Automotive Apps???

My buddy told me about an app for the Iphone and touch that, after plugging a unit into the OBD port you could read DTC's and other info via the wifi capability. Anyone know of anything like that (doesn't have to be wifi)? Any other cool automotive apps (racing games or usefull features)?

dynolicious

Dynolicious is pretty good for measuring acceleration, unless it slips out of your cup holder and you end up with 16,000 hp. As far as anything that plugs into an OBD port, the internet shows me this: http://www.amazon.com/GL1-OBD-II-iPhone-GoPoint-Technology/dp/B00336S7KS

On the other hand, I prefer to use one of these: http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/index.htm

A couple less-fun apps:

State Farm insurance has an app that auto responds to texts while you're driving. It basically sends an auto text that says something like "give me a minute... driving." Then when you stop it alerts you of the txt so you can actually reply.

Trapster is slowly gaining some following. You keep it running while driving and input when you see a speed trap. It GPS tags it and whatever traps are listed by other drivers it will alert you when you're nearing one.

There is one that is pretty neat that alerts a loved one if you've been in an accident. It uses the accelerometer to detect if the phone sustains a programable impact greater than a certain number of Gs. If you drop your phone it sometimes activates, but you simply enter 1-2-3 and it cancels it to prevent false alarms. If you are in an accident it sends GPS coordinates and an address so you can notify 911.

Of course, GasBuddy tells you the cheapest gas and diesel in your GPS area.

There is one called "Places" that I think is part of google maps. It shows you local restaurants, attractions, ATMs, etc near your location. Nice for travelling, but a little redundant if you're already in Navigation.

There are also some web-based emergency scanner feeds. They're kinda neat so you can listen to emergency radio in your area... or anywhere for that matter. Keep tabs on your kids getting arrested at home while you're on vacation

Harry's Lap Timer does GPS lap timing, splits, accel/decel and g-force graphs. It has a "best lap" mode where you can see your time and position relative (+/-) to a pre-set lap. It also comes with downloadable coordinates for almost every track in NA and Europe so you don't have to do that one really slow awkward lap setting the start/finish and splits.

IIRC I paid $12 or so.

The OBD-II port one is from Innovate Motorsports.

Here's the link...

It seems pretty bad ass, and it comes with the scanner/reader dongle. Not exactly inexpensive, but it's a unique tool for iPhone users. I haven't used it personally, but I hope to get my hands on one to test someday.

I've used gMeter, Pocket Dyno, and Dynolicious with varying degrees of success, but Dynolicious is my go-to app. It's cheap and moderately repeatable.

TrackPro is pretty cool too; it maps with the GPS. Think of it as a very light version of data acquisition.

There's a MaxQData app that is really nice too, but I'm not sure what's happening with them lately. It uses the internal GPS, but is supposed to be able to tie in with the MaxQ GPS module for better accuracy.

Another cheap favorite is AutoXLogger; it's basically a notepad for keeping track of settings and stuff between runs. It's a little buggy, but I paid for it anyway because I'd like to see it developed further.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Harry's Lap Timer does GPS lap timing, splits, accel/decel and g-force graphs. It has a "best lap" mode where you can see your time and position relative (+/-) to a pre-set lap. It also comes with downloadable coordinates for almost every track in NA and Europe so you don't have to do that one really slow awkward lap setting the start/finish and splits. IIRC I paid $12 or so.

This. Works more or less as advertised, though it does get a bit confused at times (maybe one lap out of 5 or 10). The graphs it generates are very damn cool.

You can also get apps like Dashboard and Speedometer that display your heading, speed, etc. (Even has a HUD mode that kinda works). I use G-Tac and Theodolite when I am getting really frisky. (Do you need an artificial horizon in the car? It's free so of course you do!)

Jay's Garage is car related and a must-have, as is the Rest Stop app.

Tried to use the Dynolicious data logger to log data from our recent ChumpCar race. Didn't work too well, I think there is a bug with the software that corrupts the file if it reaches the file size limit (set to 10hz for our 2 hour driving stints) since we get a number of 0byte files. Otherwise, for shorter runs, it works pretty well (with the exception of the GPS because the iPhone's GPS just isn't that good)

Stopwatch is pretty nice for casual timing at the track.

There's a number of g-meter style apps available as well.

Found a speedometer app that actually has a HUD display option to allow you to place the phone on your dash so it can reflect off the windshield.

Also, there's a bubble level app, kinda handy when you want a small level.

Tom Heath wrote: The OBD-II port one is from Innovate Motorsports. Here's the link... It seems pretty bad ass, and it comes with the scanner/reader dongle. Not exactly inexpensive, but it's a unique tool for iPhone users. I haven't used it personally, but I hope to get my hands on one to test someday.

News flash- I just got the Innovate OT-2 setup in the mail. (Ask and ye shall recieve, I guess!)

I'll be testing it soon, so stay tuned to see if I can break anything. From a hardware standpoint, it looks pretty slick. There's a unit that plugs into the OBD-II port that communicates wirelessly with the phone and overlays RPM data to the acceleration plots. It does a whole lot more, but I've only just opened the box.

Yes, please do keep us unwashed masses informed.

Hmmn, interesting. Will have to look into if similiar is available for my new 'droid.