Real-time OBD2 Software for Iphone

mystik

Active member
 i'm from the bay (california)
this is not a shameful advertisement. i actually find this quite interesting and i think there might be others out there that might find it useful. for one purpose or another.. the possibilities are endless.

i got word about this iphone app called 'Rev' in which it allows the iphone to wireless-ly communicate with your car. you need one piece of hardware... an OBD2 wireless transmitter.

the link to the proper site is: http://www.devtoaster.com/products/rev/index.html

it has links to directly purchase the needed hardware so that you car can talk to your iphone (or itouch).

for those people that do not have an iphone, there are programs for your computer.

check it out.. do research, whatever..... i highly suggest every z4 owner outfit their vehicle with one.

here are some pics...

2ho8ar8.jpg

i have it connected and i tied it together with a twisty tie. i'm currently looking to see if i can place it somewhere efficient. it comes with an on-off switch, too, so i just leave it dangling there all the time.
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fasbon.png

this is what it looks like with the phone upright.

bottom right - Engine Coolant Temp
upper right - Engine Load (%)
lower left - Air Intake Temp
upper left - Speedo w/ 0-60 timer
MIDDLE - Real-time fuel consumption
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2r6cu1v.png

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azark8.png

6gk03c.png

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That's a really neat application.

Really needs the OBD wires tapping into behind the connector so the plug and lead are inside the dash.
 
Mr Whippy, refresh rate is realtime. No slowdown whatsoever. It also has an ecu moniter to check all a systems. And it reads and resets check engine codes.

The metrics I have shown are not the only ones. You can choose which ones you want to monitor.
 
I really like the idea (esp if you can do it as HUD) and as I'm about to change my phone, likely to iPhone, I'd love to consider this.

But the Wifi unit is £200+ after VAT & P&P. Thats a little too expensive for me.......
 
Need = non RFT
Want = cruise control, re-spray, 18" tires, xenon lights, led interior lights, aero kit, illuminated entry strip, and this OBD2 thingy
Must = shorter gear knob

:D
 
mystik said:
Mr Whippy, refresh rate is realtime. No slowdown whatsoever. It also has an ecu moniter to check all a systems. And it reads and resets check engine codes.

The metrics I have shown are not the only ones. You can choose which ones you want to monitor.

So how many samples does it actually make per second say?

Any chance you can record it showing revs blipping and a few other info's?

If it can grab say 4 samples x 4 info's every second (16 calls over obd) then that is very good!
 
Cool. Does anyone know if there is something similar to this but for Windows Mobile 6.0? I have a HP iPAQ 614c, but no iphone.
 
looks nifty, but as an alternative i can get similar info with my £25 amazon serial obdii and the freeware software you get with it.

sorry.. im generally anti-iphones 8) but if this is what you're after, you can do the same, if a lot less neat and tidy, for lots less wonga. :)
 
Mr Whippy, unfortunately, I don't know how to record video from the phone and the app, so I can't post anything of the sort.

Peddy....

I got the PLX Devices wifi hardware. It coated me like 150. Plus they are located a few miles away. I waned the smaller key-looking one but it was too expensive.
 
Andy said:
looks nifty, but as an alternative i can get similar info with my £25 amazon serial obdii and the freeware software you get with it.

sorry.. im generally anti-iphones 8) but if this is what you're after, you can do the same, if a lot less neat and tidy, for lots less wonga. :)

Same here, I have PCM Scan and make make some nice dashes up and record PID, even script some things up for my own variables, such as instantaneous net wheel power etc...

Problem is the polling speed of OBD. With 4 PID's (variables), you get maybe an update every second, which isn't very fast. If the iPhone one is only once every second then it's not really that useful imho.
Bit of a gimmick too, unless you can log the data and export to CSV etc!?


I'd give it a try but wouldn't want to pay a lot of money for another OBD cable if it's not a fast polling device. If it can retrieve say 10 OBD calls per second or more, then it'd be worth it, along with export >CSV etc, but I have a feeling it won't be doing :(

Dave
 
wonder where the limitation is then, the cable or the software.

i didnt do a lot with mine in the end but i'm pretty sure it was more than one poll a second, maybe 2.
 
Andy said:
wonder where the limitation is then, the cable or the software.

i didnt do a lot with mine in the end but i'm pretty sure it was more than one poll a second, maybe 2.

My ELM327 and PCM Scan will poll very fast from the device, it's if the ECU responds over OBD fast enough. I think the technical issue is OBD.

Iirc, I can get PCM Scan to poll the ECU OBD every 150ms and not timeout and get good responses, but I'm not sure if that is 150ms per request, and then it will process it and return it, before sending the next one, so it might be more like 150ms, and a 100ms until response, so maybe 4 full request/response per second.

So for say 4 info's (rpm, speed, fuel consumption and IAT), you get each one updating every second, but staggered by 1/4 of a second obviously.


However, IF OBD protocol speed on ECU is faster than that, and this device can poll really quickly, then it could be VERY useful, but I have this feeling it's the ECU...

Would love to see how fast this can update 4 PID's (ie, sample rate for each per second)

If it can do say 12 samples per second full stop (3x faster than mine), and log to CSV, I'll order one now!

Dave
 
Should be careful no to leave the ODB2 Wifi dongle turnd on while the car is off, people reporting drained batteries.
 
Wow. No faith guys!!

By looking at my phone when I have it plugged in I can see it react fairly quickly. I'm not sure how fast you all want the data to refresh but it's fast enough for me. I can also export the data in csv format.

To each their own*
 
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