How to Setup UltraGauge
 

Hello folks!

I recently acquired an UltraGauge for my 2001 Toyota Camry.

The online manual is a bit perplexing regarding calibration so I wanted to ask those who own an UltraGauge if they could give me simple step by step instructions on calibration and efficient setup.

Also, Which gauges should I display to best benefit me in increasing my fuel economy?

To name a few.....
-Instant MPG
-Average MPG
-Average Gallon Per hour
-Instant Gallons Per Hour
-Load %
-Thottle Position
-Distance to Empty
-Fuel Level
-Instant Trip MPG
-Average Trip MPG
-Instant Short Trip MPG
-Average Short Trip MPG
-RPM
-Speed


Thanks!

There are two things to calibrate, distance and fuel.

For distance, see if you can find a freeway with an odometer calibration area (Usually five miles precisely measured to compare your odometer against). Reset your trip miles at 0. At 5 miles, your trip miles should read 5.0. If they don't, you can adjust the correction factor to make the recorded miles match the miles actually driven.
If your odometer on your dash is accurate, you shouldn't need to adjust this. Both get this info from the same sensor and should match exactly. If you have non-stock tires, it may be an issue.


For fuel, fill up your tank reset your Ave MPG. Drive. When it's time to refill, fill the tank all the way. You can adjust the correction factor to make the recorded fuel used match the fuel actually pumped into your tank.



Here's my current screen:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-da...4568-61mpg.jpg
The O2 sensor is to let me know when I enter lean burn mode, so you won't need that.
Instant MPG, Trip MPG, and Engine Load I find most useful.
MPH is there because my speedo is off a little.

I have all trip related info (Trip MPH, distance to empty, Fuel, etc) on my second screen. And gauges that I periodically want to look at (coolant temp, RPM, intake temp, miles since last service, I forget what else) on the third screen. Most of the time I drive with just the one screen on and don't flip to the others.

I do have alarms set for a few things that might concern me. The biggest being coolant temp. Any time it gets over 208°F, it beeps at me.

I set up my main page with TPS, instantaneous MPG, rpm, ECT, trip mpg, tank mpg, gals in tank, and dte. Page two has my o2 trims and TPS plus other random stuff I tossed in there.

I never bothered calibrating the distance, but the pump calibration is tricky. When you fill up you have to do the fuel calibration first, before anything else. The fuel calibration is in a different menu from the MPG resets, and both are in a different place than the fuel fillup selection.

Setting up the gauge positions was a pain in terms of remembering where what gauge # is on the actual display...

It's more difficult to use than an SG for sure.

I drew a grid on a piece of paper to represent the 6 positions on the gauge and labeled each position with the corresponding letter. Then I filled in each position with the gauge I wanted to see. Then I went to the gauge setup menu and referred to my grid to assign a letter to each gauge.

On my first page, I display instant and cumulative MPG, intake and coolant temperature, load and timing advance. The thing I keep my eye on the most is engine load. The temp gauges are on the first page because I run almost a complete grill block, even in the summer. The intake temp gives me an idea of the under-hood temps; often 30 degrees warmer than ambient.

The timing advance is interesting to watch based on what grade of fuel I put in the car. I can tell what octane fuel my wife filled with last just by seat of the pants dyno, and watching the timing advance confirms it. The car will not go to 40 degrees advance on the freeway with lower octane fuel, but it will with mid-grade or higher.

I also have an alarm set for the coolant temp when it hits 208 degrees. My fans kick on at 215.

I don't visit the other pages very often. Sometimes I'll check the DTE since I often run the fuel tank down to the last 3 or so gallons.

I hardly ever visit my other pages either, but the fuel trims get a visit somewhat often...especially lately now that The beater has developed a habit of rich fuel trims.

I really appreciate everyone's input.

There are several MPG gauges referring to instant and average MPG.

Which of the gauges regarding distance and mileage are most beneficial??

-Instant or Average Gallons/Hour
-Instant or Average MPG
-Instant or Average Trip MPG
-Instant or Average Short Trip MPG
-DTE
-Fuel Level

Also, which is better to use regarding FE?....Load % or TPS?

Gal/hr is interesting, but I don't find it very useful.

Definitely Instant MPG. Ave Trip MPG is good, Short Trip is probably similar but my older model doesn't have it. DTE and Fuel Level are nice, but they don't need to be on your primary screen. Leave the primary screen for items that provide feedback on your driving technique.

I think Engine Load is more useful than TPS, but I like having both.

Thank you, but that doesn't leave me with many gauges to choose from then...?

Well, for your primary screen, I'd set it up for 6 gauges (looks like 8 loses the open loop indicator and large size for Instant MPG is good.)

