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View Full Version : How do you use the various ScanGauge gauges?


PaleMelanesian
12-11-2009, 12:50 PM
How do you use the gauges on the ScanGauge? How do they help you save gas? Let's all add our ideas in one place for a reference.

Gauge | Description
MPG | Fuel Economy
CPM | Cost per Mile
GPH | Fuel Rate
VLT | Battery Voltage
FWT | Coolant Temperature
FIA | Intake Air Temperature
RPM | Engine Speed
MPH | Vehicle speed (MPH and KM/H)
MAP | Manifold Pressure (not available on some vehicles)
LOD | Engine Load
TPS | Throttle Position
IGN | Ignition Timing
LP | Open/Closed Loop


Also consider the Current, Today, Previous Day and Tank average screens. (These can be programmed into the Gauge screen if desired)

PaleMelanesian
12-11-2009, 12:51 PM
Bold to indicate my commonly used gauges.

Gauge | Description
MPG | I mainly watch this for fine-tuning throttle position on long steady uphill climbs. I use it in combination with rpm for very fine-grained speed control (finer than any mph gauges). I use the absolute minimum throttle that will maintain or slightly lose rpm.
GPH | this is the same as LOD to me - 2.0 gph is the same as about 75 LOD in my car. I prefer LOD because it has finer resolution.
VLT | watch this like a hawk while FASing with headlights on. One of my standard 4 gauges in winter.
FWT | in winter, to know when it's warmed up and I can start using the heater. I don't use the heater until it's fully warm, because that slows down the warmup process and uses more gas. In summer, to make sure it's cool enough - dump some heat with the heater if it gets too high.
FIA | check and record this at the start of any trip, for my records. I lose 1 mpg for every 3 degrees F. (below 80F - it's flat above that)
RPM | combine with mpg on long climbs. Otherwise, I don't use it. I do like to shift so I land in the next gear in the 1300-1500 rpm range.
MAP | another view of LOD/GPH. 14.7 is ambient and also full-throttle (lower pressure = vacuum = the engine is sucking air in through a restricted throttle). About 12 psi is a good point for accelerating (matches with about 75 LOD).
LOD | About 75 is good for Pulsing in a P&G routine. See the BSFC (http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_110216/article.html) article. (75 here matches with about 12 psi MAP)
Tps | I don't use this, but it can be helpful on some vehicles - see SHM on the Prius for an example.
IGN | I don't use this, but again look at SHM.
LP | I used this once, to find out the LOD point where it goes into Open Loop. Then, I use the LOD gauge to stay below that point.


Current trip mpg average - I spend most of my time watching this gauge. I P&G all the time, and the goal is to make each glide end with a higher trip average than the previous.

Current trip max temp - in the summer, this tells me when I have too much grille blocked. I'll remove another 1/4 of it if this consistently reaches the 206-degree mark - that's when my radiator fan comes on.

PaleMelanesian
12-11-2009, 01:49 PM
Use the following to get a table. Just replace the {} with [].

{table} Gauge | Description
MPG | description
MPH | description
{/table}

gabe1475
12-11-2009, 01:55 PM
Thanks, this is very useful.

WriConsult
12-11-2009, 04:12 PM
I use:
LOD | For monitoring my pulses and DWLs. Pulse in the 70s on the TDI, or in the 30s on the gasser (my gasser displays lower LOD values than most).
VLT | For monitoring voltage. Critical especially in winter. FASing yourself down to a dead battery sucks.
GPH | For monitoring how much fuel the engine is actually using. I use this instead of MPG so I can directly monitor idle fuel consumption while stopped. Besides, I can quickly divide this by MPH in my head to compute instantaneous MPG.
LP | I use this on the gasser to check on whether DFCO is engaging. Needed because the GPH value takes several seconds to update on my car, whereas LP updates in a much more timely fashion. Doesn't work on the TDI.
MAP | I use this on the TDI to monitor boost pressure. Doesn't work on the gasser.


EDIT: I should add that although I have created xGauges for trip avg mpg, daily mpg and tank mpg, I rarely use them because the scangauge does not compute mpg linearly for either of my cars. This is a known problem with TDIs, and my gasser updates the data bus too infrequently to get meaningful calculations in city driving.

lxmike
12-11-2009, 04:17 PM
I use

Trip mileage--- instant mileage

in summer iat but now that is dark more i use volts for same reason as andrew does and on far right bottomm water temp. i don't like/trust the dasg guage.

brick
12-11-2009, 05:51 PM
cWT|Look for temps above 70C to make S4 transition.
gas|Prius gas xgauge. I like having a real number, especially on trips.
evb|Prius EV button xgauge. Beats guessing!
soc|Prius state of charge. It helps me decide how and when to use ev/stealth.



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