I've seen references to it here and there around the net, but I haven't really been champing at the bit for it. I figure if I were, I'd get in touch with the ScanGauge folks to see if they'd be willing to give out even an "unofficial" ETA for it. In the meantime, it keeps me happy enough. :@)

 

There is an air duct behind the cubby. Why do you want to drill a ho le? I ran my cable down into the crack along the right side of the steering column. Only an inch of cable is exposed, and I can't see it behind the steering wheel when I am driving:
http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...B%20ScanGuage/

 

Ok kids, I got the Scangauge and installed it like vintage42 did for the time being. I might drill into the dash, might not ... It really depends on if I get another cable so I can easy scan my other vehicles w/o removing the xB cable through the dash. But anyway, enough banter, let's see some pics!


As you guys can see, I've been busy. You can see my Scangauge II, my Magellan Roadmate 300 (hardwired), My Radar Detector (hard wired), and the iPod stereo cranking out tunes. I'll be doing a writeup on the GPS and the radar setector shortly.


Here's just a snapshot of the ScanGauge II with the engine running. Note - there is no miles per gallon info b/c the car is in park.


Lastly, here's a snapshot using the flash so you can see all my toys.

I made sure to enter in the engine size, gas tank size, went and filled up the xB, told the scangauge I filled up, and then reset the trip odometer. Let's see how accurate it is!

 

You will need a speed adjustment of 3% higher if you have the stock tires and rims and I have mine on the steering column so I can reach through the wheel with both hands and jump to the trip menu and back.

 

I sure hope you don't do that "both hands" thing while you're driving! :@P

 

yeah I do - it's really fast that way but the road has to be straight - I reach through the steering wheel keeping my hands on the wheel. I use my thumbs on the buttons so I don't knock it off the velcro mounts.

ZanexGT you gotta get that gps right in front of you unless you have a copilot.

 

Lol, Actually, the pics don't really do it justice. In the first pic, you can see that the GPS is tilted towards the driver. The actual tilt is at least 20 degrees eventhough it doesn't look that way because of the angle of the camera while taking pics. In the third pic you can barely even tell the GPS is tilted toward the driver but again, that's because of the camera angle.

I really don't look at the GPS much. If I use it for routing it will chime to me and tell me when to turn. Even when I do look at it, it's in my periphery while looking at the speedo so it seems ok.

Also being right handed, it's in the perfect spot for any changes i need to make while in route.

 

I must be tall and have my seat back too far I can't reach that far over - I have to lean forward to reach the dash in front of me on the shelf where I keep my Garmin GPSIII+ just to the left of the speedo. I use it to tel my speed because the darn needle is a little short on the dash speedo and it makes it hard to find 35mph - what were they thinking?? And a black needle too - totally hard to even see the tip. I keep mine in front of me so that I LOOK like i have my eyes on the road when I have to fiddle with it. Of course wearing eye glasses limits my side vision anyway. I use the GPS to see how far ahead the turns are or when I come to a T intersection and have to stop. It's great for foggy conditions.

 

Questions for you owners:
Does the Input Airtemp reflect an accurate outside air temp ?
Can I set SG to reflect gas milage by the tankfull?
Tks,

 

There is a MPG reading for the Tank; it requires a simple calibration.
There is also a "miles to empty" and a "time to empty" read-out.

Intake Air temp SUPPOSEDLY is fairly close to outside temp at "highway speeds" but even that seem 5+ degrees High to me. At low speeds or Idle the IA Temp is way of (10-20 degrees.)

Which begs the questions, what is the best option to add an external temperature gauge to our cars? There are some auto-dimming mirrors that have a temp read-out, but $200 seems like overkill. There are also the cheap-o $20 battery powered units, but those seem awfully inelegant. Is there any happy middleground?

 

I've been using an " inelegant" model bought at Target for $10 on my XB for about 6 months. You need to be careful where you route the sensor but after playing around with it in different locations , I found one suitable.
The problem with the auto dimming mirror devices is they require a windshield mount. The XB is a headliner mount. I've seen some fab up a mount for the windshield but that leaves a nice space in you headliner.
The $10 unit from Target was the alternative for me.
Thanks,

 

As cuppajack pointed out, while sitting in traffic, or otherwise moving slowly, the under-hood temps will begin to rise which will have an effect on the Intake Air Temperature. Even at cruising/highway speed the IA temp will not be the same as outside air temp.

The IA input is used by the ECU to determine the density of oxygen in the 'air' so that the right proportion of fuel can be added to get as close to a stoichiometric mixture in the combustion chamber as possible. 14.7 parts of air to 1 part fuel is perfect. The ECU also uses feedback from the O2 sensors and other various inputs to trim the AIR/FUEL ratio as needed.

Anyway, the short answer to your question is no. The only time I'd think it'd be accurate to tell the outside temp is right when you start up the car after sitting for enough hours that the engine bay is the same temp as the outside air.

I'd also like to know the outside air temp. Maybe my next mod will start with a search for a 'GOOD' looking display for temp in the xB. hmm.. Time to visit radio shack.

 

Thanks to you both!
One more , a kind of a "poll"
What items do you have selected in your "DIGITAL GAUGES " Display?
I'm just curious what are the most useful.

 

Currently Selected in my Gauges

1. MPG-------------------3. Coolant Temp
2. Intake Air Temp--------4. Voltage

That's how I see it in my car with each item being in the spot where you see it on your screen as I'd see it on my scangauge. I've been switching #2 between the IAT, throttle position sensor (TPS), and Engine load (LOD)

But for now, IAT is what's up there.

 

Mmmm stoiciometric....

Speaking of AF ratios, O2 Sensors etc, What are peoples general "Fuel System Loop" and "timing advance" readings? I'm surprised to see my “Fuel System Loop” occasionally read as OPEN even after the car is fully warmed up and I’m cruising far below Wide-Open Throttle… Is this normal behavior? My Timing advance usually sits between 6-9 @ idle, though it will sometimes dip down to 1-2. It seems to hang-out around 30-35 when cruising.

I’ve usually got my display set to: LOOP, WATER TEMP, RPM, and in the last slot I toggle around between MPG, TIMING, and IA TEMP.

I have posted in a few threads about being disappointed w/ my fuel mileage, and was hoping the Scangauge would help me get to the bottom of it.

 

I think he meant: stoichiometric
You could look it up.

I had to.

Anyway,
It's an amazing display of information on a car with so little to begin with.
Again,
Thanks to all

And I learned a new word

 

I got it.... I just hadn't heard that term in a LONG time. ;)

Damn that science! Always Interfering with our self-expresSCION!

 

It may not help you actually get to the bottom of it but it does help by showing when you are using more or less fuel. It helped me increase mileage by at least 2 MPG on average. One of the biggest spots that I noticed high consumption was going up hills. Now I make more of an effort to speed up a little more before starting up the hill and don't try as hard to maintain speed. If I lose several MPH, I know I've saved several MPG.

 

I believe the previous responses to be pretty much accurate but I think the intake you have makes a difference. I have an Injen CAI and my intake temp reading seems pretty accurate. I haven't done any measurements, that's just a feeling. Either way it's close enough for most people.

 

Last I heard was that it was an adapter cable to a USB flash drive and then you plug the flash drive into your PC to upload the data so you don't need a laptop in the car to collect the data.