Cheaper ScanGuage alternatives...?

[adrew]

I recently purchased a '07 Hyundai Sonata. It came with a trip computer, and now I want one for my other car, a '03 Civic. I found the ScanGuage, of course, but it is overkill for my purposes. Is there something cheaper? MPG only would be fine.


Thanks,
Adam

[GeekGuyAndy]

The only thing cheaper that I've heard of was buying the OBDII to USB connector and running a laptop in the car. But then of course to keep a laptop running is going to use some energy, and the connectors were still like $80 or something, and you couldn't really use that with passengers around. I didn't like the price of the scangauge either, but do the math and you'll see how far you need to drive to make it pay off. That was about 10,000 miles for me

[adrew]

Hmm, I hadn't thought about using a laptop. I have an old Dell I could use. What kind of software do you need? Are there any open-source programs?

That's great mileage on the Legacy, BTW. We also have a tired old '96 Outback (2.2-liter, 5-speed, AWD) I'm only able to get mid/upper 20s in it.

I'm averaging about 35 MPG hwy in the Sonata without even trying, so I know I can do better in the Civic since it weighs less, has a smaller engine and a manual transmission. I just need that instant feedback to control my right foot.

[GeekGuyAndy]

When I looked it up I found some fancy pay programs and some open source. I used to run an inverter with my laptop in the car, connected to the GPS so I could use the laptop screen instead of the small gps screen, but since that uses power that I could be saving for the mileage I don't do that anymore. I opted for the scangauge since it's small and there's no hassle to it. There's also the SuperMID, which I think is a tiny bit cheaper, but required splicing some wires or something of that sort. Maybe someone else can chime in with a good description.

[skewbe]

And of course there is the DIY MPG Gauge thread, a work in progress but a working model.

[SVOboy]

fuel economy forum
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[ZugyNA]

You could use a multimeter to monitor your O2 sensor for cycling.

[GasSavers_roadrunner]

[QUOTE=adrew;68075]I recently purchased a '07 Hyundai Sonata. It came with a trip computer, and now I want one for my other car, a '03 Civic. I found the ScanGuage, of course, but it is overkill for my purposes. Is there something cheaper? MPG only would be fine.

You would think someone would come out with a MPG meter, for much less money. You could sell many.

[GasSavers_veloman]

What if one were to somehow monitor the speed of the car's exhaust? Would this correlate well enough with fuel consumption? It wouldn't be hard to measure.

[skewbe]

Well the scangauge and supermid are not outrageously priced and come with decent support from what I can tell.

I shopped around and got a scangauge for $130. $170 was just a little beyond my reach, but I would have paid it had I known what it would do for me.

But if you follow along with the diy mpg meter thread, http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?p=64732 , you will get some appreciation of what is involved. Then work out all the kinks for every different vehicle, manufacture it, deal with the users (some of which don't give you an accurate picture), advertise, and see if you can beat the price?

Nope, I've got a new respect for them devices.