Low-Cost, Feature Rich 02 and Datalogger

[mustard-z]

We recently completed modifications to install an ’84 Corvette rear suspension assembly into our autocross 280z which was necessary due to the fact that we kept breaking Subaru LSD R160 units with the Chevy 350 V8 we installed a year or so ago. Consequently, the car has been pretty stable since this upgrade and has left us with the troublesome problem of “driving†the car and enjoying the power and maneuverability!

 

Due to some minor fueling issues and the never-ending quest for more power we decided to get on the hunt for a wideband O2 sensor so that we can more accurately see what is going on with the engine during actual driving conditions and not just throttle rev’s in the shop or hot-rodding it on local roads. Our particular quest was to find a unit which was simple to integrate into our car and had the expandability for logging additional inputs from the engine and other things. We spent a fair amount of time researching and just happened on a product called “iDashâ€

 

This product, for us was the pinnacle of what we had been searching for and blew us away with the feature-set. The system is developed by a company called 14point7 and you can find more information about it at http://www.14point7.com Essentially, what you get in the “iDash†is a wideband controller with added abilities to log all the necessary vital engine parameters for both naturally aspirated engines as well as turbo/supercharged ones. It included built-in accelerometers,and a webserver. This thing uses the latest html and flash to provide the dashboard for all your logging inputs. If this hasn’t quite peeked your interest, the product comes with an included wireless router so that you can access this dashboard and download logs WIRELESSLY!

 

Many will probably look at www.14point7.com and say, man that looks great but how many have been sold is it a stable product? Well I can’t for sure either since we’ve only had it for a few weeks, but we did talk with the developer Alan and he took over an hour to personally demonstrate the product to us over the internet so we could see how it worked. In fact, after we placed the order it was in the mail the same day. He is located in Canada so delivery took about 1.5 weeks to our door but he’s very responsive to email and has been very helpful during the install.

 

Moving on to the install, given our simple wiring necessary for a race car, implementation was rather simple in our case. All the harnesses you need to wire it into your car come in the kit and only 4 wires tie it into the vehicle electrical system, (2) 12vdc switched power connections and (2) ground wires. Installation took us a few hours to pull apart the dash and add the wires and wire sheathing. Since we had already been messing around with a narrowband O2 sensor for tuning, installation of the new wideband unit was quick and simple. The iDash comes with an O2 sensor bung if you are installing for the first time.

 

Some quick points on the configuration of the unit, testing the wireless functionality prior to final install is recommended and worth it. It allows you to play around with the software and see how things work before you commit to the final install. Important to note that installing the iDash as close to perfectly level is important for accurate acceleration feedback. It’s also important to configure the accelerometers before you bolt it in permanently as they are not configured, at least in our case. It’s a simple process, best done with a laptop and a digital level. We kept getting stymied by the pop-up windows that are used on the webpage for calibrations and other functions. We normally used Google Chrome for manipulating the iDash, as Alan said that the best experience would be using Chrome, but for some reason we couldn’t get the pop-ups to be enabled through Chrome for calibrations so we used Safari instead, which worked great. I’d definitely suggest making your order WITH the auxiliary sensor kit as existing sensors can’t be used due to resistive type outputs, additionally, if ordered at the time of the iDash you get a break on them which softens the financial blow for filling up all those logging inputs.

 

For around $500 we are logging what it would have cost us we figure close to $1000 using other products on the market and the iDash has a much more future-proof design in our book with expandability built-in. If you try out all the competitor’s software you’ll find it a bit glitchy and that it looks like it was designed for Windows 95. The iDash by comparison works pretty intuitively and smoothly and is much more convenient to download logs via wireless than always have to carry a cable and laptop, now this can all be done by smartphone.

 

I'll add a few pictures of the install and of the logging page in a subsequent post. Overall, if you are interested in some "out of the box" functionality I suggest you at least give a look into the iDash.

