Paul Y

Afternoon Gentlemen,

I am looking at using the Torque Pro app to monitor oil and temp on my LM7 swapped 66 C10.

From reading various reviews it seems like a 'cost effective' way of monitoring these, plus other, functions but wanted to hear if there was a better alternative and, for those that are using Torque Pro, which OBDII scanner are you using.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments.

P.

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

I use it and it works well. Almost positive it's only for Android.

RB04Av

I have it also, works fine for me. I use it with some sort of ELM327 clone adapter that always makes it switch to low-speed mode and freezes for several seconds at a time sometimes. Oddly enough though the real-time "gauges" always seem to work fine.

Paul Y

Thank you for the comments Gents!

I have read that there are issues with certain OBDII adapters but have failed to find comment on which one actually works so if anybody has a recommendation please let me know.

CarGuy, it doesn’t seem to be Android only so going to look at picking up a ‘pre loved’ tablet to run it on.

Anyone using something else worthy of consideration?

P.

B52bombardier1

Hello,

I'm occasionally using it with a bi-directional OBDLink "MX" Bluetooth (maybe $70.00) module and a "Konnwei" Bluetooth module, maybe $20.00. But for Android apps, I also like "Can Scanner", "MotorData OBD" and "OBDFusion.

Rick

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

I heard a couple people mentioned BAXF. You could always buy one on Amazon, it's not a big investment. If it doesn't work just send it back. Whatever tablet you get just make sure it has Bluetooth. Pair them via Wi-Fi and I think you should be good to go.

RB04Av

Yup, works on Bluetooth, not wi-fi. Don't need wi-fi at all.

A used Android phone would be enough.

B4CMaro

I use it all the time to keep an eye on things like transmission temperature, coolant temp, knock detection and more. It's less detailed than hp tuners but for many of the basics, it's more convenient and much faster. Whip out your phone. Open the app, plug in the obd2 Bluetooth scanner and seconds later you have a digital dashboard. It also scans codes and can log other kinds of diagnostic information.

Racer-X-

I'm a long time user of Torque Pro, and aside from the fact that it appears abandoned, with no recent updates, it's a pretty good app for diagnostics and for the type of "glass gauges" you're contemplating.

There's other apps that do this as well. I've also used Car Gauge Pro, and it's quite capable of what you're trying to do. For what you're doing, the user interface on that one might even be easier.

The performance and reliability of either app is dependent on your OBD-II device that you use to connect to the PCM. Bluetooth ELM-327 and ELM-327 clone devices seem to be the most popular, so I'll concentrate on those.

If you plan on doing real diagnostic work and want to monitor/graph or even log multiple PIDs, you want a genuine ELM-327 adapter. The best value for this that I've found is the OBD-Link LX device. It's more than adequate for the 0411 PCMs that are common on these engines, and for just about any pre-CAN OBD-II system. It contains a genuine ELM327 chipset, with a real version number, and it's reliable and fairly quick. I've gotten update speeds up to 60 or 70 PIDs/second with mine, depending on the speed of the PCM processor.

Another advantage if you have the 0411 PCM is that this adapter works well with LS Droid and with PCM Hammer, so if you want to download and upload calibration data to your PCM ("tune" it), this adapter is capable of doing that. To make changes in the "tune", you'll either need your own "tuning software" that can edit the calibration tables, or you'll need to send the files to a tuner who can do the work for you. But with this, it's possible to email a file to a good "tuner" and have them email you back an update that you can then upload to your PCM.

If you plan to work on other, newer cars, in addition to the early 2000's Gen III engines and PCMs, especially newer cars with a full CAN system, you'll want the OBD-Link MX+. That one speaks all the CAN protocols and works better with more modern vehicles. I believe that this one is also supported by PCM Hammer app for downloading and uploading tuning "calibration data."

If all you want is something that can give you "glass gauges" in a simple app, you could also try one of the cheaper "clone" adapters. In that area, the BAFX Pro adapter that's available on Amazon is the only one I have kept. The others, I've either lost/discarded, or given away. That one is capable of update speeds of about 35 PIDs/second on a faster PCM, and for the most part, it's fairly reliable.

