Ultra-Gauge beats ScanGauge at ~1/3 the price

[slurp812]

Originally Posted by slurp812

Maybe there is a setting for this? But as far as I know, on the UG you have to manually reset for trips. The SF does this by itself. No biggie, the UG has way more flexibility and bigger readout. So I really love my shiny new UG...

Oh yes the bigger display is a big plus for my slowly fading vision...

[schuylkill]

Does anyone know when the reduced $59 pricing ends? The site claims the special prices and the end dates should be posted but I don't see the date and I'm trying to stick to a budget.
????? Thanks

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by schuylkill

Does anyone know when the reduced $59 pricing ends? The site claims the special prices and the end dates should be posted but I don't see the date and I'm trying to stick to a budget.
????? Thanks

The best person to ask is the merchant!

[GasSavers_ElCheapo]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

I took the xB on an 800+ mile drive to Utah, and got more familiar with the UG. Calibration varied from 1.08 to 1.21, so my initial 1.135 seems pretty close. I'm leaving it at the 1.21 because I'd rather be pleasantly surprised with better mpg at fill-up, than disappointed by optimistic predictions from the UG.
*snip*

Can you clarify this a little more please? The ug calibrated itself between 1.08 and 1.21 on your trip? Or you re-calibrated it yourself manually?

Thanks!

[FrugalFloyd]

I recalibrated it myself for a couple of tanks based on UG's estimates before settling on 1.21. UG has no self-calibration feature.

[Martinjmpr]

FWIW I put an Ultra Gauge on my 99 4runner in October. Seemed to work well on a recent long trip to Vegas via the Grand Canyon, however, I need to adjust the calibration a bit as it is overstating my MPG by a fair amount (UG gave my trip average MPG as 20 but my calculations based on miles driven / gallons used came out closer to 17.)

One problem I have is calibrating distance. My 4runner has oversized tires on it so the factory speedo/odo are inaccurate. Up to this point I've used a GPS to calculate distance but the million dollar question is - how do I know the GPS is accurate?

Using the GPS as a baseline, I multiply my miles driven by 1.032 to get my "actual" miles. I got the 1.032 number by zeroing both the tripmeter on the dashboard and the tripmeter on my GPS and then driving about 300 miles. At the end of it I divided the smaller number by the larger and got a 3.2% difference in miles.

I plugged the same 3.2% error into the UG but for some reason it's still over-reporting my MPG. As I said, I'll mess with the calibration a bit to get it more accurate.

One nice thing about the UG is that it's got a "DTE" or Distance To Empty display, based on average MPG and fuel tank size. Since the 96-02 4runners are notorious for having inaccurate fuel gauges, the DTE feature is a real help to me.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by martinjmpr

One problem I have is calibrating distance. My 4runner has oversized tires on it so the factory speedo/odo are inaccurate. Up to this point I've used a GPS to calculate distance but the million dollar question is - how do I know the GPS is accurate?

Other possible ways to calibrate:
- Use a known-good second vehicle
- Rollout test of original size and new size tires
- Tire size calculator
- Maps or mile markers

[GasSavers_ElCheapo]

Bah! Amazing what happens when you read the manual. :P

I just got to plug my unit in last night after getting it back a few days ago from an update. Seems quite a few Nissans (my 01 Altima being one of them) were not fully OBD-II compliant and the unit wouldn't work as it kept giving the "comm lost, restarting" message. So I hadn't read the manual until after I read your post. My apologies.

So those calibration values are what the ug gave you after you filled up, correct? I.e. the below procedure from the manual.

1. Fill up the fuel tank. Once filled, press and hold the UP key to cause UltraGauge to recognize the fill-up
2.Zero the Average MPG. MENU->Gauges-> Zero Ave MPG.
3.At the next fuel fill-up, note the number of gallons used (pumped). Select MENU->Vehicle Setup.. ->Calibration.. ->Calibrate MPG/Fuel and enter the fuel used. Press MENU when complete to set and save the calibration. Use the same Gas station and pump for best results.
4.The Calibration factor will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.

[Dr. Jerryrigger]

Thanks for this. I was thinking of breaking down and getting a SG soon, but I've been holding out in hopes I could one day come up with the 300+ for a dash dyno. This price point make it a simple choice.
But then I was looking at UG's site. They have a list of a few non compatible '96+ cars, and mines on it!?! I guess I need to look into that some more before buying any scan tool.

[BamZipPow]

Ultra-Gauge has a 30 day money back guarantee...