Here's a cool item I recently came accross on the net:



(Click on the picture to visit the Manufacturer's website.)

Here's what it does:

1. SCAN TOOL

Troubleshoot your own car and turn off the
"Check Engine", "Service Engine Soon", or other
warning lamp and clear the trouble warnings.

* Reads Trouble Codes
* Reads conditions that set the Trouble Code
* Clears Trouble Codes
* Turns off "Check Engine" light
* Make and store up to 10 rewritable special codes to send to the vehicle computer

2. DIGITAL GAUGES

Shows 4 gauges at a time from the possible following:

* Fuel Economy
* Fuel Rate
* Battery Voltage
* Coolant Temperature
* Intake Air Temperature
* Engine Speed (RPM)
* Vehicle speed (MPH)
* Manifold Pressure (not available on some vehicles)
* Engine Load
* Throttle Position
* Ignition Timing
* Open/Closed Loop

3. TRIP COMPUTER

Automatically tracks three sets of trip data -
Current (short) Trip
Days (total) Trips
Previous Days Trips

* Maximum Speed
* Average Speed
* Maximum Coolant Temperature
* Maximum RPM
* Driving Time
* Driving Distance
* Fuel Used
* Trip Fuel Economy

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For $130, this seems like a useful tool. I did a bit of googling and found out that the guys at the RV.Net forums really like the device. There are many threads about it here

I'm going to order one and let you guys know how it works after I receive it.

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EDIT: If you call 1-888-433-5664 and ask for Ron, he will sell it to you for $122 shipped. Oooo-hooo an 8 dollar discount!

Hmmmm

That looks really cool - great find!
Looking forward to your review/feedback. Might just put it on the wishlist for x-mas...

It's on order as of this morning. I found it cheaper somewhere else and wrote an email to the manufacturer asking for a pricematch. Ron, at Linear-Logic (the manufacturer), gave it to me for $122 shipped. I should have it by the end of the week and will get back to you guys.

By the way, Ron said he would be willing to sell it to you guys for $122 as well. It's only an 8 dollar discount, but what the heck. Just call Ron at 1-888-433-5664 and mention the $122 price (don't worry, I'm not getting anything out of this, just trying to help)

More when it arrives...

I wonder if you can hack it and get your 0-60, quarter mile times & trap speed. Like one of the G-tech's..
Pretty cool.

you don't need that.

The times are easy to get!

First, grab a calendar.

For 0-60, move one block to the right.

For 1/4 mile, move one block down.

Not 100% accurate, but should be good enough for the Xterra.....

It's not for the Xterra, I already know how slow it is with all of the armor and aerodynamics of a barn, not to mention the same color.

I assume that it would work with ANY OBD2 car, which would mean majority of cars/trucks 1996 to current.

Update:

I received the ScanGauge today (that was fast).

Plugged it in and it does everything they claim it can do.

I was really impressed by all of the user adjustable features:

-Gas tank size
-Engine displacement
-Tire Size
-When you fill up, if you used more or less gas than what it calculated for you, you can enter the actual amount used, and it will automatically calculate a correction factor (I haven't used this feature yet)

After setting all of these up correctly, I should technically get very accurate results. However, it will be a few weeks before I can compare the Scangauge to hand calculated values to see the difference.

This thing has lots of features. The best way to see all of them, is to download the pdf manual here .

The only thing that isn't great about this unit is it's looks. It's in a cheap plastic box (like something you would buy from Radio Shack). I don't mind it too much and I will post some pictures of the unit installed in my X soon.

Thanks for posting the pics, etc Adrian. Looks like the unit's orange lighting matches the X's.
Hopefully that detracts from the cheapish look of it's face plate/case a little.

Overall, looks pretty good. I'm gonna order one next week.

A couple more notes:

1. I was very impressed with the feel of the buttons. They look kind of cheap, like the rest of the unit, but have a firm reassuring feel and a proper click when you press them. These days good buttons are a rare find, so I was quite happy.

2. I learned something new about the unit (I guess I already knew this but I just hadn't processed it yet). If you look at the "trip", "today", or "tank" screens, you see an averaged mpg reading, just as you would expect. If you look at the "gauge" screen, you see the instantaneous MPG reading. This means that if you're going 50 miles per hour and take your foot completely off the gas, the MPG will shoot up to 70 (or some other huge number). When you start to seriously accelerate, it will drop to under 10. That's a lot of fluctuation; but after you think about it, it makes perfect of sense. I don't know if I'll use this feature much, but I guess it's nice to have it.

EDIT: It makes you think twice before "putting the pedal to the metal."

wow, does the X really get 10 mpg when you floor it?

Put it in 4 wheel low and drive offroad all day. You'll be lucky if you see anywhere near 10mpg.

My Scan Gauge came in yesterday. Played with it in the 03 today, will try it in the 05 tomorrow. So far, I'm impressed! (though not with my gas milage-doh!). Wicked easy to use and works well.
A P0328 code (knock sensor) was logged by the 03 - had probably been there a while. Just reset it and hope it doesn't come back.

Nice pics Adrian. I was looking for something to do with that empty space below the radio!!!

Actually, the lowest I've seen so far is 1.7mpg. I don't look all the time so it might have gone lower at some point.

How easy or difficult was this device to install?

-DB

Ahhh, I see on the ScanGuage website that it merely plugs into the diagnostic connector under the dash

Yea, pretty nice eh!

at the moment, there is about a two week delay while they wait for more units to be fabricated, so current (11/4) orders will be in your hands around the thanksgiving holiday.

also, ron tells me that they'll do $124.95 shipped, not $122.00. must be taking advantage of demand

depending on how easy it is to disassemble, i'm thinking of fabbing a better looking faceplate. i'll post more when i have it in my hands to inspect, or pm me if you're interested ...

Regarding $130 vs $122 vs $124.95:

Come on guys! At $130 it's still an excellant value.
Most of the devices that just read codes cost more than that, and this unit is a trip computer to boot!

IMHO, it's not worth nickel and diming it at that price. They made a great little product at a very reasonable price, now let them make a little $$$!

"depending on how easy it is to disassemble, i'm thinking of fabbing a better looking faceplate."

Me too - probably wont get around to it for quite a while... I'd be very interested in seeing what you come up with.

Not only does it have the code reader and trip computer, it also gives you some real time data on a bunch of sensors. This feature is included in much costlier code readers going for around $250. I think this thing is an excellent deal!!

BTW, how are you all planning on using this? Permanently mounted or moving it from vehicle to vehicle? Just curious since you can use it as a scanner it would be convenient to be able to take it out to troubleshoot codes on multiple vehicles!

"BTW, how are you all planning on using this? Permanently mounted or moving it from vehicle to vehicle?"

I installed it with the supplied velco so I can move it between my 2 X's. I don't want it mounted permanently anywhere - already got a friend who's Jetta's check engine light is on so I'm gonna plug it into his car for a few minutes to he can get the codes.

In my 05, I've got it mounted exactly like the bottom most pic posted by adrian. Probably gonna use velcro in the dash cubby above the shifter in the 03.

Yea, seems logical. How ya running the cable?