New ScanGuage-e

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by Ryland

I was thinking that this would make a good gift for those friends and family members that would use a real time mpg gauge but wouldn't care about or use most of the other gauges unless the car was running poorly.

Excellent idea!

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

I think that 2 gauges are enough for many people. Most drivers won't even know what 70% of all those parameters mean, let alone how to use them to drive more efficiently. On the other hand a graph could be helpful, for example to see what was happening when I couldn't look at the screen for a few seconds.

One thing makes me wonder: If there are only two gauges, then why are there four buttons, like on the original SGII?

The buttons are still used for menu items. Left and right makes it faster to get where you're going, instead of having to cycle all the way through if you click one time too many.

[NeilBlanchard]

The ScanGuage II needs to use X-Gauge to map the average MPG to the main display. This is a bit of a pain, and it should be remedied on SG3, I think.

The UltraGauge has 6 displays, and 2 of them are in a larger font than the others, so you get the equivalent of the piggybacked ScanGauges -- in one device.

[Joenavy85]

Originally Posted by abogart

I'm not sure how much the SG-e is going for, but if I were going to invest in more instrumentation, I would probably just get another SGII and piggyback it for a total of 8 gauges.

i would go for another Ultragauge and buy a OBDII splitter for 12 gauges without having to set page advance

[Kodak]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

The most useful gauge to me is trip average.

Okay; I'm mildly surprised. I thought it might be instant mpg. I guess once you have your commute strategy memorized, it's just a matter of setting an overall baseline and trying to beat it. That, and the ability to test segments of trips.

Originally Posted by JohnS

Kodak,

By the way, I went from very low 20's to 28-29MPG after installing and learning how to read the SG.

Bottom line: At least get one of them. It will easily pay for itself. But I think spending the extra $50-60 for the SGII is the better investment.

Good luck whatever way you decide to go!

John

That's impressive. More than I would've expected. I guess there are some nuances that feedback best addresses.

Will post back if I get the SGe. I like the smaller size and price tag. Not sure if I need 4 gauges at once. Then again SGII is tried and true...

I agree on the graph not adding much to the gauge. My dad's Ford Fusion has something like that and it's not great.

Thank you for the suggestions.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

The ScanGuage II needs to use X-Gauge to map the average MPG to the main display. This is a bit of a pain, and it should be remedied on SG3, I think.

The UltraGauge has 6 displays, and 2 of them are in a larger font than the others, so you get the equivalent of the piggybacked ScanGauges -- in one device.

The newer SG-II's have AVG as a built-in gauge. That was a problem in my mind as well and they have fixed it.

[PaleMelanesian]

Instant mpg is useful for a short while when you first start, but you quickly learn the relationship between pedal position and mpg. Then it's just foot memory.

Average mpg is where the strategy comes in. The trick is to keep it ratcheting up. If you have a hill to climb, note the average when you start. Make the average higher when you finish coming back down the hill. For pulse and glide, make every glide end with a higher average than the previous. If it's not, figure out what you need to change to make it be higher (lighter pulse / heavier pulse for shorter time / longer glide / adjust speed / pulse up the hill or down / ...).

That was what kicked me the last step up to 80 mpg tanks last summer.

[PaleMelanesian]

As for the value of a scangauge, I'll let a picture do the talking for me.

[euromodder]

For my diesel car, I can't recommend a ScanGauge.
The average gets thrown off way too much by changes in driving behaviour.
I've long had the feeling I'm calibrating the SG to my driving, rather than to the actual fuel being used.

The SG doesn't respond well to DPF regenerations either.
When that happens, AVG suddenly improves quickly - I think it's not counting the diesel being post-injected.

I use it mostly for LOD, intake and coolant temperatures (intake T clearly shows the DPF regenerations), while the 4th spot is variable, often VLT or trip AVG, but the later is getting less popular as there's so little correlation with the real world.

On very similar commutes, trip AVG will range from 5.4 (44) tot 3.8 L/100km (62).
That's simply not happening.

Amazingly, total fuel used is often very close to the actual value.

[PaleMelanesian]

True. Scangauge and any other obd-ii gauges can't account for variable air-fuel mixes. That includes diesels and any lean-burn gassers.