Ultra Gauge

Thanks a lot everyone for the answers looks like I will be ordering one by the end of the weekend

 

I just placed My order for one a few days ago, can't wait for it to come in... Do you that have the ultra gauge leave it plugged in your OBD port or UN hook it for the night or what not?

 

I leave mine plugged in all the time, it shuts off when you shut your truck off, pretty handy

 

Just went from scan gauge 2 to the ultra gauge mx and I personally like the look and set up of the ultra gauge better.

 

Yep always plugged in

The only funky thing you might run into is if you unplug the battery for any reason. After you hook the battery up, if you don't start the truck within 10 seconds or so the UG will just say ****CONNECTING**** indefinitely and won't shut off (even if the ignition switch is never turned on).

In that instance, just push the "down" button with the ignition switch on IGN II. It'll connect right up and it'll auto-off with the key after that.

 

If you need to unhook the battery, unhook the Ultragauge....other than that, you leave it plugged in.

 

I've had mine for a little while now. Very useful gadget and no complaints so far.

 

I went with UltraGauge almost because of it's looks alone, who cares if the buttons are on the back.

The ScanGauge looks like a high tech, top of the line, space-aged electronic device from 1982... am I the only one thinking this?

 

I agree. It wasn't big enough. Ultragauge ftw.

 

Okl I was wondering about that thanks for the info ... Looking forward to getting mine...

 

How accurate/useful is the Instant mileage on the ultra gauge ?

I know guys with the scan gauge claim it bounces around back and fourth way to much to use it effectively . Especially compared to a factory instant reading like the tundra and other toyotas have.

My wifes venza has the instant reading and I love it, like a game wathcing as you drive lol

 

The instant mpg bounces anywhere from 0.0-120mpg. Its sporadic and you'd think if its pretty much always higher than your average, that your average would go up, but it doesn't. Once your average balances out...it stays pretty steady with in tenths of a mile per gallon. Mine bounces between 15.3-15.6 (city driving) which is pretty accurate. The only thing i've noticed that isn't acturate, is the MPH...it can be up to 1.75mph slower than my needle....with stock tires.

 

So your saying once the avg balances out the inst. balances out too ?

Or the avg balances out but the instant is always sporadic

 

The instant MPG make immediate/instant changes, the average MPG makes adjustments every few minutes or miles... or something like that.

 

Instant= instantaneous (and sporadic if you live in the hills).

Average = is a calculated number that should stay stable if your driving habits stay stable

 

Right I know the differance , I'm asking cause a lot of guys claim the instant doesn't work on the scan gauge since It just jumps around like crazy . From what I've gathered it's pretty much useless .

Does the instant reading work on the ultra gauge ? I calculate my avg every tank . But it would be nice to have a accurate instant display

 

What's even easier.....

Fill the tank and reset the calibration.
Run through 5-7 tanks, saving the receipts.
Add up the total gallons purchased.
Go back to the calibration screen. Change the gallons used estimate to equal your total.
The UG will automatically compute the calibration ratio.

Resetting the MPG doesn't reset the calibration numbers.... I do a reset from time to time when I notice that my MPG is not changing... though I normally only even look at MPG-Trip and MPG-Srt


BTW: The odometer also needs to be calibrated, and it is a little more difficult to do accurately.
If you calibrate by GPS, you have to make sure that your GPS is fully booted and the map loaded before you start moving. A 100ft error can add up.
Also, you need to calibrate distance by a couple of tanks or better to get really good accuracy. At 100 miles, an error of 1 mile is a 1% error.
1% error will relect in your MPG results. The more miles you can use for a calibration, the more accurate it is going to be.
Also, your UG displayed speed will likely not match your GPS, even if the distance is calibrated. The speedometer and odometer on most vehicles read slightly high, but the speedo tends to read higher by about twice the error of the odometer. The same signal source is used for both. It's just a CYA thing so if you get a speeding ticket you can't blame Toyota.

Of course, when you get a tank of good ethanol-free gas, or when you switch between summer and winter blend, you get to do it all over again.
Personally, I just left it calibrated for "bad" gas... that way I know that I always have AT LEAST as much fuel/distance remaining as the UG says I have. It's a pleasant surprise to see the UG at 23.7, and get my Fuelly text message back saying I got 24.3.

It's always close, but no matter how many tanks I use to calibrate, it is never dead-on. If it's within 1 mpg, I'm happy.

 

I use the instant to keep my foot out of it. Its based on throttle position. The farther your foot goes into the throttle, the less mpg you're getting. If i can cruise down a hill in 5th, at 60mph and get 100+ Inst. mpg versus going 80 and getting 65 inst. mpg....clearly the 60mph is better and is at a lower rpm, thus it uses less fuel.

 

Instant is the same.
The UG and SG both give you an unaveraged "immediate", which is fine if you are holding steady state, but ya... within 5 seconds the thing will go from 3 to 200 to 15.
Factory "instant" MPG displays are averaged over a short period of time to smooth out the peaks and valleys.

What I find more useful on the UG is MPG-SRT.
It is like MPG-Trip, but is is an average reading from the last engine restart.



That is:

MPG Trip ------------- MPG Srt
Gallons Trip --------- MPH Srt
Miles Trip ------------ Gallons Srt

So on this trip to work, I did 27.7mpg, averaged about 52mph, and burned about a gallon and a half.
Overall on that tank, to that point, I averaged 24.3mpg and burned about 13 gallons over 311 miles.

 

I put mine over the switch blanks in my base model, but I'm gonna have to move it somewhere because I'm about to use a couple blanks.