ScanGauge or other options? Android or DIY kits?
 

So I just bought a 1999 Lexus RX300 with 101K miles. It's in mint condition inside, and great overall exterior condition (a few paint chips etc).

This car will replace my 1989 Camry which had too much wrong with it to fix (Suspension gone all the way around, out of alignment leaking a fair amount of oil, door handle broken, auto seat belts sometimes don't work. Trunk leaks in water despite rubber seals being great, and siliconing all light housing seals.

Anyways, I only drive about 3000 miles a year, so MPG isn't that much of a concern, but its more of a hobby. I'd like to see how far I can stretch a gallon of gas, and see how my driving style can effect MPG in real time.

My question is simple, I'm considering a ScanGauge, but is there something else thats similar and perhaps cheaper or better? Like something that interfaces with android? Or I'd even be open to potentially soldering together some kind of an open source kit. If someone can give me some feedback on some of the options available, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

If you already have an android smartphone, preferably full size, Torque app costs $5 and bluetooth adapters on ebay can be had for about $12. Custom gauge setups with customizable gauge faces, logging ability, track your gps position and speed. I love it!

Thanks guys.

Any comments about the MPG accuracy and ability to calibrate on the UltraGauge and the Android Torque solution?

the ultragauge you can get to be very accurate and is easy to calibrate. Currently mine has about .4mpg error aka itll be within .4 of my actual whether thats human error as .4 could easily be tank filling probs

Just a matter of getting it calibrated

Torque has an option where you can adjust by 1% increments

What one on ebay did you buy, and what car are you using it in?

I read that some of the cheaper ebay ones don't work in all cars...

all i did was zero out everything when i did a fill then at the next fill corrected the miles traveled and gallons used

I bought this one from Amazon. Seems to be one of the best cheap ones, and Amazon probably has a better return policy than most sellers on ebay. I've tried mine in my '06 Escape Hybrid and my parents' '03 or '04 Yukon XL and it works great.

The only downside with Torque or another Android app is that you either need a dedicated device mounted in your car or you need to take out your phone/tablet every time you drive and set it up. If you want something to just plug in and never have to worry about, I would go with an Ultragauge.

mine is a cheapo one, i highly suggest with this sort of thing on ebay you only buy from high volume, top rated sellers.

ELM327 OBDII OBD2 Can Bus V1 5 Bluetooth Auto Car Diagnostic Interface Scanner | eBay

Thanks guys I ended up going the android route with Bluetooth OBDII. I have 3 android phones and a tablet, so it should work out fine. Just hoping there are no compatibility issues. I see most of thee issues are with US cars for these OBD II Bluetooth scanners, so I wouldn't anticipate a problem from my Lexus.

MyMPGTracker.com

Don't know if it's any good, it looks like it is still in development.

Got the OBD II BT scanner from ebay, it seems to work fine. I did a test today drove about 15 highway and country miles at about 55mph highway 45mph country. According to Torque, I averaged 31.5 MPG on my trip. It would be great if it was true. Do you think this is accurate? The 4WD model is rated at like 22 MPG highway IIRC. Are the MPG readings supposed to be accurate right away, or does it take time?

That's where the calibration comes in. The first tank's worth probably won't be accurate. When you fill up, there should be a way to tell the scanner how many gallons you put in. Assuming you started with a full tank at the same time that you installed the scanner, then the next tank will be closer (if not exactly right). If you didn't start with a full tank, then top off soon (and reset the scanner) so you don't have quite as long to go before you get a more accurate reading.

Ok, I'll fill up soon, then reset things...

Also when I programmed in my fuel tanks 17.2 gal capacity, how do they figure the capacity. Do they top it off, or is 17.2 gallons about when the fuel pump clicks? In the past when I filled up, I'd usually top off to the nearest 50 cents.

I think the tank size with torque is only used for dte and other such calculations, fuel flow rate is the big one for mpg. Mine was pessimistic by about 10-15%, after two tanks I have it within 1% error. When my factory gusts used to say 40mpg hwy now torque tells me 32.

I tried the Torque + ELM327 reader combination on my Aygo but I found it drained the Android battery very quickly and also the ELM device doesn't reconnect well on engine stops - e.g. in heavy traffic.

Do you mean you were frequently shutting off your engine? If so it can take maybe 15-20 seconds or so to reconnect. Secondly, why not plug your phone into the car charger?

My SG2 does that but sadly the ELM / phone combination often would no longer talk to each other for the rest of the journey. TBH it could be the phone as it sometimes decides not to talk to the car handsfree thing and sometimes does.

Bluetooth is a dead technology that someone needs to kill and burn quickly, please - anyone. Surely low range Wifi is the way forward now and not this cr@p.

I do but my car power socket doesn't seem to supply enough "oomph" to charge the phone whilst it is doing "something" - anything, like the camera, GPS (Maps), or Blue(****ing)Tooth so it just drains.

The SG2 has worked reliably for 3-4 years now but I may move to an Ultragauge soon.