PM   #2 (permalink)
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Dorset UK
Posts: 106
Thanks: 1
Thanked 56 Times in 29 Posts
Great review, I have Torque, its very annoying with fixed size dials as no matter what size I choose they wont fit my screen. This looks much better.

Shall have a go with it
__________________
Black Lupo 3L 1.2tdi Manual converted the windsurfing bus!

Kermit the Lupo 3L 1.2 Tdi with a current mpg record of 114mpg (imperial) Now sold

G1 JDM Insight I hate the ride but love the quirkiness
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2015, 02:39 PM   #3 (permalink)
Beating EPA Unmodded
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Oklahoma City
Posts: 143

Blue Eagle - '10 Honda Civic LX
Team Honda
90 day: 31.12 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4
Thanked 29 Times in 23 Posts
I haven't fiddled around with making my own page of gauges (which would be like customizing your gauges in Torque) but I do know that you can make different sizes of gauges. The pictures that I showed were from the Dashboards section, which doesn't allow you to customize it that much. But you can get user-built dashboards that have different styles of displays and all that.

Tell me what you think!
__________________

  Reply With Quote
Old 01-16-2015, 11:59 PM   #4 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
dongs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Cascadia
Posts: 49

b@stard child - '02 Chevrolet Cavalier
Thanks: 4
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
What's the latency like with these bluetooth apps? I'd imagine it probably isn't too bad but probably not as instantaneous as being directly plugged in to the obd port.
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2015, 05:28 AM   #5 (permalink)
Not bad for a machine
 
dirtydave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Baltimore
Posts: 1,024

Maechunbu - Retired - '00 Kia Sephia 1.8I4 16VDOHC
Last 3: 45.28 mpg (US)

Slasher - '96 Chevy Corsica 2.2L 3speedauto
Duct Tape Aero Crew
Team Chevy
90 day: 34.76 mpg (US)
Thanks: 279
Thanked 242 Times in 179 Posts
About the same as the scangauge.
But the more you do the slower it will be.
Also the number of PID's you are logging can impact the speed of the screen too but only older/cheaper phones are affected. My Huawei Glory has this issue but my Samsung galaxy4 clone does not.
__________________




  Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2015, 07:09 AM   #6 (permalink)
Not Doug
 
Xist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Show Low, AZ
Posts: 12,185

Chorizo - '00 Honda Civic HX, baby! :D
90 day: 35.35 mpg (US)

Mid-Life Crisis Fighter - '99 Honda Accord LX
90 day: 34.2 mpg (US)

Gramps - '04 Toyota Camry LE
90 day: 35.39 mpg (US)

Don't hit me bro - '05 Toyota Camry LE
90 day: 35.79 mpg (US)
Thanks: 7,216
Thanked 2,217 Times in 1,708 Posts
CaroO shows me my instantaneous miles per gallon and has a screen of detailed information, but I really just use it for the dash cam feature, and Black Box for Torque does not do a good job of that. Unfortunately, I have some problem with my OBD-II reader, which was one of the more expensive ones, costing sixty-five dollars. Sometimes it seems to work fine, on other occasions my phone says that it cannot connect, but my adapter is flashing lights like normal. Then there are the times that the dongle just has one red LED. Sometimes adjusting it helps. On other occasions, I need to unplug it and put it back in. I bought the cheapest dongle, but could not even get it to connect to my phone.
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2015, 01:23 PM   #7 (permalink)
Beating EPA Unmodded
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Oklahoma City
Posts: 143

Blue Eagle - '10 Honda Civic LX
Team Honda
90 day: 31.12 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4
Thanked 29 Times in 23 Posts
The reader is pretty instantaneous in my opinion. It changes faster than the OEM gauges in the Accord, so I think it goes pretty fast. I'm not sure how the speed will compare to a Scan Gauge, but I'd estimate that they run at about the same speed, since the phone's processor is much faster than the SG's processor.

I got the cheapest dongle as well and it works amazingly well. When I had the Torque app the bluetooth didn't want to connect, but when I started using DashCommand it connects almost instantly. Once you click the connect button and the key is in ACC then it will connect.
__________________

  Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2015, 02:53 PM   #8 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
dongs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Cascadia
Posts: 49

b@stard child - '02 Chevrolet Cavalier
Thanks: 4
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
I may end up picking up one of those instead of a sgII or an UG and save some money. Thanks for the review!
  Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2015, 04:55 PM   #9 (permalink)
Beating EPA Unmodded
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Oklahoma City
Posts: 143

Blue Eagle - '10 Honda Civic LX
Team Honda
90 day: 31.12 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4
Thanked 29 Times in 23 Posts
No problem man!
__________________

  Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2015, 04:59 PM   #10 (permalink)
Not bad for a machine
 
dirtydave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Baltimore
Posts: 1,024

Maechunbu - Retired - '00 Kia Sephia 1.8I4 16VDOHC
Last 3: 45.28 mpg (US)

Slasher - '96 Chevy Corsica 2.2L 3speedauto
Duct Tape Aero Crew
Team Chevy
90 day: 34.76 mpg (US)
Thanks: 279
Thanked 242 Times in 179 Posts
Yes pick one up and save some money! It is worth the cash just for the check engine light.

__________________




  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools




Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com