sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Past week there was much talk of the ScanGaugeII, and i liked what i saw on the website. ( www.scangauge.com ) I picked one up this morning and did some driving around town. So my initial review will be short, i will have a longer one later on.

To start it off, the amount of difficulty of the install is a 1 out of 10, ten being the hardest. You simply open the box, un-tie the ONE wire, plug into the OBDII, the gauge, and then start your car. Really it is that simple.

Changing the gauge you wish to use is a simple push of a button. There are 4 buttons that correspond with each gauge. Pushing one of the four buttons will shuffle through the type of gauge you want displayed in the slot. I chose to display RPM, Throttle Position, Intake temp., and Coolant temp.

I have yet to truely test the Trip Meter, but i will have this review later in the week.

I have also yet to use the Engine Code scan for i have no codes being thrown on my car.


Currently i have mine mounted on the top of the stearing coloumn, this is mearly temporary though. I plan to install it into the upper slot under the radio. I did a quick wire tuck into the dash so that the wire would not show untill it had to be plugged in.

Here are some pics.

A nice blue to match the OEM gauges (has a menu to chose from a wide color spectrum)





RPM Match


Shut Down (Gauge shuts off when OEM gauge dims out)



OBD II connection + Gauge connection




Ill work on getting more of a review later this week + Move the gauge to the lower console.

MugenR

THAT is pretty sweet! might have to pick one up! The coolest things are IAT, coolant temp, battery voltage, and reading CELs!

nice find! thanks,
-Andrew

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

Yeah I agree...sickkk

How's the install?

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Im not too sure about the installing

Lol, it was easy to say the least

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

Price is a little steep.

Looks good none the less, nice.

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

$169 is steep for 23 different monitored vitals of the car, plus the scan for trouble codes the ECU throws?
The code scan is worth that in one time being used.

MugenR

not really. I mean, take into consideration that this pulls ECU codes like CELs. OBDII scanners alone cost anywhere form 100-200 bucks.

Plus this does system monitoring.

the price isn't bad.

MugenR

Dang, sT04Louis beat me to it

MugenR

actually I had one question, does this system let you reset CELs?

THTL

iTrader: (2)

i think i am sold. just need to find a perfect place to mount this sucker.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

You could also rent a scanner at Pepboys / Kragens.

I don't know .. I would consider myself a penny pincher.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Great product, terrible mounting.

I thought you were gonna put it in the upper cubby?

Ordering one of these myself.

kjelly

Thanks for the write-up. Are there functions not available; not able compatible with the TL? Have you tried the X-gauge feature? Like horsepower?

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

The website claims you can reset check engine light. I cannot say yes or no to this for i have no codes being thrown.


Not sure on what all is, and isnt available quite yet. Just picked it up this morning, so ill have more in depth review this week some time.


Im going to put it in the upper cubby, but right now my EDFC controler is in that cubby. Think im gonna just let a shop move that, dont feel like dealing with taking the dash apart. There is also a connector on the back of the gauge that will be perfect for hiding the wire.

ussi

iTrader: (1)

looks useful...might need to get one of these...

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

holy mother of christ, I want one

ckya

nice =)
glad u like it

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Thanks guys, i enjoy all but the location right now.


Update for review:

The trip meter had a difference of just under 1 mile than that of the OEM trip meter, and this was after a 150mile trip. Not sure why there is a small difference considering that they both get the information from the same ECU.
The fuel usage info is nice as well. Some info may be a little over kill, such as cost per mile, and total cost of fuel used. Granted, this device is marketed to trucking companies as well to track fuel usage/mis-use of company vehicles.

The gauges worked great themselves. The MPH was equal to that of the OEM gauge, as was the RPM gauge. My personal favorite gauge is the Intake Air temp gauge. Which during a 2 hour 15 min trip with a outside air temp of 41deg, my Fujita CAI was sucking in air that was 64deg. So that pretty much shows that even with a CAI you still get just above 20 degrees of engine bay heat. Id like for someone without fog lights to challenge this statement though. Im sure there is some heat getting mixed with the intake air coming off the back of the fog light housing.

As of right now thats all i have for the review.


