by Bull6791, September 16, 2013
I am trying to find out what these gauges are for. Do they take the place of your code reader or are they in addition to the code reader.
How could I or on benefit from these gauges.
I heard of these gauges and am trying to find someone who has these gauges to tell me their experience whit then
Thanks
I have both. They can act as a code reader, though they are more of an OBD/CAN scanner with extra features.
They provide you real-time sensor data as well as provide a basic trip computer functionality.
Usefulness depends on how important that additional information is to you. For someone trying to maximize fuel economy or interesting in valve timing overlap or fuel trims - IMO, these will give you more capability than a similarity priced scanner. Will not be a replacement for a dedicated full capability scanner for diagnostic work - but that was never the intent of the Scangauge or Ultragauge. These are designed for full time connection to the car - some owners have these permanently mounted in their cars.
Scangauge was the "original" stand alone unit - the Ultragauge was designed as an open source alternative - hence the lower price point. Personally - I like them both. Both have decent designs, though the SG is more polished. The SG also gives you a bit more flexibility in installation options at the OBD connector.
Also keep in mind that there are smartphone options as well. I have apps that I run on both my Droid and iPhone that use a Bluetooth connection on the OBD connector. Provides about 95% the feature set of the SG and UG - for a fraction of the cost (cost of the app) - assuming you already have an appropriate device.
Fish
What are fuel trims. I would love to get the max I could get out of fuel economy. I it could help boost my mpg it might be for me.
Rev is only program I see for iphone. To connect it I probably need an adapter that goes from obd II to iPhone 5.
LTFT / STFT (Long term fuel trims / Short term fuel trims) - usually more useful from a diagnostic point of view, think of them as a percentage number that lets you see how the engine computer is controlling fuel strategy.
There are a number of ways to help boost fuel economy - the biggest influence is with monitoring the driver behind the wheel. In that regard - you can use the instantaneous MPG reading on either the SGII or UG to see when the engine is cutting fuel / has the highest instant MPG. Eventually - you'll get the feel for when the right moment is to get back on the gas, how effective it is to coast, where there are sections of road on your commute where you can maximize fuel economy. The small size of both the gauges allows you to put them close to your line of sight, so you won't have to take your eyes off the road - but still becareful - these can be quite distracting. Like driving a Prius - that infotainment display has a "video game" like display - lots of information, but can be highly distracting.
Rev is all I can find for iphone. I this good. Also I probably need an adapter from obdII to iPhone 5.
Most programs I find are for android. I do not have one
You'll have to make sure that the BT OBDII dongle works with the iPhone. I couldn't get mine to work with my iPhone 4S - ended up using my Android tablet - as you mentioned, lots of available apps. Rev is a pretty decent app - I think there are some on this board that are using it. They may have some insight on what dongle is compatible with the iPhone hardware.
