Celica Forums Install Guides and Technical Articles Information and Articles CarChip, The Smartest OBDII Scan Tool You Can Buy

Introducing CarChip, the smartest OBDII scan tool you can buy!

Award-winning CarChip finalist in G4/TechTV's 2003 Best of CES awards and winner of SEMA 2003 Best Engineered New Product consists of a tiny "black box" data logger, a CD with software for analyzing the data, and a cable and power adapter for downloading. The data logger plugs into the OBDII connector in your car, where it continuously collects and stores data from the car's computer control systems.
details here... http://www.g4tv.com/techtvvault/features...ticle_key=41667 [g4tv.com]

Winner, SEMA 2003 Best Engineered New Product.
details here... http://www.sema.org/content/?id=28787



CarChip installs in seconds and lets you:

Troubleshoot your engine.
Help identify specific problems, trace intermittent ones, and eliminate guesswork in repairs.

Log your car's performance.
View straightforward graphs that show summary and detail reports for each trip.

Monitor driver performance.
Set thresholds for speed, acceleration, and braking, then see when they are exceeded. Great for training new drivers, managing fleets, and reviewing teen drivers' performance.

Save money, time, and worry.
Clear your own check engine light; walk into a repair shop more informed and confident.



CARCHIP
CarChip fits all 1996 and later foreign and domestic vehicles to automatically record and store 75 hours of trip details, including:

Time, date and distance for each trip
Speed logged every 5 seconds
Hard acceleration and decelerations
Engine diagnostic trouble codes and status of other engine parameters when the code occurred
Idle time
Time and date CarChip is connected or disconnected.


In addition to the above features, the advanced model, CarChip E/X stores 300 hours of trip details and measures up to four engine parameters every 5 to 60 seconds (and there are 23 parameters to choose from!).

With the basic CarChip, the data logger will store up to 75 hours of trip details before you'll need to download. If you drive, on average, two hours a day, that's over a month's worth of driving data!
You'll get complete trip details including:

* Time and date for each trip
* Distance traveled
* Speed (recorded every 5 seconds)
* Hard braking and quick accelerations


You can view all of this graphically on your computer screen, giving you a moment-by-moment picture of how you or perhaps your employees or the teenagers in your household are driving.
If the vehicle's check engine light (also known as a malfunction indicator light or MIL) comes on, you'll be able to:

* Read the diagnostic trouble code (or DTC).
* Get the "freeze-frame" sensor readings telling you the status of various engine parameters at the time.
* Reset the light.


CARCHIP E/X
CarChip E/X includes all the features of CarChip, plus four times the data storage up to 300 hours of driving data. (The actual number of hours will vary, depending on how frequently you log data.)
As with CarChip, you'll get time and date for each trip, distance, speed, hard accelerations and decelerations, and engine diagnostic trouble codes. With CarChip E/X, though, you'll also be able to monitor any four out of 23 user-selectable engine parameters, including:

* RPM
* Throttle position
* Engine load
* Fuel pressure
* Fuel system status
* Short- and long-term-fuel trim
* Battery voltage
* Timing advance
* Coolant temperature
* Air flow rate
* Intake air temperature
* Intake manifold pressure
* Oxygen sensor voltage


Plus, if you're unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident, CarChip E/X will automatically generate an accident log showing the last critical 20 seconds of speed.

SOURCE...
http://www.davisnet.com/drive/products/carchip_products.asp

CarChip E/X with Alarm 8225...
http://www.davisnet.com/drive/products/drive_product.asp?pnum=08225

UPDATE: The "CarChip E/X with Alarm 8225" has been replaced with "CarChip Pro 8226"...
http://www.davisnet.com/drive/products/drive_product.asp?pnum=08226

Review: DriveRight CarChip
http://www.techtv.com/freshgear/print/0,23102,3410327,00.html

Peek under your car's hood without peeking under the hood.
By Brett Larson, Tech Live

Here's a statement that should make most people jump for joy: You no longer need a mechanic to explain what's going on with your car.

The CarChip from Davis Instruments won't fix your car, but it will tell you virtually everything going on under the hood. Best of all, you don't need to get your hands dirty to make it work. Go under the CarChip's hood tonight on "Tech Live."


