ScanGauge2 Review

ScanGauge2

ScanGuage2 is a compact vehicle monitoring system that gathers data from your vehicle’s ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and interprets it in a way that is useful to you giving access to much more data than your vehicle ordinarily displays.

The ScanGuage2 is suitable for all vehicles with an OBDII connector. This is a port which interacts directly with the car’s Electronic Control Unit which is used by the ScanGuage2 to gather data. Before considering the ScanGuage2 it is advised that you check to see if you car has an OBDII connector, either check physically beneath the dashboard or consult the owner’s manual for your car. OBDII has been a requirement for all new for diesel vehicles  in Europe since 2003 and since 2001 for petrol vehicles. Condequently  if your car was manufactured after these dates then it will be likely to have the OBDIIIt is usually located somewhere in  the passenger or driver side foot well. The OBDII standard states that the connecting port must be within 2 feet of the steering wheel or under the dashboard, within reach of the driver.

ScanGauge2 does more than just gather data from the vehicle’s ECU; it includes other features that allow you to interpret and store this data for later review. It allows you to do all of the following:

• Monitor various vehicle parameters
• Monitor performance
• See real-time fuel consumption & cost
• Troubleshoot with an engine diagnostic
• Trip Computer

This is only a brief overview of what the ScanGuage2 can accomplish. We’ll start with the Monitoring of vehicle parameters since this is what you’ll be likely to be viewing on the device most often. You are allowed up to 4 different Gauges at once on display. Below is a list of the different Gauges to choose from:

• Fuel System Loop Status
• Manifold Absolute Pressure
• Boost
• Miles Per Gallon
• Kilomteres Per Gallon
• Miles Per Liter
• Liters Per 100Km
• Kilomteres Per Liter
• Miles Per Hour
• Kilometers Per Hour
• Revolutions Per Minute
• Throttle Position Sensor
• Water Temperature
• Average Fuel Economy
• Trip Fuel Cost
• Cost Per Mile
• Battery Voltage
• Intake Air Temperature
• Fuel Pressure
• Gallons Per Hour
• Liters Per Hour
• Ignition Timing
• Engine Loading
• Horsepower
• Transmission Fluid Temperature

As you can see there are a LOT of things to choose from. What you choose to display depends on what you are trying to accomplish from the ScanGauge. If you have recently fitted a new part to your vehicle to improve performance then the temperature gauges would be a good to display to make sure your vehicle is running properly, or perhaps the HoresPower reading. If you are out for achieving better fuel economy then I recommend the Average Fuel Economy, Cost Per Mile, Miles Per Gallon and Trip Fuel Cost gauges since these will help you see what kind of fuel economy you are getting in real time. From this you can learn what areas of your driving are decreasing your fuel economy and how much certain journeys cost.

The performance tool

For those who are always after the maximum performance and power from your car then the Performance Monitor may be appealing. The Performance Monitor gives you the ability to monitor your vehicles performance over a small area of time, distance and acceleration. You can use the Performance monitor to:

• Get your ¼-Mile time
• Get your 0-60 MPH time
• Get braking performance – 60-0 MPH and braking distance

The Scan Tool

The ScanGauge has a built in feature that allows you to view and clear Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs). This allows your engine is having problems and allows you to see problems before they turn into something serious. If an error code is found then you will need to find the definitions of the code for your vehicle which are usually available in your owner’s manual. A|lternatively visit http://www.troublecodes.net. This tool only reports the error codes, it will not fix them.

The Trip Computer:

As you’d expect this allows you to record data for specific trips or your day to day data. A really useful feature is the ability to tell the ScanGauge how much petrol you have put into the car, which then can be used to calculate how far you can travel on your tank and will be updated in real time as you use fuel. The trip computer stores the following information:

Overall the ScanGauge2 is a really useful tool for any vehicle driver even if you’re not that technical or vehicle savvy. It does give you very useful information but there are certain aspects to it that can be confusing especially when you enter some of the advanced areas of it such as the sending of custom commands to the ECU. I haven’t gone over this area in any detail since you could cause damage to your vehicle if it doesn’t go to plan. However if you do invest in the ScanGauge2 then it definitely will improve your fuel economy and help you out with any vehicle problems you may have because that aspect of  it works really well! Some tweaking to the settings may be required to get it as accurate as possible. As I have said before, you must first  check to see  you have the OBDII port before considering buying ScanGauge2.  If you do purchase one then read the manual thoroughly since it goes over every aspect in a lot of detail and will help you get it set up and get the most out of it..

The current price of the ScanGauge2 is around £125 including VAT. This is a fair price for the features that it offers and is competitive in terms of similar products but ScanGauge2 offers more than the competition. Available from the following site: http://www.ukobd.co.uk/vmchk/Hand-held-Tools/ScanGauge2.html?gclid=CMiL-9qKyqoCFU4LtAodeVeOhQ