ScanGauge and DashHawk?

[George in GA]

I've just become a Mazda owner - 3s, 5 door, Bose/sunroof 6 spd - and the lack of coolant temperature, oil pressure and amp/volt meters is distressing. I like to know when the temp is "off the peg" so I can get on it.

ScanGauge and DashHawk look like possible solutions, without the "agony" of running tubing, lines, etc through the firewall and all that work. Been there and done that on other cars. I can't tell for certain whether these gadgets will display all of the above. Anyone out there know for certain? DashHawk's web site doesn't seem to allow a straight forward email query.

Any other ideas for getting the gauges Mazda should have given us?

Thanks!!

[wingzero_]

The Scangauge will show those, I have one. It is just a simple hookup to the obd2 port.

[George in GA]

Good deal! I also emailed ScanGauge to see what they say. You can get oil pressure from ScanGauge?

[wingzero_]

Oops missed your mention of oil pressure. No it doesn't do that one. The Scangauge is pretty basic, I've had one forever. I am starting to think about a dashhawk.

[George in GA]

So, I know DashHawk mentions oil pressure for some vehicles - do you know whether it will display it for the 2010 3? Their website doesn't make asking a question easy. Thanks!

[wingzero_]

I've yet to hear of anyone running one on a 2010. But my guess is if it will display it on a previous gen 3, it would work on ours. Maybe check with a previous gen 3 owner that has one.

I can understanding wanting to know temps and volts, but any real reason for wanting to know oil pressure? I can't remember the last car I had that actually had some type of oil gauge.

[coyfish]

I have a scanguage and I like it. I think it reads data better than the dashhawk (more fluidly) and looks better too. Has a nice "light" that you can set to alerts / etc. just like the dashhawk. I have mine set to blink when my knock goes over 1.0 or my boost goes over 20psi. You can also do 1/4 mile runs / 0-60 times / all that good stuff with the scan gauge. Only thing that is bad about it is that it doesn't read oil pressure or have the data logging feature like the dash. It doesn't plug into the computer. Oh and it reads A/F ratios right off the bat without having to DL or buy that extra part (not sure exactly) with the dashhawk.

Both are good products and thats my pro / con list of both.

[George in GA]

Hey Wingzero and Coyfish -

Thanks for the info. I've sent this to Mazda, after realizing that an oil pressure sensor might be no more than a switch:

"I am thinking of buying either a ScanGauge or a DashHawk which will connect with the diagnositic plug and display coolant temperature, battery voltage, etc, the gauges Mazda left out. Does the 2.5 engine in my 2010 Mazda3 use a true oil pressure sensor which would deliver varying pressure messages, or merely a switch which closes at a preset pressure to light a warning light.

It would seem that the information panel in my vehicle would be an ideal place to display coolant temp, battery voltage, oil pressure/temp. How about a software update to do this??"

A change over time in oil pressure can indicate an engine problem. As I recall a drop in pressure normally seen suggests excessive bearing wear, and would show up before the knocks of a REALLY worn bearing. So, we have something else to obsess over!

[wingzero_]

Ah yes obsessive people. I am one too, but by them leaving out the gauges gives me less to think about.

[nguvanh]

I just looked at ScanGuage II manual and I don't see guage for oil pressure.
It only has Fuel and Manifold Pressure gauges. I have one for my Mazdas. However I only use when having long trips.

[ky3]

a little off topic, where is a good place for the display of Scangauge?

[coyfish]

Any place where you would mount any other type of gauge. You could do vent pods or do a steering wheel mount. Or a pillar mount / triple center mount.

[DailyDriver]

Wow, I'm glad I stumbled upon this post. I never knew that such gauges existed. Awesome idea! I think I'm gonna get a ScanGauge2 because I really like to watch coolant temperature at the very least, especially in the cold... and in the very hot too of course. I just emailed them to confirm whether or not one will work on the `10 MS3. I'll report back. And I like that I can take it from car to car, etc... I have other cars that this should work on.

I do already own a pro code scanner, but it's not the type of thing I'd want to have plugged in all the time, sitting in my lap or whatever. The thought never occurred to me that someone might offer a compact "stripped down" code scanner designed to be mounted and displayed at all times... it's definitely one of those "why didn't I think of that?!?!?!" things.

Well, if this thing will work on the `10 MS3, then that will prove to be a super easy solution to the lack of a temp gauge on this car... and plus it has all those other nifty features too. Also, even for long trips, it's nice to have a code / info reader like this and code clearer... I used to carry my heavy-duty scanner on trips, but this might eliminate that need. Again, very nifty, handy gadget.

And to think I was considering trying to add a temperature sending unit on the engine connected to an old-school type gauge... man, I gotta get my head out of the `70's... it's amazing the stuff we have now.... gee. Pretty neat.

[Stavesacre21]

For the money, you can't beat the dashhawk. It'll have your head spinning with all the different crap it reads. However, on my Speed6 I used to have, I just couldn't FOR THE LIFE OF ME, find a good place to put it. That ended up being the reason I got rid of it and just got a boost gauge.

I will stand with you there tho...not having a temperature gauge is slightly unsettling. I've had a few cars seem skimpy on gauges before, but I don't think I've EVER seen one that skipped temperature.

For us MS3 owners, kinda seems like a lateral move from temperature gauge to boost. Not sure i'm i'm quite as overjoyed as I initially was to see it in the display.

[coyfish]

Yeah I couldn't be happier with my scangauge. Has a ton of cool features like mpg calculator, 1/4 mile timer, 0-60 timer, warning lights, easy to read / mount. . .

2 Biggest Cons are that it doens't read fuel trims or log data to the computer. I have an AP now though so im covered .