The CarChip works with most foreign and domestic cars made since 1996. It installs quickly by simply plugging into your car's onboard diagnostic (OBD) system II connector, which in most cases is under your steering wheel. (It's OK. We didn't realize it had been there all along either.) Once installed, it will blink to let you know it's working.


While you drive, it logs data including your speed, how hard you hit your brakes, throttle position, fuel pressure, and a whole lot more. When you've finished your drive, simply unplug the CarChip from your car and connect it to your computer. The software imports the data and -- here's the best part -- presents it in a very readable format.


You can save each report, and you can even use the CarChip for multiple cars since you can name each car uniquely or by VIN number (or both). You can also customize exactly what information to monitor on your car so you won't get a laundry list of useless information.


We found the CarChip to be fun and easy to use. The data is simple to understand once you get it on your computer, and the software is easy to use. However, we would like to see the data connection to the computer use USB and not require an additional power supply to make it work.


Summary: Small, inexpensive device easily installs in most new cars and captures driving and engine data. Plug it into your PC to get information from your car on everything from engine timing to the top speed of your last trip.


Pros: Easy to install; data easy to understand; simple software.
Cons: No USB support; additional power needed for computer connection.


Company: Davis Instruments
Price: $139
Available: Now
Category: Automotive

UPDATE 1:
As of this update, the most recent version of CarChip Software was released on 5/29/2009, version 2.3.3. The software is severely outdated in the looks department and the interface is clunky and not well planned out. It's not entirely bad, but it is very reminiscent of a mid 1990's FoxPro or Visual Basic style program. Despite this negative, the hardware and software works well on Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 in either 32bit or 64bit.

The latest CarChip software can be downloaded at...
http://www.davisnet.com/support/drive/software_CarChip.asp

I originally purchased the "CarChip EX with Alarm 8225" to check for trouble-codes that my Celica may eventually have and also monitor the MPG I was getting. I used the engine monitoring tools to graph-out an idea of what was happening with the engine at certain events such as throttle position during normal acceleration vs hard acceleration, and fuel economy based on my current driving habits.

Because the version I purchased had an alarm feature (can be toggled on or off), I used it as a tool to also enhance my driving habits. I set the alarm to beep when I braked or accelerated too quickly, such as making a turn at a corner or coming to a stop. I also set the alarm to beep if I was going over 80 MPH. The speed limit in Southern California on most freeways is 65 MPH.

Because of these settings, my driving has improved. I would not say that I was a bad driver just before installing the CarChip, but I will say that I am now more aware of my true speed and how quickly I accelerate-from or had break-to a complete stop. Hint, it's at a more friendly rate; which translates to higher MPGs and means more $$$ in my pocket and less visits the fuel pump.

The alarm's tone is subtle but noticeable and only continuously beeps while you're performing an action that is outside of your preset thresholds. The thresholds can be set in the software when your CarChip is plugged in to a PC.

There are two ways to toggle the alarm tone off. Either through attaching the CarChip to a PC and changing the setting, as mentioned above... or just unplugging it from your vehicle all together. But obviously, when it's unplugged, it's not monitoring your vehicle.

After a few months of ownership, I put the alarm on silent since I was rarely hearing it any more... EXCEPT for the few times when I would head to Las Vegas and forget to configure it to be OFF. The speed limit on Highway 15 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is 80 MPH and my speed is usually very near that, sometimes just over or just under. The alarm would get annoying at those times.

I purchased the "CarChip EX with Alarm 8225B" in March, 2007 for about $135. Since then, I have seen it sold for as low as $60 from AutoZone.

UPDATE 2: The "CarChip E/X with Alarm 8225" has been replaced with "CarChip Pro 8226"...
http://www.davisnet.com/drive/products/drive_product.asp?pnum=08226

"CarChip Pro 8226" is listed on their comparison page [davisnet.com] for $119. On their product page [davisnet.com], it lists for $99 + $12 for standard shipping throughout USA, plus $8.66 sales tax for California deliveries. So, if you're shipping to California, $119.66 is the correct DELIVERED-TO-YOU price when purchased directly from Davis.

Attached are a couple screen captures of my current settings.