Why don't we all have MPG readouts?
 

I really want to get a superMID for my '92 civic (obdI), and am wondering why other people that don't have either the superMID or scangauge don't have them already, so here is a poll! please vote even if you post a reply.

I don't see a poll.

I don't/haven't gotten one cause I can't afford it. I'm hoping to get a vacuum gauge soon though. When your in high school with no job, it's pretty hard to get money for something like that.

Good poll idea. Subscribed...

Thanks for adding that last answer to the pole,
I realized that if you know more about a problem then you are better armed to make changes.

Added.

$160 is a lot. If I bump my average mpg from 28mpg to 30mpg it will take a long time to make up the money.

I voted "Can't aford one at this time".

Missing Option: missing a car until graduating from uni.

gonna be getting one soon:). voted cant afford one at this time:(.

Can't afford, all of my capitalized economy investments went into my house.

I figured my payback period, 10 MPG for 1 year @125mi/week. Of course, if I drive more, the numbers get smaller :rolleyes:

My $150 scangauge paid for itself in about 7 months. I only commute 11 miles each way, and my car is already fairly efficient. Any more distance, or a thirstier car, or higher gas prices, and the break-even point will be sooner. Highly recommended.

@boxchain - we basically have the same car and a similar commute. You can get great numbers if you're willing to push for it.

On as tight of a budget as I am on during the school year, I can barely afford to put aside the $50 to get myself a bicycle, let alone get the $150 it takes to get a scangauge. However, with the money I'll be saving from riding my bike to work and the grocery store I should be able to save nearly $100/month on gas so I can have the money for one after that in no time.

voted can't afford at this time - although - with the "Economic Stimulus Package" maybe will stimulate my Econimic Driving and aquior one.
married and 2 kids - i think that totals $1,800 ?? (1200 + 2*300 i think it is)

Steve

Well, I have a lot of traffic lights to deal with, and I'm not a fan of overusing my starter. I'm working on the FE though, doing some EOC when possible. It'll take a couple weeks to get more numbers though, my trip meter is almost 200 and the fuel gauge hasn't hit 1/2 yet :thumbup:

options?
 

ok so where do i get one and what are my options? i want something that will look fairly stock (i am redoing the interior for my trans am and want it to look professional) is there any that hook straight into a computer? i am planing on putting a car pc into the t/a and would love it if i could direct my readout to that.

so any suggestions? also a little note about my carpc, i am going to be getting the obdII reader/programmer so i will already have that interfaced, maybe there is a way i can use that?

Johnpr: there are two options. The scangaugeII will work on any OBD II car (1996 - present) and then there is the SuperMID which works on OBD I cars (pre-1996). I know you can get the scangaugeII just about anywhere. I found them on Amazon and Froogle.com for around $150. The SuperMID I have heard is a custom product that is out of production right now, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I have no idea how to get one of those.

Look them up, www.scangauge.com

That's what I use - Scangauge.

thanks for the info, im checking into it right now........
wow that looks great and with the built in speedo i can really make use of it (its alot cheaper then the speedometer ive been looking at) so it might get installed before i purchase my speedometer..

thanks guys :)
john

Haha, that would be awesome! Use the Scangauge as a speedo. Heck, you could probably even just go without the speedo all together if you made the installation of the scangauge permanent instead of just strapping it to the top of the dash! Might even take some load off the engine since it's only having to run the scangauge and it will remove (minimal) weight from the car. I would love to see it if you do that, I never thought of using one that way before.

I think it would depend on why the speedo is not working. If the electric portion of it is broke then the SG would not be getting the signal to show the input on the gauge.

sort of but not really
 

I just ordered my ScanGauge two days ago. I will put it in my wifes 2001 Avalon. I was going to use Velcro strips so I can transfer it as I see fit.
I had to crunch numbers, HARD, to get my wife to allow the purchase.
The last two tanks of gas in her car helped immensely.
If you check the log you will see that the last tank was the worst.
That was all Her driving. She saw it and was appalled.
The previous tank was 2nd best.
That was ~50/50 Her & I. I used all my best tactics while She drove her normal way, ie: haul-ass&stop.
Our best tank was all Me. We were coming home from a long trip, I was exceeding the posted limit most of the way. I used as much EcoDriving as I could. Result - even @ breakneck speed - Best Tank.
So after all this we tallied her miles per year and multiplied it by the savings and she realized we would break even by June and from then on it is all savings.
I drive the Geo Metro 1993. No ScanGauge for it yet. I'm waiting for Ben to tell me there is a SuperMid available. After i finish the re-man I have to save up money again.
TTFN. S.

Mount it with double stick foam. It comes right off when your done or want to move it.

If there was a cheap ugly version on the market, but worked similarly I would be all over it. With oil at $101 a barrel, the :pdohicky:p would pay for itself pretty quickly.

My main reason for not dumping money into an SG is price. My car already has averaging an instantaneous mpg readouts. I just can't justify the large cost of the extra gadget with a small increase in marginal utility.

If I had time, I'd work on a java app make an instrument out of the ODB2-to-DB9 adapter I already have.

What would be involved in that? I might be able to ask my roommate to try that out over spring break?

So here was one simple framework someone made:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/rr-p...d-ii-plug.html
...but the site (sophonix.com) seems dead now. I might have an old zip of the source files. The "left as an exercise to the reader" is making it a usable instrument...I haven't had time (too busy making web sites for airlines :rolleyes:).

its not that my speedo doesnt work, im just redoing the interior (completely) and want to put in my own gauge cluster, the car will definately end up with a dedicated speedo but i was thinking of using the scangauge as a means to get it on the road quicker. i will definately hard wire it or add a second obdII port as i will need the first for my carpc setup

I'd vote but there isn't a scenerio that I'd fit into. I have a 1990 Civic DPFI d15b1. Because it has 2 different fuel injectors that flow at different rates, there is no instumentation that is compatible with this.

I've used fuel rate meters to see what each injector does but I'd prefer MPG instrumentation.

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know!!!!

I'm pretty sure that the dual fuel injector set up is mostly a "cold start" injector and a "normal" one, the cold start one is used instead of a choke to allow a simpler control set up of the engine, some MPFI systems used a 5th injector like this as well, as seen on older Toyota's.

Or, assuming both injectors operate at stoich, you could make an instrument that extrapolates MPG based on air flow like the ScanGauge does.

Assumes you're not going into open loop operation, and also it won't factor in cold start enrichment.

I voted "car is too old," but I'm in the process of building an MPGuino. Got my new LCD for Christmas, but now I have to work again.... :(

Because I don't have a car.
My fuel efficiency is phenomenal!

Not just a cold start injector... it's an auxiliary injector. Hooking it up to my dwell meter it's always on. In fact it is the injector that keeps the car running during idle while the main injector shuts off.

Any ideas on how to measure airflow?