There are lots of other choices, but be careful with the cheaper "clone" adapters. At best, they can "hang" the app on your phone. I've seen some of them corrupt a PCM when someone tried to use them with a bi-directional app and the adapter hung things up.

Paul Y

Thanks you very much for the detailed reply Racer X! Much appreciated.

As you put it, this is very much just a device to give me digital or 'glass gauges' whilst I work out the kinks on my instal, I could add gauges but:-

a) they look out of place in my truck

b) I would like to now what the actual readings of the factory gauges are against that being seen by the ECU.

I am going to go to HP tuners once funds allow - have looked at PCM Hammer but feel, for my usage, the additional support afforded by HPT is worth the investment.

Once I have it all installed will provide an update.

Thanks again.

P.

Paul Y

Quick update.

Ended up purchasing the Nexus Nexlink Bluetooth V5.0 adapter to use with the Torque Pro app, simply because it was in stock more than any other reason!

Works really well, connected without any issues, is fast and stable. Used in conjunction with a Nokia something running Android 12

Therefore if anyone is looking for another option then I would recommend this.

Appreciate all the support.

P.

Racer-X-

I'm curious. If you go into adapter settings, it'll tell you the ELM version, and the adapter read speed in PIDs/Second. Can you check that on your Nexus Nexlink adapter?

LLLosingit

iTrader: (4)

You can get them that use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and I have one that works with both.

Paul Y

Working away from home for the next few days but this is the review on Amazon that convinced me to use this over others - well that were basically in stock.

Hopefully will answer your questions until I get home.

This review is for "NEXAS NexLink Bluetooth 5.0 Diagnostic Scanner for iPhone & Android & Windows OBD2/EOBD Fault Code Reader Enhanced Diagnostic Scan Tool, Torque Dash Command OBD Fusion". I ordered it from the seller "SoctechDirect". I have multiple points for review:

1. Genuine ELM237 chip: I used an Android app called "ELM327 Identifier" to test the firmware version of the ELM327 chip used in this scanner, and it turned out to be version 2.2 (which is the second to latest version, as of November 2020). This is a good thing, as most cheap OBD scanners on Amazon and Ebay have either version 1.4 (which could be genuine or fake), or version 1.5 (which is absolutely fake, as ELM Electronics never made a version 1.5 chip). So this thing seems to be using a genuine ELM327 chip. You can go to Wikipedia to read more about EML327 versions and their features. But most importantly, this is not a fake product (or maybe a very good fake that passed the test?), and uses a fairly new version of the chip.

2. First impressions on quality: This is a well made scanner. It is compact in size, and the build quality looks good. They included a small (literally) but detailed instruction manual, which also mentions a few different apps that can be downloaded and used with this scanner. The app list is not exhaustive, as OBD protocol is universal and any OBD app should work with this scanner. The instruction manual was easy to understand and did not have spelling and grammatical errors (which talks about the quality control of the company, because mis-translated or entirely non-existent instructions are very common nowadays).

3. My experience: I used it with the Torque app, on my old Samsung phone, running Android version 5. No problems with Bluetooth connectivity. I was able to successfully diagnose an ignition coil issue. I have not used it a lot yet, and I cannot talk about its longevity or customer support. If some issue comes up later on, I will update this review. Otherwise, it looks like a good product so far, and I am satisfied. Among entry level scanners, this one seems to be on the higher end of quality.

P.

gametech

iTrader: (1)

Torque and similar apps can be especially handy if you run android car radios like I do. However, some of the radios intentionally restrict their bluetooth connectivity to phones only, while some of them advertise the usefulness of being able to connect them to an obd adapter.

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

I don't think my OBDII scanner has a readiness monitor. Are they available on some units, or is that a function of the torque pro app?

Racer-X-

It's a function of the app. Torque Pro has a "gauge" for the monitors, and shows monitor status with a whole bunch of other status information in the "test results" page from the main menu screen.

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

The last time I tried it said it could not be read. I will need to re-check.

mrvedit

There are several specialized scanner apps (e.g. for BMW or Mercedes) which only run on Android. Since I use an iPhone, my solution was just to buy an 8-10" Android Tablet for under $100. That has the advantage of a bigger screen.

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

Android/windows guy here.