 

Just to let you people know if they were wondering, i'm not affiliated with 14point7, just a happy customer looking forward to using this thing and promoting what I think is the most innovative product on the market for this stuff.

[mustard-z]

Here's some of the sensor wiring that we pulled into the engine bay. These wires will send RPM, Manifold pressure, Coolant Temp, and Oil Pressure to the iDash

 

 

 

We chose to mount the iDash between the seats to keep it away from the heat/dust/dirt. I taped a few of the unused connections so that they wouldn't get filled with dust/dirt if we made an off track excursion.

 

 

Here's a picture of our dash layout with the autometer gauges that we are still going to use.

 

iDash interface on my Mac during testing....

 

 

Overall picture of the car during this and other mods recently, after I went off track an put a hole in the oil pan.

[mustard-z]

Just got the car running again after replacing the oil pan and adding the iDash. This is the first log out our iDash. It clearly shows our mixture ratio is too rich for our altitude at idle which is OK because we tuned our car for near sea-level conditions in Medford, OR. There are several other tuning nuances which we discovered with the wideband O2 sensor, when we get back down there next weekend we'll see how we accurately tuned the car without the wideband O2 sensor.

 

Super excited to see some more results from this logger, as well as add the additional channels for oil pressure, egt, map, accelerometers and stuff.

 

 

 

 

Here's some of the sensor wiring that we pulled into the engine bay. These wires will send RPM, Manifold pressure, Coolant Temp, and Oil Pressure to the iDash

 

 

 

We chose to mount the iDash between the seats to keep it away from the heat/dust/dirt. I taped a few of the unused connections so that they wouldn't get filled with dust/dirt if we made an off track excursion.

 

 

Here's a picture of our dash layout with the autometer gauges that we are still going to use.

 

iDash interface on my Mac during testing....

 

 

Overall picture of the car during this and other mods recently, after I went off track an put a hole in the oil pan.

[Six_Shooter]

I've been using an SLC_DIY (V1) from 14point7 for over 2 years now, the one I use, is in my tuning bag, that I use on other people's cars, I already had an Innovate LC-1 installing my car, so I have kept using it for now, but plan to eventually swap it with another 14point7 product, most likely an SLC_DIY V2, since I have datalogging capabilities through my ECM.

 

The iDash has piqued my interest though. Alan is always responsive and stands behind his products.

 

I picked my SLC_DIY (V1) up directly from him, since I don't live too far away. The SLC_DIY V1 was an assemble yourself deal, soldering about 100 components to the board, which took about 4 hours, and loved every minute of it. It has been an extremely reliable product, and prefer it over my LC-1, by a long shot.

[mustard-z]

Yeah, it seems that there are quite a few people who use the SLC. His latest version has many of the features of the iDash but in a more compact package. We really didn't need or want a digital readout because it's not terribly useful for tuning, at least in our thinking of things. For us, having speed, rpm, vacuum, fuel pressure, egt, afr all logged together is much more useful for tuning a car.

 

We did think for a while that the LC1 could be a good way to go, but there was just no real cost effective way to get datalogging onboard the car without spending a load of money with innovate products. Plus, i saw many reviews that indicated that innovates products may be temperamental. I think we made the right choice for us and I hope he is able to sell more of those products and continue the support for it as we have thought of many grand plans to incorporate other features into our logging plans.

 

I've been using an SLC_DIY (V1) from 14point7 for over 2 years now, the one I use, is in my tuning bag, that I use on other people's cars, I already had an Innovate LC-1 installing my car, so I have kept using it for now, but plan to eventually swap it with another 14point7 product, most likely an SLC_DIY V2, since I have datalogging capabilities through my ECM.

 

The iDash has piqued my interest though. Alan is always responsive and stands behind his products.

 

I picked my SLC_DIY (V1) up directly from him, since I don't live too far away. The SLC_DIY V1 was an assemble yourself deal, soldering about 100 components to the board, which took about 4 hours, and loved every minute of it. It has been an extremely reliable product, and prefer it over my LC-1, by a long shot.