Do I need a scan Gauge?
 

I got a 04 Audi v6. It calcs my mpg. It's fun to watch my mpg drop at stop lights. What extra benefit will a scan gauge give me? Will it save me fuel dollars?

Download torque pro to your mobile, and buy a bluetooth obd2 dongle off amazon/ebay - about £10-£15 total.

Been using this for the past two years - scanguage seems very expensive for what it is (to me).

Not essential, but very helpful - instant mpg, intake temps, all sorts of useful/interesting info that should help save fuel.

For such a small cost, you cant go wrong.

Nedlom

It'll mainly give you information that you may be able to use to save some $ on gas - like engine load or oil temp, ...

Car instrumentation is usually rather basic.
There's a lot more info on the OBDII bus.


These days, a bluetooth / wifi OBDII dongle and an app like Torque may give you more info, and allow keeping track of that information

Necessary, it is not

I love being able to have short trip mpg compared to long trip (current tank) mpg.

Another alternative is the Ultragauge. Does everything the SG would do in your car, while being half the price and showing twice as many gauges at a time.

While Torque can do anything you would ever want, you have to set up your phone every time you use it. Fine for doing testing or longer trips, probably not ideal for commuting every day. My phone can show me everything going on with my Prius, but I usually use my Ultragauge because it shows just enough and I don't have to mess with it.

Vskid3, I've got a cheap £20 smart phone permanently in my car - when I switch the key on torque "wakes up" and starts running.

The "dash install" options work well.

Nedlom

"Need"? Probably not, since instantaneous MPG alone is a big help when trying to drive more efficiently.

But once you've had a taste of all the extra real-time data a ScanGauge/UltraGauge/Torque/whatever can provide, you miss it in a car that doesn't provide it. :thumbup:

A ScanGauge, by itself, will not save you one penny.

The gas saving process starts by using your built in MPG meter, which apparently is set to show the mileage for each trip. Adjust your driving habits so as to consistently get the best trip mileage. Most of this is driving to minimize your brake usage. Move with the flow of traffic, time traffic lights, coast down for most speed limit changes, etc. Note the effect of temperature, hot vs cold start, and wind on gas mileage.

At some point, you will start to wish for additional information, possibly instantaneous gas mileage to help find the best cruise speed. THEN, you will be ready for a ScanGauge / Ultragauge / Torque app / something.

The ScanGauge worked for me. With it I can see instantaneously the effects on fuel consumption due to speed, wind, rain, road grade, etc . Such information encourages me to adjust throttle settings for maximum fuel economy under any given circumstance.

One great feature of the ScanGauge is that by pressing buttons on the face of the gauge you can change and see whatever instrument reading you want. It is a lot easier to use than many others out there.

A ScanGauge or the Torque app will definitely help you, as long as you use the information as JRMichler describes above. I went with Torque, and have a dedicated tablet in the car for it (which also serves as my GPS and music player).

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1534212134

Is the idea of a scangauge (realtime feedback on driving habits) worth it? If you're patient and use it, yes.

Is an actual Scangauge2 worth it vs other options on the market? The scangauge is 15 year old tech. It was remarkable before smartphones came out but anymore it's comparing a $150 ax to a $40 5-axis CNC (BT dongle + torque). It's mind-boggling to me that it hasn't changed in 10+ years, so many other options, and is still sells for $100+. Then again, when it's the only packaged commercial product and it gets that end-cap behind the counter in Autozone where all the sheeple see it and are the only one that advertises...

Ultragauge seems to be a better product for 1/3 the price but I've never used it so I can't say much.

Dongle to connect to a smartphone/tablet/computer/whatever is the way to go these days. so many more features and functionality. There are many apps to chose from but most aren't worth messing with (like anything on the android or ios markets, once someone figures out how to do something, a million others copy it and change the color and post it up on the marketplace too.)

$100 used/spare smartphone + 20some for the dongle + 20 for Torque and you're ahead financially. If you don't have a smartphone and can't find a used one for <$100, get off the internet lol.


Anyone still use MPGuino these days or are pre-obd2 cars so few and far between on here they've been lost to history?

ok, I guess I am too old school, just accidentally found forum, but before these "newfangled gadgets" that are expensive, guys put in a vacuum gauge, keep eye on it, drive to keep highest vacuum possible. use same pump every time le it auto shut off, don't round gas up, & calculate savings & mpg on paper at each fill up. I fill out paper 99% of my fill ups, & been doing this for well over 30 years.

but yes a simple vacuum gauge will help driving habits.

I know the one im my Prius definitely helps. Without the gauge I hover around 45 mpg. With the gauge I usually get around 55 mpg. Maybe thats just because I can't tell if the engine is on or not. lol

My dad used to put these in his cars :)
Basic, but they did help.

I've got both, all around I like the Ultragauge better, 7 pages of readings, with up to 8 readings per page is pretty nice to have. The advantage that the Scangauge has is the ability to quickly scroll through different gauge readouts in 1 spot without the others changing. Scangauge also has the X-Gauge feature which allows you to add vehicle specific gauges based on what the computer in your vehicle monitors. As has been said though, there are so many options out there that the Scangauge is borderline obsolete as a whole.