Instant MPG and Ave Trip MPG on top. Engine Load and TPS below. And pick two more gauges that you want to look at often below that. Gal/hr may be one of those, you may find it useful even if I don't.

Actually, after looking at what the Short Trip gauges are, I think I'd like to have both Ave Short Trip MPG and Ave Trip MPG on the first screen. If you did that and Gal/hr, that gives you six.

Ave MPG is what I use for my tank MPG. Short trip is the MPG since the car was started. Unlike SG it has no function to hold into that data so your short trip will start from 0 if, for instance, you kill it at a stoplight. Both are on my main screen along with instantaneous MPG.

Agreed, the 8 gauge page does not display DFCO accurately & you lose the open loop indicator.

Open loop indicator - is it really that important?

Yes, the loop indicator is useful for determining enrichment when accelerating. Enrichment usually occurs ~ 80% load for most cars.

Instant and short trip cover the upper half, then fuel level and DTE take the bottom left and avg mppg and coolant temp take the bottom right.

It takes multiple tanks to calibrate, just keep doing it until you're happy with the numbers.

I DID IT!

I drove 504 miles this past trip cycle in mixed traffic and averaged 37.4 MPG!!!

This is the most I've ever earned and I'm very proud of myself! :D

Excuse my excitement, I'll calm down lol. I just can't believe how well I did in such a big car as the Camry. WOOHOO! My biggest changes were implementing DWL and not using air conditioning. I've listed my fuel up in my garage along with what I did differently from my last trip cycle.

My new goal is to reach 40 MPG average ;)

So, here is a list of the available gauges for my 2001 Toyota Camry.


Which of the following listed below offer the best feedback while driving for better fuel economy???.....


Open/Closed Loop Emissions Status
Percent Engine Load
Engine coolant temperature (°F)
Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1
Long Term Fuel Trim Bank 1
Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) PSI
RPM
MPH
Ignition Timing Advance
Intake Air Temperature (°F)
Absolute Throttle Position Percentage
Bank 1 Oxygen Sensor 2 Voltage
Bank 1 Wide Oxygen Sensor 1 lambda Voltage
Boost Pressure, (Relative Pressure) (PSI)
Brake Horsepower 1
Torque 1 (ft lbs)
Brake Horsepower 2
Torque 2 (ft lbs)
Volumetric Efficiency
UG Battery voltage
Mass Air Flow 2, Calibrated/Calculated
Instantaneous MPG
Intantaneous Gallons/Hour (GPH)
Distance to Empty(DTE)(miles)
Time to Empty (TTE)
Fuel Level (gallons)
Oil Distance(miles)
Service Distance(miles)
General Purpose
Average MPH
Average MPG
Average Gallon/Hour (GPH)
Fuel Used (gallons)
Run Time
Distance (miles)
TRIP GAUGES
Run Time
Average MPH
Average MPG
Fuel Used Gallons
Average Gallon Per Hour (GPH)
UltraGauge Internal Temperature (°F)
SHORT TRIP GAUGES
Run Time
Avergage MPG
Fuel Used (gallons)
Average gallons/hour
Average MPH
Distance (miles)

Nice work! Great numbers from the Kanmuri.

The gauges you use will depend as much on personal preference as much as anything else. I personally use TPS as the ultimate guide, some prefer load but I always question load as it's a calculated value vs. TPS which is straight from the horse's mouth. Plus I get the impression load works better with stick given that an autotragic tends to downshift when put under big loads. Or maybe it's because I don't really understand what to do with load readings? Since yours is speed-density, I also am not sure what that changes vs. a mass air setup like mine.

I do as a courtesy, so to speak, like to have a DTE or gallons remaining, plus coolant temp. Rpm is nice to have as well, really tells the breakover point on hills when you stop losing revs, start to maintain, then gain revs, also great for faster feedback on the flats for modulating your throttle.

What about Timing Advance, Volumetric Efficiency, Intake Manifold Pressure?

Also, what's better to use? Fuel Level or Fuel Used??

I noticed that the lower my Throttle Position, the better my FE. If I keep it below 16, then it boosts my mileage.

However, I also noticed that if I keep the throttle position too low, then I begin to lose speed and risk coming out of overdrive.

Is there a better way to use throttle position than what I'm currently doing??

Fuel used matters when you're calculating the previous tank's mpg. I have fuel level on my display- but I told the UG that I have a 10.1 gallon tank so my instrumentation gives me a half gallon safety that I don't want to get into. It les me get down to zero (of what I'm willing to use) without the hill a few miles short of the gas station starving the fuel pump because of a bad angle.

