Any thoughts and suggested App.
The ELM 327 for 20$ seems fine but wondering if anyone had specific choices with recent experience. Most review and feedback is couple years old.
TIA

 

Dont buy that ELM 327, go for the kiwi 2 from plx devices. Honestly i think the kiwi is one if not best one. I use it every day without any complaints.
As for apps i use torque app which i think is good but there is another one called dash command never use it so i can`t say anything about it.

 

Also 90$... So not should be. Dash command seems to be popular and consistent. Any other testimony on the wifi dongle?

 

I use Dashcommand everyday with an "permanently" installed iPhone. I've used two different dongles, a mid-priced generic from Newegg.com and a premium unit from Scantool.net. I never had any issues with the lower priced unit but was wanting faster scan rates so I switched it out for the premium unit. The premium unit, while slightly faster for data logging sometimes has issues...it turns off unexpectedly and fails to wakeup sometimes.

The mid-priced unit is no longer available but is similar to this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...01U7-_-Product ($25)


The premium unit is also discontinued (OBDlink WIFI) and has been replaced with the MX WIFI ($70 using a 10% coupon code of SPRING10):

https://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/.../obdlink-mxwf/

 

Totally new to this and I'm not even certain that we're aiming for the same functionality.
I've just bought a cheap ($18) WiFi widget to plug in and a small app to load on my iPhone primarily to clear codes and read real time coolant temp. You folks may be interacting in a more involved way but this simple setup is serving my current purpose:
VeePeak WiFi plug in 'dongle'
OBDCarDoctor app for iOS http://www.pnnsoft.com/portfolio/det...solutions/auto
The app loads and functions for free, with purchase required for saving/sharing data.
Again, I was dealing with a cooling system issue and simply wanted to see engine temps and it was super for this. Quick setup, quickly recognizes the device, displays refresh rate constantly.
There is a console for inputting but I haven't used it yet.
Code numbers displayed (but not explained or named) instantly.
Codes cleared instantly
real time graphing...so far I've only done one parameter at a time, but I expect that it will graph multiple parameters I just haven't gotten to that yet.

 

Kiwi 2 OBD2 cost 39.99 from their website. Here is the link

http://www.plxdevices.com/Kiwi-2-OBD...7346002573.htm

 

Stating my ignorance upfront, tell me what the more expensive versions do that the cheaper ones don't? Data rate? response time? Some parameters not addressable on some devices?

 

The kiwi 2 is Bluetooth, which isn't compatible with iOS. The OP needs a wifi obd2 device. IOS had limited Bluetooth API.

 

Some features are faster data rate, sleep/wake functions. Some of the cheaper ones may now also have these features. $20 should buy a decent dongle.

 

Whoops please delete... Accidental post

 

I will say that expensive is not always better, at least not anything worth the extra cost... I personally have this model:
Clearly, this is not what OP needs as I have android and this is bluetooth android only. My point is that it works very very well.

+1 for Torque, which is what I use - not sure if there is an iOS version though.

 

My OBDLink WIFI stopped working with my iPhone 6+, works great with my iPhone 6S. Who knows why.

I ordered an inexpensive dongle from Amazon $19.98 (free 2-day shipping with Prime):



I had one similar to this before and my initial thoughts are good. It has an on/off button and everything connects automatically once I turn it on with 2 presses of the button. I do normally keep it plugged in. It will not turn on and off automatically like the OBDLink WIFI but I'm ok with that. To be honest the OBDLink would turn on automatically only half the time the other half I had to unplug it and plug it back in. I had even adjusted the sleep settings but to no avail.

I haven't measured the scan rate yet. I can always USB plug the other adapter into my laptop running ScanXL if I want the maximum rate for when I'm data logging.

One nice feature that I really like is that it maintains the connection with Dashcommand even when I switch to a different app (like Music, Maps or Settings). Using OBDLink adapter, Dashcommand would loose connection after about 3-5 seconds when switching apps which was annoying. I thought it was a limitation of the iPhone but apparently not.

 

Great info here, thanks for the info.

Good grounds to do research.

Has anyone installed the Mini OE unit. Only 40$ more than the Craven unit and I like how tidy the wiring is. Install cant be too hard.

 

Just thought I'd share my 2 cents.

I use DashCommand and went with the GoPoint BT1 (http://l.mashby.com/AkXy) because it was bluetooth and not WiFi. It's more expensive, but it's worked flawlessly for me.

Since I use my phone and don't leave it "permanently" attached, I didn't want other networks interfering with the WiFi connection to the ODBC module. From what I recall, Bluetooth devices have to be certified to work with iOS which is why they are more expensive than their Android counterparts.

The only downside to using a BT version that I've found is if I take a call and use a BT headset, or the BT speakerphone in my Clubman while DashCommand is engaged, the caller says my voice sounds choppy. My guess is that there isn't enough bandwidth for the data stream from the GoPoint and the microphone.

I don't use DashCommand all the time and when I do, I'm not interested in talking on the phone so it hasn't been an issue for me.

 

Dash command is the way to go! I have it for ind and Android. Its very accurate

 

The Onshowy mentioned above is currently unavailable.