As part of having an ECU tune put on my car, I've been looking for a way to do data logging with a good data rate. What do you use for data logging your MINI? Here's what I've been trying thus car, using the OBD port…

For in-car "dashboards" I've had good luck with Vpeak wifi and Automatic Gen 2 Bluetooth adapters and iPhone running OBD Fusion and/or DashCommand. The problem is, while 1-2 updates/sec is fine for a some gauges on the dash (I'm not racing or autocrossing, just "spirited" driving) … that's not nearly enough to see what the engine is doing during, say, a 2000-6000rpm WOT pull, which is over in a few seconds.

My current set-up is a USB OBDLink SX with MacBook Pro. I've been trying various apps for data capture; the best (so far) are Palmer Performance's Scan XL and OCTech's OBDwiz for Windows, or EOBD-Facile for Mac/Win (designed more for diagnostics than data logging though).

No matter the software, I'm getting 20–-25 PIDs/sec max. This means I can either capture a few datapoints at moderate resolution, one at great resolution, or lots at lousy. At this point I think the limitation is the MINI's OBD implementation; it seems to have a pretty consistent 35–50ms response time.

I'm looking for something that will provide a decent data rate for the core PIDs a tuner needs to look at. I'm hoping to avoid spending $300 on a RaceCapture module; it looks great but I've already blown through my car toys budget for the year. And I totally don't have the time to write a CAN bus sniffer.

Thanks!

 

Anyone? Everyone must be on Labor Day Weekend vacation

 

Allot of this has to do with how much money you want to spend and what you want to to log. I used ISTA that I have on my laptop by recording a portion of my screen with another program. I also used the "EngineLink HD" app. The time period between readings is not the best. I have a Ultragauge now and it actually appears to function faster than either of the two previous but then you are not able to go back to review the data.

 

I use an OBD2<-> Bluetooth adapter and either Torque or Race Chrono on my Android phone. I can get multiple PIDs at 4x/second no problem. Not good enough for tuning but I'm not doing that - just recording track sessions and quantifying intercooler performance, etc.