Garmin nuvi instead of a Scangauge or Torque

Pretty slick.. but $99.99?
Too bad there's no engine monitor screen on the built-in audio/nav screen.

I agree- the Toyota nav is atrocious. I use a Garmin 3790LMT.

 

I've used a Garmin ecoroute HD with my 2460LT for about two years. On my previous car it was useful for displaying all of the error codes!
Toyota provides just about every parameter that the ecoroute HD can display. However, the ecoroute score is not a useful benchmark in my experience.

I suggest that you include Ignition Timing instead of battery voltage and place it on the main dial instead of RPM. The IGN can tell you when the engine is ready for work and Super Highway Mode.

That's a creative mounting point you've got. I use a Bracketron Nav-Mat II™ Ultra-Thin Dash Mount just behind the steering wheel. My Scangauge-e attaches by stick-on velcro squares on the same dash mount. I can reach both without stretching.

 

Search the fuel economy forums for "Super Highway Mode". Or you could reading somewhat more technical posts at Clean mpg such as 2010 Prius-III P&G, SHM and WS FE techniques rehashed, defined and refined - CleanMPG Forums
SHM can be thought of as "high-speed glide" where you're using minimal engine to maintain high speed and using 1.5-3.0 LHK. RPM and the HSI are not enough to indicate if you are in SHM, you need to know the ignition timing and throttle position too. It is a bit counter-intuitive since the HSI display and I can only manage it for fleeting moments and probably by accident.
Unfortunately, the ecorouteHD can't display instantaneous LHK/mpg on the gauges screen or it would be ideal for SHM.

The main display is supposed to appear far away so the you don't refocus your eyes from the road. Not entirely successful, some say.

 

SHM is black-belt, Jedi hypermiler stuff and I'm still trying to reverse out of the swamp. I am not qualified.

However, I can say that since you've already bought the Garmin ecorouteHD that should be sufficient to monitor SHM; you don't need to buy a Scangauge or Torque app as well. A small issue is that you won't be able to see your instantaneous mpg on the same gauge screen; use the main dash display.
(By implication, if you hadn't already bought the ecorouteHD, the others might be more useful.)

"LHK" is short for "litres per 100 km", which is the standard in most metric countries. It measures fuel consumption (how much fuel did you use to travel, smaller numbers are better) rather than fuel economy (how far can you travel on some fuel, larger numbers are better). For example, mpg (US), mpg (Imp) and km/L (used in Japan) are measures of fuel economy.
1.5 LHK = 156 mpg(US) and 3.0 is 78 mpg(US). That is the range of fuel use you could see in SHM. At the same speeds, if you were driving according to HSI alone you would probably be in the 4-5LHK (58-45 mpg US) range.

I'm probably going to "disappear" for mentioning SHM outside the Lodge, so you must promise not to tell anyone I told you, OK?

 

I own both the Garmin and Torque. The Garmin solution does not even come close to what Torque can do. I had a scan gauge, it was able to pull the same data as Torque but you were limited to a 2 line charter display from the 1970’s.

Here is the default Torque screen.


This is the Torque software showing the ICE, MG1, MG2, speed and tempature.


Here is the low tech Scangauge.
And a pic of my Garmin that connectes to the Garmin BT cable. My phone I use for Torque is all in the pic. All these devices have 5" or bigger screens.

 

Netbook, you're absolutely right; the Torque app (and several others you could mention) has a lot more features and flexibility than the Garmin. In the full-frontal inforporn race, the ecorouteHD is a long way behind.

The point I make to the OP is that a Garmin ecorouteHD has the gauges (TPS, IGN, RPM, etc) needed for some sophisticated driving techniques and therefore OP is not obliged to buy a Scangauge or Torque app.
If OP reads about SHM, he'll see references to SG, Torque and SuperMID and might feel inadequate, but the ecorouteHD will be OK. Not the best, but OK.

 

Another issue with the Garmin solution is the price. It is $99 to buy the proprietary cable.

Torque is $5.00 and if you do not have an old Android phone lying around you can buy one off of craigslist for $50. So it’s a $5 solution vs a $100 solution.

 

The Garmin device has RPM, coolant temperature, and compression ratio, it does not appear to have
a HV battery amp level, HV battery State of Charge (SoC) and Gallons Per Hour(GPH) gauge.

The ScangaugeII GUI is low tech but the programming support makes up for this short coming.

 

With Torque you get everything. High Tech interface with an amazing set of items to program and monitor. The Scangauge is 1970 technology.