I thought I'd post some of my findings from the real-time data I've collected from my ScanGauge today. It's a nifty little tool that can pull data from the ECU, including exact water temperature, intake air temperature, fuel efficiency, etc. This is my ScanGauge, by the way:



Some notes about my little experiment:
1) Today was over 90 degrees in Lakewood, CO at about 3pm.
2) I have a stock intake, with a corrugated 3" hose running from the bottom hole of the intake, behind the d/s headlight, and down into the front fender well.
3) Water temp was brought up to 185 degrees before readings were taken.

Having about an hour to kill, I decided to test how effective it is to pull air from the front fender well vs. pulling it in from the engine bay. Essentially, this would be analagous to a CAI vs. Short Ram test. To pull air from the engine bay, I simply disconnected the 3" hose from my lower airbox.

The results:

Fender Well ===> IAT@0mph: 106 deg ........ IAT@45mph: 99 deg
Engine Bay ===> IAT@0mph: 153 deg ........ IAT@45mph: 137 deg

- Side note #1: When pulling air from the engine bay, if the radiator fans kicked on, the IAT jumped at least 15 deg regardless of whether I was moving or not!
- Side note #2: The benefit of pulling in hot air: you mileage goes up. Makes sense if you think about it. Hot air=less dense air. Less air mass=less fuel to match the air:fuel ratio.

Real-time MPG on the same road, same 4.4 miles driven:
Fenderwell: 33.4 MPG
Engine Bay: 35.2 MPG

Overall, I did this to justify whether or not to buy a CAI or Short Ram. Also, I've seen some members here who have simply removed the (restrictive) snorkel that runs from the lower filter box to the headlight. Although it makes your engine sound really cool, please keep in mind you are now pulling in VERY hot air, i.e. air heated by the radiator. At least run a 3" tube to pull air from somewhere cooler.

Disclaimer: This test was done as objectively as possible. No butt dynos here. The ScanGauge is assumed to be accurate, as is my ECU. This post was not created to bash CAI's or Short Rams. I do know that CAI's/Short Rams have smoother tubing and free-flowing air filters, which should aid airflow. I'm posting this so others may draw their own conclusions, and perhaps consider the information here.

Lastly, here's a picture from EchoFans showing exactly how I have my intake pulling air from the fenderwell: ( I hope that EGG80X doesn't mind me showing off his mod...)

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Very nice data found my friend.

 

I've been looking at the ScanGauge online but don't know anyone that actualy has one. Is it everything you expected? Does it require any setup or can it be quickly transfered from one car to another?

 

The ScanGauge is very easy to setup, for any car newer than 1996. It will auto-detect the type of ECU bus being used. The only thing you'd need to select is the engine size so that you'd get accurate fuel economy readings. Also, because it reads/clears engine codes, I've used it to help my buddy pull codes from his Jetta, simply by plugging it in.

The reason I use it most is not only to get readouts of water temp, IA temp, etc, but to also get my real-time fuel economy. It's kinda like the readouts on the hybrids that tell you exactly how well you're driving with respect to fuel consumption.

 

I like the way you have it mounted. Do you keep it turned on most of the time? Can you read it easily while driving?

 

It's turned on automatically when your ignition is on. It's powered by the ECU, since it's plugged into the OBD port. I placed it on my steering column specifically for the purposes of making it easy to read. Additionally, I can easily flip between readouts by pressing the "Home" button in the center, and then pressing the other buttons to display the other information. I created a custom aluminum plate mounted with small standoffs from the column. Also, I painted/faux carbon-fibered it to best match the interior.

 

Very nice! I'm going to have to get one. Couldn't it be velcroed where you have it mounted?

 

It is velcro'd onto the aluminum plate. Since the column is curved, I fabricated the aluminum plate underneath to give the SG a flat (i.e. not wobbly) place to mount to. You could just velcro the SG to the column cover, but it might rock a little bit. Lastly, my plate angles and raises the SG a tad, which make it even easier to read.

 

Thanks for the info. Now I have to justify another toy after buying a new radar detector yesterday.

 

Funny how things get off-topic so quickly!

 

Well you did title the thread "ScanGauge info,...."

 

its funny that 99% of the replys are xA owners so far hahaha

 

Hey ASC, how is the update rate on the ScanGuage? I'm thinking of buying a ScanGuage II.

Thanks

 

On mine, the refresh rates available are FAST, SLOW and NORMAL. I think FAST = 1 sec, NORMAL=2-3 sec, and SLOW is 5+ sec. I keep mine on fast. Things like RPM and TPS are can change too rapidly, but oh well - I have a tach, and TPS is more or less irrelevant for my driving needs. Stuff like Water Temp, Intake Air Temp, Timing, etc are much more valuable.

It's evolution I guess - I'm bummed that the new ScanGauge II is out only 4 months after I bought my ScanGauge I. Smaller, more user features - I wonder if there's a trade up program...