G Meter!!! So fun to whip through a turn and see how many G's you are pulling.


Also it has the dorky eco monitor that grows leaves on a tree to show you are driving ecologically..needless to say I only played with it once, than the tree died.

Torque is a great tool, have used it for many of my friends cars to clear codes and it actually will do a internet search to help decipher the issue behind some of the less than clear codes.

Worth every penny!

 

Hi RoyalCooper. The wired ELM327 was the OBDII to laptop USB cable that I originally started with.
It seemed 'rude' not to use wireless bluetooth with Torque particularly since the laptop with EasyOBDII was fussy and slow in comparison. The bluetooth/Android route seemed more modern IMO, and slicker.
I plonked a phone holder on the speedo glass and it holds the 'phone fine...
I haven't seen an OBDII to Android cable but I have seen a (more expensive) OBDII cabled to a wireless bluetooth transmitter for the Android. I feel my ELM327 does it all anyway without obvious cables and without being seen...

 

I researched all the bluetooth OBDII adapters mentioned and picked one with a lot of reviews and a high score on NewEgg and ordered up. It was one of the clear-blue ELM units. There are a bunch like that and some have terrible reviews so watch out.

I have got to say that Torque instead of a ScanGauge2 is a no brainer. The gauges are much more responsive and accurate than I expected and you can have/do MORE than the $160 ScanGauge. All for a total investment, for me, of $21.

You get multiple pages of real-time displays so you can keep large gauges on each page and still have 10+ gauges, dials, graphs, meters etc.

Add in that a CHEAP scantool at the parts store is like $80-100, but this app will read and clear codes just the same. I don't know why anyone wouldn't get it.

 

^ my thoughts exactly.

 

+1 and even the iPhone version can be up and running for half what the Scangauge goes for.

In each case (Android or iPhone) you also have a device you can use for other useful stuff when you venture away from your Mini

 

Are you guys certain that there isn't an OBDII to microUSB wire?

 

It isn't just a matter of physically connecting the phone with a cable. On a USB interface, one end operates as master and the other operates as slave. OBD adapters operate as USB slave. They can be plugged into a PC because the PC (with USB-A connector) operates as USB master. Phones are USB slave devices and wouldn't be able to communicate with the OBD over USB. Technically it is possible make a phone operate as a USB master, but currently this is still nonstandard and regular marketplace apps such as Torque don't support it.

 

I'm a nerd, so… Apple have been making their iPods (and later, iPhones) do this since early 2005 with the iPod camera connector. I always found it pretty bizarre for exactly the master/slave reasons mentioned. Having a device switch from being the slave to the master requires some custom magic for it to know when to switch.

Later, the iPad Camera Connection Kit does much the same, except it's not limited to cameras. You can use it to hook up pretty much any standard USB device that complies with the USB standards. This includes of course keyboards, but also USB-MIDI bridges and MIDI keyboards, USB audio devices (both capture and output), and hard drives. Doesn't supply as much power as the USB spec requires, though, so you do have to find a very low-powered keyboard.

"Dude, what does this have to do with MINI?" Oh, right… it means that USB-OBD Adapters require special work to connect to a phone. It can be done, and there are a couple of iPhone-specific units which use Apple's 30-pin connector. But if you have a "Lightning" connector (iPhone 5, iPad Mini, 4th gen iPad, latest iPod Touch) those aren't options, and of course Android devices are SOOL too.

A Bluetooth or WiFi wireless adapter just turns out to be a lot simpler in the end. And if you use Android, cheaper, too!

(I love my iPhone, but yes, there is absolutely an Apple tax on accessories!)

 

Thanks for the info guys. I just bought the app and the adapter. Mainly want it for a boost gauge and it's still more cost effective than a pod and gauge. Cost me $25 for everything. Thanks again. This forum is a life saver

 

I keep mine displaying Boost and Temp mainly. I flip to other screens and check other things periodically, but those are my 2 main ones. Especially temp. The fact that a car company would sell a car with NO gauges aside from a tach and speedo is beyond me, but I guess they think idiot lights when it's too late is good enough for everything else....

 

I just ordered a Super Mini ELM327 V1.5 Bluetooth OBD2 OBD-II from amazon. I am looking forward to this versus getting a ScanGauge. So Torque app is my best bet for android?

 

I haven't tried any of the others - but at $4.99 for Torque, it is hard to go wrong. That's the cost of a pint, and when you're done with the pint, you have to buy another. When you're done with the second pint, you have to pee.

I'm a fan of Torque, and also check out the Track Recorder add-on.

