Wondering if anyone else has tried this application? It is only $5, and a Bluetooth OBDII is cheap too... http://torque-bhp.com/ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=en I have been using it as a scan tool and to monitor statistics. It calculates WHP and WTQ too, anyone have any comments about accuracy thereof? Basically wondering if this App get's a thumbs up or thumbs down? And if there are any tips to making it the most accurate it can be? Thanks!!
was not able 2 get it to work properly with the free version on my tablet with a obdII bluetooth dongle i had laying around that i got off ebay a few years ago. Granted didn't spend more then about 5 minutes trying to get it to work either.
Which adapter did you get? On the developer's wiki page he lists the cheap made in china bluetooth adapter as having poor build quality issues. Another option is getting the $10 Vag Com cable from amazon/ebay and using a laptop. Bigger and bulkier, but that is the setup I use.
The resolution of the communication on my cheap Chinese adapter is not the best, but it samples every second or so...Not too bad for a $30 investment...
yea i dont think it was a adaptor issue i just didnt spend much time trying to set it up as i have both a tactrix and a vagcomm cable soo no need to use the bluetooth logging really not to mention i have gauges for all the important stuff haha
I use it with a PLX Kiwi and my HTC Evo and have had great luck on my 2011. The data transmission rates on the 2008+ models is much faster than the older ones, that can also contribute to the slower rates. I'm running the paid version, I figured 5 bucks wasn't much to throw down.
Compared to what? all whp wtq measurements are calculated with some amount of estimated variables. I'm also using the plx kiwi thanks the shortens suggestion. Works great with the 2 phones I've tried it with (g2 and mytouch 4g slide) as well as the 5 cars I've tried it with.
Excellent question... I dyno'd on the mustang at 257 WHP mid summer; however, over the winter I did a couple pulls that registered 300+ WHP using the Torque application. Of course, how one drives the car is a huge variable in this calculation...but generically I am wondering if the numbers reported by Torque are even vaguely accurate. I read around 320 WHP on the Torque application a few times...I thought, well, that just can't be right. But if other people are having semi-accurate results that seem to be close to reality (as in they have a baseline to compare to like a dyno run), then maybe Torque is not too far off. Clearly there is always some factor of discrepancy in any system, but perhaps Torque does a pretty good job overall? Also, I am quoting the WHP numbers since they are coming to mind...I unfortunately don't remember the WTQ numbers.
How flat was the road you were using? I think its going to be very difficult to replicate the mustang dyno number you posted short of running the app while on a mustang dyno (which simulates load), or maybe on a 1/4 mile run or some other similarly flat road. Fwiw I do think it could be used to compare before and after measurements assuming you use similar enough conditions (same road, close in time, close in temp, similar weight, same starting gear, same starting rpm, etc...). But as an absolute measure of power? Yeah, there are "better" tools for that.
Like a dyno? I figured it was too good to be true...even though it was flat as a pancake, and used the same rpm, gear, and day to run the tests. Yeah, that's what I'll call 'em, tests. Thanks guys!
Oh as for your other questions about optimising accuracy, if you think the bottleneck is at you bt device, you're welcome to borrow mine. It may provide a faster transfer rate.
Thanks Sheen...I think BT adapter is OK. Just wanted other folks' opinion on overall quality of program.
Do these programs allow you to save a data log? If they do, you could load the logs into the Airboy spreadsheets or the Virtual Dyno program. Both have been known to be relatively robust, as long as they are given good data (ie. you enter your vehicle information correctly and do the log on a flat road). As Sheen said, the number is just a number, so it's hard to compare to any specific dyno, but if you do the log in the same spot every time, it's a good way to measure gains. Another cheap option is the Vag Com cable and laptop. For under $10 you can have logging capability (but not flashing, you would need a Tactrix cable for that). I wrote up a guide a while back. Hopefully all the links still work. If you're computer literate at all it isn't hard. Mostly just installing software and drivers. I usually use these logs with Virtual Dyno. It's extremely easy to use and the creator has "calibrated" it to read like different dyno brands. I've found this to be relatively accurate in most cases. Here's the write up on using the Vag Com cable: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2108996 For any program the horsepower/torque calculations are pretty straight forward. They're all based on a physics. It's just taking the time it takes to accelerate a given mass, a given amount, and converting that to other units (ie. ft-lbs and horsepower). The real issue is analyzing the data in a consistent way. The logs you get on the street often have lots of spikes and such. A little bump can throw off a peak number by 20-30HP. The good programs take care of the spikes. The bad programs just give erratic readings. Airboy and Virtual Dyno have shown themselves to do a pretty good job (and have user adjustable smoothing). Something like the COBB AP has been shown to do a very poor job. It just gives random readings. None are going to be as consistent as a dyno, but some are good enough that they can be quite useful.
I followed the guide just a couple weeks ago and it all worked, or was really easy to just google and figure it out. Thanks for writing that up! One note, I didn't have to use XP mode at all to get romraider and virtual dyno working with the vag com cable. I have a win 7 Pro x64 machine and it all works without XP mode. I am guessing the drivers have been updated since you wrote it up originally.
I have no idea, I'm not sure what my car is putting out so I don't have a number to compare it to. Like Ben said, it's all based on physics. Also, the paid version (not sure about the free) does allow me to do datalogging.
Brian - What does it say for your car? I think you're still close to stock, so it should be easy to tell if it's in the ballpark or not (accuracy). It would also be interesting to do half a dozen runs and see how repeatable it is (precision). I'm curious to buy this just to try out....
I'll have to go through and set up the gauges and let you know once I can find a decent spot to try it out.
