DashCommand

DashCommand is an app similar to Torque that monitors vehicle performance. It is available for Apple, Android and Windows platforms. It works with the same OBDII Bluetooth enabled scan tool as Torque. One curious note is that DashCommand was listed for $29.95 in the Android Market Place, but only $9.95 in the Amazon Android App Store. It pays to check prices.

Main Menu.

I deployed DashCommand to my Android Tablet. I can run in concurrent with Torque as they use the same Bluetooth interface. DashCommand seemed to have a little more trouble making the initial connection to the OBDII scan tool and it seems like the app gets lost every so often.

There are multiple dashboard displays. This one measures speed, RPM, acceleration, horsepower and  torque.

On the plus side, I thought the DashCommand screens were easier to read. These screen captures are all real time shots from a short drive in the Corvette.

This display is one of 2 fuel consumption (kind of the how-green-is-my-car display).  While I'm not one for blue smoke coming out the tail pipe, I really don't care about how green my car is. I am driving a performance sports car, not some battery powered Obamamobile.

Torque is more flexible on how dashboard displays are designed. The DashCommand website lists all the sensors they monitor, and they state not all cars have these sensors. Since I will go with a new engine harness and ECU to match the engine I plan to purchase, I think I should have all the bells and whistles that can be tracked.

The most interesting item on this screen is the intake temperature. The very first winter project I did on the Corvette was to install a Hurricane cold air intake. My buddy Brian and I worked all day on that one. I probably wouldn't have tried to do that if he hadn't been gracious enough to help me.

This is the skid pad screen from app. It uses the built in sensors on the tablet to figure out acceleration and braking  Gs. Hmmm, it looks like I accelerate a lot more than I brake.

The Skid Pad screen is unique to DashCommand.

This is the race track screen that projects a trip against Google Maps (once you have an Internet connection). I like  Torque's version better.

inTOUCH Mobile

I'm at the South Carolina house, and Labor Day Weekend has afforded me the time to start laying out the circuits for the GTM. When I decided to tackle this project, I never considered how much of it involved wiring. After spending the long weekend reading up on ISIS, I am convinced the ISIS Power system does significantly cut the time and complexity for wiring portion of the car.

If you have been around an iPad, iTouch, iPhone or Droid, I'm sure you've figured out that Apps are all the rage these days. Key fobs have eliminated the need to fumble with a door key. If you've had a chance to see late model Corvettes, Ferraris or even our Toyota Camry, they use a button to start the car.

So ISIS takes it another step further (they're probably not the only people doing this) and eliminate the key fob and the key. The ISIS inTOUCH system mounts an encrypted WIFI daughter board on the Master Cell. (The Master Cell is the central brain for the ISIS system.) You then download an app from iTunes or the Droid Marketplace (the Droid App is due out in late 2011) to your Apple or Droid device, and load the encryption key to the app. It can unlock the car, turn the lights on or roll down the windows. Actually, you can set up the programming to do just about anything you want.

If you still want a key fob, they'll sell you last century's technology with their inLINK system. It operates on the same principle of mounting a daughter board on the Master Cell and using radio frequency technology.

The cost difference is $70 and you end up with a much cleaner interface.