I also have the Craven/Marshall boost and temp gauges, because I like them and I don't always have Torque running. But that was way more expensive.

 

Haha. Good point. Just curious. About how much did it cost to get the gauges installed? Where did you have it done if not by yourself?

 

I used to think that too, but with the temp gauge, it runs so close to redline, they'd probably have people freaking out...

I didn't know they made wifi obd connectors. I might look into that. The only negative I have with hooking it up via BT is that it disconnects my BT headset until I get a call, but I also listen to podcasts through it. I don't use wifi except at work (thank god for unlimited on verizon) so that would be a more useful connection for me.

 

OT, but since you asked - I did the gauge install myself, spent maybe $25 on materials for the wiring. There's a thread in the DIY forum that has detailed writeups from me and another forum member.

 

nrfitchett4 I'd be interested in your wi-fi findings.

I have a wi-fi OBDII adapter as well as the bluetooth version (which incidentally looks exactly the same as the bluetooth unit). A friend bought it thinking it was the same thing (that could have been any of us, couldn't it?) and passed it on to me when he found out that there was a difference. I haven't really bothered to try to get my head around it; the bluetooth application is so well-documented and easy to set up that it's a no-brainer to use instead, isn't it?

I'm not quite sure how to 'wi-fi network' my phone and there's not the same quality of advice available, is there? Also, I can't think how there can be any advantages to using wi-fi (esp. speed + ease of use) over bluetooth.

(IMO wi-fi might offer an alternative set up as part of a permanent shop/garage diagnosis fixture networked via the garage PC, which is a different application entirely compared to our desire to monitor temps + boost etc 'on the go'...Anybody got any thoughts or expertise on this one?)

 

I have a question to those that have both a boost gauge and torque. How accurate is the boost reading? I just got my obdII adapter today so I of course had to try it out. Did a 2,3,4 pull getting on the highway and it read a peak boost of 16.1lbs, but the reading I did says I should only see 13lbs if I overboost. Car is stock AFAIK.

 

Watson 29, actually I'm glad you brought that up.

My boost starts at 13.8psi and hangs around there as I drive gently. At wider throttle openings it progresses toward a max of 20-ish, so far.

I don't have any info on other Torque user's data and it might be an idea to open another thread or use this thread to see what others are monitoring and what 'normal' readings they are getting. oil temp + pressure data seems not to be available nor is fuel pressure but fuel rail pressure (I think it was) fluctuated so as to be virtually meaningless so I didn't persevere with it.

{I'm monitoring boost, input temps (I have fitted a Wagner FMIC) and coolant temp (reads 106C max = 223degF)}

Any other observations? Should we start a new thread or continue with this since I think the line of the original post has been dealt with? I have no intention of causing offence by thread hi-jack but it would be interesting, now that Torque seems so highly regarded, to see how others are using it and what values they're getting. Some are using Torque in UK but there's no sharing of data so far AFAIK.

 

Not sure, I did a pull the other day getting on the highway and I'm getting like 13-14 PSI. Isn't the stock reading supposed to be like 11.7?

 

I believe that's what I've read. Around 11psi normally, should peak at 13ish if overboosting. (sport button on?)

I really didn't want the gauge to see what my boost is, I want see if I'm in boost or not to help with fuel econ for driving around, just peaked my curiosity.

 

anyone have one of these obd2 bluetooth scanners?


its the cheapest one i've found that has a on/off power switch. its also a little smaller than the vgate.

 

Why is the On/Off a priority? It isn't powered when the car is off.

 

yes it is. thats why they drain the battery if you leave them plugged in. unless you get one that turns on/off with the car, those are $100+.

 

Thanks Gabe3 a point well made!

I just assumed that my car turns everything off after about 20 mins or so as it does with the hi-fi. That's something else to bear in mind...

I'll check it out by looking to see if the adapter is showing any lights this morning and, if not, seeing if they light up when the ign is turned on.

I'll report back. Good to share.

 

Done, but TBH I'm no wiser...

When I looked there were no lights on the adapter that I usually leave plugged in.

Then key pushed in; no lights.

Then ign button on; no lights

Then key out + ign off, adapter disconnected then re-installed; there was a yellow/green start-up sequence of lights.

I've never noticed any starting probs but then my MCS is only 18mths old so the battery's not particularly weak. At the moment I've kept the adapter out but I'll probably resort to leaving it in again as I continue to use it. It's a bit of a *** to keep locating the socket.

Any other observations? I'll see if anyone on MINI2.com can contribute.