Thanks again for the comments.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

mmmh well with my vent I'd probably be sucking in slightly colder air, but the cai temperature is 20 degrees higher because it heats up on the way through the heat coming from the engine bay, the ram also suffers from this demise as it will be engine bay temperature and also heats up that way, the heat from the foglights is almost irrelevant, dayum though this thing gives so much info man

is there anyway to have oil temperature plugged into it somehow?

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Im sure your ram air vent would help on the intake temp. I got to thinking though, and there is no sensor in the intake itself, so the ECU is drawing temps from the throttle body or manifold itself. Im gonna say the TB from all the wires connected to it.

About the oil temp, there is nothing on the Gauge, or in the manual about oil temps...Im gonna have to looking to the "XGAUGE" or Extended Gauge part of it to see, but so far ive seen nothing to do with oil temps or pressures

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

In one week i drop off the car to have the EDFC moved to the lower cubby, and this installed in the upper.

Expect pics.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

Can anyone explain this xgauge thing, didn't really undertand it on their website, does that allow the plugin of othee gauges like boost, oil temp and pressure, water temp etc...???

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Well seeing as how im the only one with this so far im guessing that question was towards me.

Im not really sure what the Xgauge is/does/how it works. Ive read through the manual, and it seems to be a feature that you can enter some sort of codes to engage different gauges. I could be totally wrong. Ill shoot the company a email soon and see if they can shed some light.


As for those couple gauges you just listed off. 2 of them are already on there.

Water/Coolant Temp

MAP or Manafold Absolute Pressure <--this feature works on the TL even though it is N/A, there is still a postive pressure in the manifold. Atleast thats what im getting from the gauge...normally at idle its between 3-4 on the gauge, then at WOT is may jump to 6-7 but falls back down as RPM increases.

Correct me if im wrong but the MAP would be the boost gauge for the F/I guys.

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Found some more info on the Xgauge.

It was a short list of codes i can enter into the gauge itself to draw more info from the ECU.

A quick one they had listed was the Horse Power reading. Gonna input the code at lunch time and see how that goes. The only other codes they have listed for "all cars" is Short Term Fuel Trim Bank 1-4. Im not even gonna waste my time messing with all that.

There are alot of GM/Ford/VW/Toyota codes that are useful. Most impressive are the FORD ones of:
Cylinder Head Temp
Fuel Pump Duty Cycle
Transmission Fluid Temperature (deg F)

Gonna shoot them a email to see if they can send/find codes for Acura.


Those interested stay tuned.

Fulani has a TL

iTrader: (1)

It'll def. be interesting to see what kind of info you can pull after inputting the codes

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

curious bout the hp reading, take a break now dude lol

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

took a break.

HP gauge works

Wont know how close it is to actual Crank HP. Did a quick spin around the block and did a quick accel in 1st to 35mph and the gauge was reading around 97hp.
Ill open it up in 3rd on the highway tonight and see what it shows what i got at the crank with Fujita, and Stage 3 being my only "engine" mods.

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Couple craptastic pics from my cell of the HP gauge at IDLE.

1. HP reading with TPS "Throttle Position" above.



2. HP reading with MAP "Manafold Absolute Pressure" above.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

ok wait in order to get actual hp you'd have to take it up to 148mph right?
for crying out loud this thing is just insanely cool lmfao

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Not sure how fast you would have to be going to get to MAX HP.
I actually dont think you have to go fast, its not drawing the HP number from the wheels, its getting it at the crank. So really its just a Engine HP reading.
Like i said, ill see what i can get it to tonight. I gunned it again at lunch, but being in a 25mph street i didnt want to hold it down. Gauge showed 120hp on 1st gear flooring to 25mph.

Im still waiting for a responce from the ScanGauge guys i emailed. As soon as i get a responce ill let you guys know, also keep you informed on what numbers it shows on highway WOT.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

I assumed you already looked, but Acura = Honda codes.

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

I was pretty sure they would be the same. Even then there is no Honda entries on the spread sheet pdf that is on the website.

http://www.scangauge.com/support/pdfs/XGAUGE.pdf

screaminz28

iTrader: (1)

What kind of ignition timing is it reading at WOT? That's what I'd love to know. To get an accurate HP reading, I'd recommend a 3rd gear pull, otherwise you'd pretty much have to hit top of 4th, just like on a dyno.