Fuel economy gauge add on kit????

Tomapshea

New member
Joined
Mar 13, 2018
Location
New york
TDI
06 Vw Jetta TDI
New to the TDI club, as well as a new owner of a 06 Jetta TDI. Just wondering if anyone had a fuel economy gauge add on kit that they recommend? I was looking for a simple gauge on the front pillar. My car has no buttons on the wheel and just the two buttons in front of the dash one to change the trip odometer and the other for the time.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Yup, "Scangauge" is a great search term to use here... most popular way do do what you're wanting, and lots of great discussion threads.
 

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
Or an UltraGauge (I run them in all my cars- I suppose that if I only had one car I might have the more expensive Scangauge, but since there's five cars in the family and I was shelling out for all of them I had to go for the less expensive one). One thing about the UltraGuage that I like is that it's got a larger screen (buttons, however, are on the back, which means you cannot flush mount).
 

JB05

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Location
Il.USA
TDI
Golf,2005,anthracite blue
My UG gives pretty accurate mpg readings. Not much recalibrating needed.
Both UG and SC also will show some, but not all DTC's, with the ability to delete them; turns off the CEL.
 

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
scangauge II 100%
Mongler, I'm not thinking this is a poll. OP is likely looking for INPUT. Since I've got FIVE UltraGauges I could have said: "UltraGauge 500%!" ;) (but I didn't because I'm not trying to bias the decision)
 

Beaker80

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 11, 2016
Location
Newmarket, Ont. Canada
TDI
2006 Golf TDI Manual
I would second the Scangauge II choice. I have used it in a couple of gas powered trucks. Has anyone tried the Autel MaxiTrip? I don't believe it's in production anymore. I have one (still in the box) and want to try it on my 2006 Golf.
 

fouillard13

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Location
Pincher Creek, AB
TDI
03 Jetta TDI Standard
Reviews on SC2 say “Cons: Doesn't actually directly measure fuel consumption, results vary based on how much fuel you add to your tank”

Is that true?
 

JB05

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Location
Il.USA
TDI
Golf,2005,anthracite blue
I had a SC, still do, but the economy needed constant adjustments; and the coolant temperature was erratic at times even with an andded X-gauge. It would sometimes default to the ATF temperature. This may not be a problem with a manual transmission.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Reviews on SC2 say “Cons: Doesn't actually directly measure fuel consumption, results vary based on how much fuel you add to your tank”

Is that true?
Nope. :)

It provides two different ways to measure fuel consumption.

- real-time read-out of what the ECU thinks is the fuel consumption at that exact moment, second by second, as reported by the appropriate OBD2 PID.

- overall per tank metrics: average consumption take to date, miles to go before empty, hours to go before empty, etc. You tell it how much fuel you've added during a fill-up, and over the course of 3-4 fill-ups it gets increasingly accurate. On my car it predicts full-tank range to within about 5 kms... not bad over a 1000 km tank.
 

djrhetoric

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Location
MPLS
TDI
80 Rabbit pickup MTDI
Hmm. Interesting. Does it show boost? Can you set it to show your fav 4 things on the screen? Does it show egt?
Your sensor requests would be half dependent on the sensors your target vehicle has. Therefore on the ECU side of things for the 2004 you listed in your profile - Boost: Yes - EGT: No
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
ODB2-port gauges can only display sensors that are:

a) installed on the vehicle
b) monitored by the ECU
c) reported by the ECU via a PID

So, no oil pressure, oil temperature, or EGT on a 2004 BEW, for example, 'cause no sensors. :)

Because there's a MAP sensor boost can be reported, although it's slightly susceptible to the weather, since the MAP reads absolute atmospheric pressure, which varies a bit with the weather, altitude, etc. Actual analogue boost gauges read relative pressure... the manifold pressure relative to whatever the current barometric pressure is.

Also worth noting that the refresh rate over OBD2 can be a bit slow... maybe 1-2 Hz. Some find that a problem as a boost gauge.
 
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jettawreck

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Location
Northern Minnesota-55744
TDI
2001 Jetta and 2003 Jetta
My ScanGauges have been overall very accurate for mileage and I record/log all fuel fills/use from day one. The only big variances come when the driving routine changes drastically, such as a lot more in city or towing, etc. In those situations it's best not to "recalibrate" and just let it ride until you get back to a normal routine, or if/when you do calibrate only go half as much as the difference is or you get a big change. Another thing that causes the mileage to report off a bunch is to use VCDS to make an egr cycle chance, injection timing adjustment, etc. Anything the ECU "sees" and/or controls if altered will affect the mileage reported and affect accuracy until gradually calibrated to compensate.
Other than that they are usually within 1-2mpg of actual and often less than 1mpg variance. Much closer than most any factory built in trip/mileage calculator in any vehicle I've owned.
I did not like the UltraGauge. Buttons on the back made it hard to change data and check/clear codes while driving and the windshield mount was a joke in cold cold temperatures. I had it in the Suburban towing vehicle until it once again fell off the windshield glass and into the door hinge area as I was shutting the door. In testimony to its durability, it still "works" but the screen is shattered and unreadable. RIP...
 
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