The ScanGauge II is not only an attractive add-on for any 1996 and newer automobile; it is at a minimum, a necessity for those of you who want to improve your gas mileage and decrease your emissions whatever you currently own or drive. Even owners of vehicles with an easy to read Fuel Consumption Display like the Honda and Toyota Hybrids can improve your gas mileage with the addition of a ScanGauge II using parameters that the factory fuel consumption displays do not include.
What’s in the Box?
The ScanGauge II, OBD-II CAT-5 data cable, Quick Start guide and User’s Manual as well as two adhesive stickers. The Quick Start Guide and User’s manual are not only filled with information on how to setup your ScanGauge II, they have all the instructions to use the ScanGauge II to its fullest.
Installation and Setup
ScanGauge II is actually very easy to set up. You find your OBD-II connector, Plug it in, 5 minutes of programming, head to the station to fill up and you are on your way to fuel calibrations and a whole lot more.
As you gain experience with your ScanGauge II, you can calibrate it even further including speed and distance to ever more accurate measurement if you like.
Although most users will use ScanGauge II for its wide-ranging Fuel Economy functions including the instantaneous and average fuel consumption displays, it has other advanced features that some of you may find useful at some point in time. I have listed some of the features it is capable of today.
ScanGauge II – A 3-in-one Automotive Computer with the following data points available to view in real time.
| Trip Computer | Digital Gauges | Scan Tool |
| Maximum Speed | Instantaneous Fuel Economy | Reads Trouble Codes |
| Average Speed | Fuel Consumption Rate (GPH/LPH) | Reads conditions that set the Trouble Code |
| Maximum Coolant Temperature | Battery Voltage | Clears Trouble Codes |
| Maximum RPM | Coolant Temperature | Turns off the “Check Engine” light |
| Driving Time | Intake Air Temperature | Tells you when vehicle is “Ready” to pass OBDII testing |
| Driving Distance | Engine Speed (RPM) | Make and store up to 10 rewritable special codes to send to the vehicle computer |
| Fuel Consumed | Vehicle speed (MPH) | |
| Trip Fuel Economy | Manifold Air Pressure | |
| Distance to Empty | Engine Load | |
| Time to Empty | Throttle Position | |
| Fuel to Empty | Ignition Advance | |
| Open/Closed Loop Operation |
The Details
The ScanGauge II displays 4 parameters of your choice from the Digital Gauges column above at any given particular moment. You can switch to any other parameter within that columns display output as well as switching over to the alternate output of the Trip Computer or Scan Tool sections with the “Home” button in the lower right hand corner and selecting either the TRIP or SCAN functions.
The Review
Although the ScanGauge II is used to build upon your fuel saving skills in the vehicle you are currently driving, there is a safety aspect that you may not have considered? Imagine a young driver borrowed your car to head out to a local venue with his or her friends. You know there is no highway travel between your home and said venue, yet 65 mph was displayed on your ScanGauge II.
This type of data could save your child’s life or the life of someone else’s child with parental guidance/discipline as soon as it was discovered. ScanGauge II will also record and display the distance traveled and every other parameter in the Trip Computer list so it is easier to keep track of your young drivers.
Another great use for a ScanGauge II is to diagnose and clear codes. I have used this feature on different cars of both friends and family. Without the ScanGauge II as an OBD-II scan tool, they would have either paid a $125.00 diagnostic fee at a local dealership or they may have only received a simple code read without reset from a local auto parts store.
But what will you actually use your ScanGauge II for? Increasing your fuel economy! The ScanGauge II instantaneous fuel consumption display tells you what your current fuel economy is at an exact moment in time and you can adjust your current throttle position using this feedback to adapt to a given traffic condition all the while maximizing your current fuel economy. Anyone that has an interest can easily see what their vehicles gas mileage is at a given speed, temperature, load, or throttle position depending on the road, traffic and weather conditions around them. They will also see how fuel economy falls during a long steep climb or a shallow hill or in stop and go or clear traffic condition.
Final Thoughts
The ScanGauge is not only an attractive addition; it includes data points that are not available anywhere else. For an off the shelf, all-in-one device to be able to plug-in, read a data stream and calculate instantaneous fuel economy while accumulating data so as to give a relatively accurate fuel economy over a whole tank is remarkable.With over two years of experience with the ScanGauge II, I now know the ScanGauge II is giving me accurate readouts within .5 mpg over a current segment. Not only is the feedback allowing a very nice increase in fuel economy, it saves enough at the pump to pay for itself in a short time. Remember too that the ScanGauge II has even more features than those we discussed above. I not only endorse the ScanGauge II as a great addition to any non-hybrid and many a hybrid driver’s tool box, I now own a few myself. If you want to buy yours where I buy mine, I have provided a link to ScanGague II in our Recommended Products section at the very bottom of the page.