I changed these today and might as well show them here.

screen 1 ~ main screen on all the time
[ MAP ] [ trip average mpg ]
[ short fuel trim ] [ instant mpg ]
[ intake temp ] [ battery voltage ]
[ coolant temperature ] [ trip miles ]

screen 2 ~ only by manual ~ all stats recorded at fill ups
[ miles overall ] [ o2 sensor bank 1 ]
[ gallons overall ] [ trip mph ]
[ average mpg overall ] [ trip time ]
[ average mph overall ] [ level gallons ]

I used to use % engine load but switched to MAP (manifold absolute pressure),
go to 90 MAP on pulses, and make sure to not exceed matching RPMs when shifting.

I guess it's vehicle dependent, but are these gauges the best to use to provide feedback for increasing fuel economy other than the instant and average MPG??


Also, how much of a difference does enabling VE (Volumetric Efficiency) make in terms of fuel economy accuracy??

I use primarily pulse, and dwl combined with either dfco or engine on coasting, depending on terrain. I use MAP for acceleration and DWL, and Instantaneous MPG for DWL and coasting. My goal is to keep increasing the trip average mpg so I keep watching that too. I watch mph for a general guide to my speed. Coolant temp is for any adjustments to keep temperature in a narrow range and to keep the the fan off. I tried VE (Volumetric Efficiency) and didn't find it to be useful. I don't keep track of fuel used on a gauge, as I don't drive much except on trips and always fill up in plenty of time. I keep a record of when I get gas and fillups. Instantaneous gallons per hour seems a useful gauge but I've not used it much.

Throttle position is tricky. Sometimes you have to keep it a bit more open than you'd like knowing there's a climb up ahead.

It's not just vehicle dependent, it depends on conditions. No one particular value means higher mpg, as such, in all weather, traffic and road conditions- except instant and average mpg.

You can learn from the other values, but these are the ones you're applying them to get.

I will have to try MAP. What range using MAP is good for FE??

% Engine load and TPS are very sensitive and I am not sure how much help they're really providing. It's frustrating watching them!

My aim when accelerating is to stay as close to 90 % engine load as possible, without exceeding it, as above 93% is open loop which uses more fuel.

My plan for MAP is much the same. I'm using the metric MAP gauge which goes up to 100. See here for The donkey CRX's comments about using a (non metric) vacuum gauge. You can choose either one. MAP is a digital vacuum gauge.

I have tried accelerating around 80% load in my car but it seems it wants to extend the shift at certain RPM ranges until I lift up slightly on the pedal to cause a downshift.

From a physics standpoint, wouldn't accelerating at target load % for a designated time, which prolongs the downshift, consume more fuel versus accelerating enough to shift through each gear to get into overdrive??


-Extended acceleration with drawn out downshifts @ X-RPMs until target speed.

OR...

-Shortened acceleration with quicker downshifts @ X-RPMs until target speed.


Example: I have accelerated from a stop up to 2,000-2,400 RPMs and held it in that RPM range using a certain throttle pressure until I get into overdrive............is this the wrong way to accelerate?



I may be wrong in that theory, correct me if I am. I know that my car being an automatic is a strike against me in terms of fuel economy but I love challenges and I'm treating like this like a game to get the highest "score" I can to save myself some money. :thumbup:

That's why I never used load in anything, most especially my slushbox. It shifts too late and can risk a downshift as well.

Right. Overdrive is basically a downshift to generate more power at higher rpm's. A more detailed explanation is here.

In my automatic, that has no gauge, I use moderate throttle to get up to the highest gear as soon as possible (lowest mph), continue moderately accelerating in high gear (not overdrive), then shift into neutral and coast. The object is to keep the rpms as low as possible for the speed.

I would probably watch the instant mpg gauge carefully to see how to adjust.

So don't prolong my downshifts then? Which technique that I listed above would y'all recommend for an automatic?

When an automatic you have to toss load out the window, because it would cause a downshift. Rather, aim for higher gears and lower rpms.

I'm not sure what you mean by these. The idea is to not downshift at all, until you're reaching lower rpms that make this more feasible.

I tend to shift between 1500 and 2000 rpms, but go by feel, and don't pay much attention to the numbers.

The idea is to upshift as soon as possible, i.e. at lower rpms.

I've always used overdrive and it has provided the best return on fuel economy, the UltraGauge also supports this.

I'm sorry for the confusion. All I'd like to know is the most efficient way to accelerate for an automatic transmission to get into top gear as soon as possible at the least amount of fuel consumed.

My experience has been to use low-moderate acceleration to get into 4th and tc lockup? I rarely hit over 2000rpm.

Ok awesome. I'll just stick to the way I already drive then. I'm glad to know I've been doing it correctly.