Installing a ScanGauge is a gas, gas, gas
My ScanGauge arrived today from Gifford Automotive in Ottawa (thanks Tom!) and the set up was really quite easy. If you didn’t read my last post, I’m preparing an article on “hypermiling” for MoneySense magazine.
In a nutshell, hypermiling is about modifying your driving habits to gain real fuel savings. The ScanGauge is a device that plugs into your vehicle’s nerve centre via the OBD2 port found under the dash on the driver’s side of most vehicles. Once hooked up, the gauge can monitor your fuel economy in real time and even calculate how much money your vehicle is burning as you drive.
Hypermilers love this little gadget, which is priced at $170 CDN, because it forces you to watch your money as it burns through the engine. There’s real motivation in seeing your actual fuel economy numbers and not the rosy Transport Canada or EPA numbers.
My plan is to use the ScanGauge to track my fuel economy is my fuel-thirsty Chevy Venture over a couple days of routine driving. After that, it’s off to the garage for an oil change into a synthetic blend, proper inflation of the tires and trying my hand at various hypermiling techniques to max out my fuel savings.
After just one day, I’m averaging about 12.4 litres/100 km, which is just a little heavier than the official fuel rating for my vehicle of 12.0 L/100 km. I’m doing my best to drive as if the ScanGauge isn’t telling how much fuel I’m wasting, but it’s hard not to notice those numbers climbing.
I’ll write more about my experiences and the features of the ScanGauge in my next post. Until then, happy motoring.
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Well, good luck. You should be able to trim a bit off the 12.4. Put the tire pressure up a bit.
Thanks. Nice website by the way. I’m leery of pumping up the tires too much, but just basic hypermiling techniques have already boosted my mileage by at least 20%. I don’t want to give away too much before the article is printed, but I definitely think there are real savings for people who are willing to change their basic driving habits. The Scangauge is definitely an eye opener.