Improve MPG: The Factors Affecting Fuel Efficiency

Quick acceleration and heavy braking can reduce fuel economy by up to 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent around town. New EPA tests account for faster acceleration rates, but vigorous driving can still lower MPG.

Excessive idling decreases MPG. The EPA city test includes idling, but more idling will lower MPG.

Driving at higher speeds increases aerodynamic drag (wind resistance), reducing fuel economy. The new EPA tests account for aerodynamic drag up to highway speeds of 80 mph, but some drivers exceed this speed.

Cold weather and frequent short trips can reduce fuel economy, since your engine doesn't operate efficiently until it is warmed up. In colder weather, it takes longer for your engine to warm, and on short trips, your vehicle operates a smaller percentage of time at the desired temperature. Note: Letting your car idle to warm-up doesn't help your fuel economy. It actually uses more fuel and creates more pollution.

Cargo or cargo racks on top of your vehicle (e.g., cargo boxes, canoes, etc.) increase aerodynamic drag and lower fuel economy. MPG tests do not account for this type of cargo.

Towing a trailer or carrying excessive weight decreases fuel economy. Vehicles are assumed to carry only three hundred pounds of passengers and cargo during testing.

Running electrical accessories (e.g., air conditioner) decreases fuel economy. Operating the air conditioner on "Max" can reduce MPG by roughly 5–25% compared to not using it.

Driving on hilly or mountainous terrain or on unpaved roads can reduce fuel economy. The EPA test assumes vehicles operate on flat ground.

Using 4-wheel drive reduces fuel economy. Four-wheel drive vehicles are tested in 2-wheel drive. Engaging all four wheels makes the engine work harder and increases transfer case and differential losses.

Read More

What is OBD anyway ??

OBD is an acronym that stands for On Board Diagnostics. It generally refers to the on-board computer system whose job is to monitor the health of the vehicle. OBD's original purpose was to help control vehicle emissions by monitoring major engine components and alerting the driver about potential problems by lighting the "Check Engine" indicator, also called the "MIL" (Malfunction Indicator Light).

Most vehicles on the road today, are equipped with OBD-II: the second generation of OBD. The key difference between OBD-I and OBD-II is the fact that the latter is more standardized and "open."

The first OBD systems appeared on model year (MY) 1994 vehicles, and starting with MY1996 all cars and light trucks (defined as vehicles with a gross weight of under 8500 pounds) were required by law to have OBD-II.

Over the years, the systems got more complicated. While back in 1996 a typical vehicle supported only a handful of parameters (the jargon word is "PID", Parameter ID), today's vehicles support hundreds of different parameters. Moreover, the OBD bus is no longer used just for diagnostics. Devices ranging from radios to comfort control systems to power locks and windows can be controlled via the OBD bus.

While all this complexity may seem daunting, the fact is that OBD makes repairs cheaper and easier, by helping pinpoint the location of the problem -- sometimes even before it happens. Today, anyone can afford a sophisticated scan tool and get access to information previously available only to dealership technicians.

Two of the most popular scan tools on the market are OBDLink andElmScan 5. They are easy to set up and use, and are compatible with more diagnostic software than any other scan tool. Among other things, you can use a PC-based scan tool to read and erase trouble codes, view and graph live data, and even create digital dashboards.

Read More

OBD2 data presented visually as a graph

The Android version of our popular OBD2 software got a new version released few days ago. In this blog post I want to demonstrate one of the most important new feature of the released 1.1 version: Sensor Graph.

With the Sensor Graph you can see the OBD2 sensor values presented visually as a graph. The benefit of a graph is that it helps you to see trends in sensor value changes. It is also easier (for the co-driver) to monitor the values while driving. Moreover, the fullscreen sensor view uses black background color to save the battery life as much as possible. It’s good to use it if you wan’t to monitor some gauge for a long period of time.

The screenshots below illustrate the graphs. They demonstrate the different views in OBDAutoDoctor that let you monitor OBD2 sensor values. The graphs really look good on large screen but they are usable smaller screens too.

If you haven’t tried the app yet, please do yourself a favor and try it now!

Read More

OBDII software for Android ready for download from Google Play

OBD Car Doc mobile version is now available for Android!

The app can be downloaded for free to make sure the software works with your scantool interface and car. If you like the app and want all the features unlocked, then you can upgrade the app to the Pro version using in-app purchase. It’s a convenient way offered by Google Play to buy the app without need to install any new apps.

The app will gain more features in upcoming updates. The updates will be free for all existing customers who have upgrade the app using in-app billing. First, we plan to get the app features in par with Symbian version. It means that we’ll add sensor graph to visually present gauge readings. We’ll also add dragstrip timing in near feature. MorSubscribe to this blog to follow the progress and participate in it!

eover, we have started to work on totally new features and those will be published later in the fall.

Try out the app now for free:

Read More