Well, I've gotten into this whole hypermiling thing enough that I'm considering purchasing one of these electro-wizards. I've given each a cursory look-over, but I'm ignorant enough at this stage to not really know what I'm looking at. So....wise and learned ones, please give this young grasshopper a lesson on what really matters and what doesn't. In my case, it would be used in a conventional 4 cylinder ICE gas car, with a manual transmission. Thanks in advance
Re: Ultraguage vs. Scangauge II Scangauge II is the official gauge of CleanMPG. It has more functions and can be programmed to specific cars such as state of charge for the gen II Prius plus a plethora of other features for different cars. It will read and clear engine trouble (OBDII) codes as an added feature. On the minus side, it is more expensive than the Ultragauge but it is well worth it. As a member of CleanMPG, you can purchase it at a discounted price on the lower right side of the Home Page.
Re: Ultraguage vs. Scangauge II Can the SG2 monitor the inverter coolant temp in a Ford Fusion hybrid (how about a G3 Prius) ? ((my FFH has an idiot light for inverter temps, I want more info)))
Re: Ultraguage vs. Scangauge II The Scangauge II has Xgauge capability, which is a way to program the SG to read certain reported parameters, other than the standard ones programmed from Linear Logic (the maker of the SG and SGII). This isn't usually public information, so for each new vehicle that comes out, someone has to discover or determine to the coding for non-standard gauges. There is a forum devoted to the Scangauge here. The 2nd "sticky" is the Xgauge thread, which contains user determined coding for Xgauge variables. They may not have been determined yet for the FFH. Me personally, I have a Scangauge, but that is because there wasn't really anything else worth buying when I started a few years ago. I have recommended the Ultra-gauge to a few friends of mine for their simplicity, and may end up buying one for myself just to have and experiment with, and to have for my wife's next car when it is replaced.
I considered the Scan, but was deterred by price. The Ultra came out a couple of years later for much cheaper, so I got one (or rather, my wife got one for me).
Iphone alternative: REV app but requires $150 OBDII Wifi device. Android App: Torque(Free or $5) and add a $20 Bluetooth OBDII Tool(generic). You can request the App develop to add functions if you know the codes.
The Scangauge is still a bit more compact and though it doesn't have a fancy screen, it does present all the necessary info in an easily read font.