I'd like to be able to monitor various engine conditions at track day lapping events, including intake air temps, coolant temps, boost, etc. It could be recorded onto a laptop with the right software. Has anyone done this in the past, or have that ability that can offer an equipment purchase suggestion? Thanks.

Bruce

 

Ordered my Bluetooth adapter and it should arrive this week. Plan on accessing data via my android phone and the Torque app... Will post a review when I get it set up...

Vince

 

Subscribed.

 

Thanks Vince, but unfortunately the Torque app isn't available for the Blackberry. Does anyone else have experience with others?

Bruce

 

I have a 2008 XKR w/Bluetooth ,do I need a Bluetooth Adapter and if so where do I get it

 

Sorry, different type connection. The Bluetooth adapter attaches to and is powered by the ODBII port. You then purchase an app for your smartphone to pair to it and display data.
Apps exist for Android and Apple worlds.
Bruce will need a laptop, or maybe invest in a tablet (if I am content with Torque, I may invest in a 7" tablet to remain in the car).

Vince

 

I believe you would. The adapter plugs into the OBDII port. I use the KIWI PLX.
I use a Toshiba Thrive tablet

 

Hi guys, I use a Go point BT1 with an iPhone on my 2007 XKR.
As for the apps, I use the go point one and dash commander.

My main usage is for the monitoring of the coolant temp as there is nothing to show when your engine is warm enough.

Dash commander provides data logging as far as I can remember.

You should also note that not all information is available through "generic" obdII : I was looking for oil temp but had to fallback to coolant temp as oil temp was not available.

I also offered a kiwi PLX wifi to my father for his AMG CLK63, works well as well.

 

Bruce, as we have talked about already I wanted to let the guys here know more on how to use the Bluetooth adapter.
If you have any kind of android phone/tablet/etc you can get the free Torque app from the market. From there you will need a bluetooth OBD2 adapter from ebay or such .Just make sure it is ELM327 type. Then plug it in to your OBD2 Port under the dash where your key FOB slot is. Then pair it like any other bluetooth item, most likely the passkey will be 6789. This may or may not take a few attempts but youll get it. Here is a few links to help guide you all in a general direction.
Let me google that for you

Let me google that for you

ELM327 OBD2 Bluetooth adaptor | eBay
I use the cheap one you see aabove. I have already started to take many logs and have shared it with Bruce. There is also another good use to this gadget, You can clear most Check engine codes with also. Very handy!

 

Do you want to log for later review or real time display?

Most of the Windows based apps can log, but you have to verify that capability.

For real time display on Windows, the obdlink products come with Obdwiz which has customisable gauge displays. It is tied to obdlink hardware. The obdlink hardware can be had cheaper than what is advertised on their site through a reseller. If you like obdwiz software, but do not want the obdlink hardware, then look for TouchScan @ 24.95 as it is the same software but not tied to obdlink.

Palmer Performance also has OBD gauge software.

There is software that can do lap timing if you also have GPS installed. So, it relates your engine events to the place on the track. There is an open source package called obdgpslogger that might fill your requirements.

For hardware, you have the option of a Windows based notebook, netbook or a Android based tablet for Torque. The Fujitsu U820 in tablet mode would be perfect in this application but cannot be found for love nor money recently. A SSD is advisable given that the device will be experiencing high g-forces.

With Android, you are limited to what Torque does and the Windows based devices will have more cpu processing power.

USB might be better than bluetooth because there is less possibility of signal dropout. Just tie the wire out of the way.

The odbpros dongle is reputed to have the best data acquisition rate, but comes without software, or at least good software.

The obdlink hardware is 16 bit @ 40MIPS versus 8 bit @ 4MIPS for the ELM 327 and clones.

For all devices, the range of PID readings possible is 45-65 per second and you have to divide that amongst the parameters you are reading. This is due to the single queue nature of OBD as presented at the connector.

Finally, there have been two final year projects at Cornell University which applied data logging via OBD to track cars. Those projects have been published.

 

Wow...what great information! Thank you very, very much.

I had thought more about later review, which initially would be after just a few hot laps, and as I became more comfortable I would do it less frequently. Perhaps at that time I might want real time display if there were a warning display or audible alert if any temps went out of range for instance. I prefer not to try to monitor many guages while I'm driving as I'm already a little busy behind the wheel!

My immediate concern is intake air temps becoming too high while tracking. I've done it so far in cooler weather where it ran like a champ without any signs of the intercooler/engine heat soaking, but I'm concerned about running it in the stinking hot conditions that are coming.

I will also be increasing engine power with an ECU flash, and possibly pulley swap. Both of those will put more load on the intercooler and coolant systems, change air fuel ratio and boost levels, so the effect on all of those will definitely need monitoring.

And if I need to address any of those four factors with water injection then logging would be helpful to determine the ideal flow rate.

Thank you again for all that information, and I'll review those university projects first.

Bruce

 

Maybe the best for you would be data logging + a great big RED FLASHING STOP RIGHT NOW! warning signal.

You could start with the data logger code and add the danger threshold processing.

BTW, at least one of the gauge capable software packages has telltales for maximums reached and settable marks for desired levels. Sort of like racing tachs with telltale and shift point needles.

That means you can do a hot lap, and then look over your "gauges" to see the maximums after the fact.

 

Haha...just so long as it doesn't shut off the engine mid-corner

 

Well, it's only a warning light. The actual shutdown would be caused by the pistons exiting out the side of the block when ignored for too long.

But, since you might not be looking in that direction, or the sunlight might interfere, how about a loud "a-hoo-gaa" horn mounted under the driver's seat.

Of course, if it goes off ... it might cause long brown skid marks

 

The horn would be fine

 

This looks like it'll do the job just fine. It comes with the OBDwiz software, free updates, I can use my laptop for now, and it's inexpensive enough to replace later if I want. What do you think?

 

Nope.

Go with this listing:

Scan Tool Red OBDLink SX OBD II 2 Scanner FREE SOFTWARE | eBay

Better vendor, cheaper shipping for you.

Note that the black version is confirmed to be out of production and unavailable.

He is very fast to answer emails and has a storefront elsewhere.

Where are you going to get the klaxon?

 

That would be fine, but I notice at the bottom of his ad it says that additional software is required for the drag strip and data logging features. It would be good to find out what that cost and availability is.

Haven't given the horn much thought yet, but I've found passenger "death grip" reactions on the track to be a good indication of when things are getting hot!

Bruce

 

If it's anything like passenger death grip in normal driving ... that's *way* before anything truly serious

The seller on ebay includes the same software as the manufacturer, obdwiz. obdwiz does seem to include a graphical plotting function according to the screenshots... so that might be an adequate start. Then once you have gained some experience with it you can decide where the missing functionality is for special purpose use.

The other route is to find the specialty software first, look at the hardware compatibility, then buy a generic, or go with the odbpros unit which is reputed to be the fastest hardware by a small margin. It is $69.

 

Ok. Try this then:

Drew Technologies : Introduction

Completely plug and play for your application. Auxillary inputs for GPS, widebands, ...

Hang on to your wallet