Radio Headunit Display (trip And Temperature Items)

[pips]

Their US website states they will only ship to US

"We are currently shipping only to the United States, its possessions and Canada. We pay shipping."

Confused? I am.

Not wanting to be negative about this, Pips, BUT it is not that unlikely that the package from the US could get intercepted by customs, so then there is a 17.5% VAT charge on the £90 (£15.75) + a Post Office Handling charge (£5 or £10) and a 10% import duty charge (£9) - so that £90 bargain COULD - if one was unlucky - end up being more then buying from an EU seller.

Point taken - We import stuff at work every 3-4 months and customs ALWAYS sting us with charges etc..... but usually at home I seem to get away with it (not that I order that much from the US)! I must admit I didn't see the bit on the website saying they only ship to US & Canada, and most of the countries in the world were in the drop down menu box on the order page. But I was expecting them to send me an email saying that shipping would be more. Even at the checkout stage after I'd chosen UK as shipping destination the price still didn't increase. Still pretty damn good service considering it was ordered on Saturday night and I should have got it on Thursday!!

The invoice shows $139.95 for the item and $30 shipping - guess I've been lucky then with this... I connected it up tonight and it seems to work really well. The revs and speed indicates almost the same as the dashboard. However, the MPG shows really low at 30mph, it only gives me 12mpg!! If I get upto about 40mph and drop into 6th gear then the mpg rises to 28mpg.

Mind you, I haven't R.T.F.M. yet so maybe I've got to set it up first!? I usually do a manual mpg check everytime I fill up, and returns between 28 and 32mpg.

[dave.m]

Hi Pips, thought you had moved on to pastures new, I keep recommending your website to people doing mods to their 4.2's.

Re the MPG figures on your scangauge, it might be in american gallons. A chap at work got caught out with this, he

bought a Hyundai Tucson and it was in american gallons, so he is actually getting better mileage than he thought.

[pips]

Hi Pips, thought you had moved on to pastures new, I keep recommending your website to people doing mods to their 4.2's.

Re the MPG figures on your scangauge, it might be in american gallons. A chap at work got caught out with this, he

bought a Hyundai Tucson and it was in american gallons, so he is actually getting better mileage than he thought.

Hi Dave,

You're quite correct in that I have moved on to a Sportage now -but still get emailed when new topics are posted here. Most of the time I can't reply as I don't have the RAV to refer to. I have signed up with the Kia Forums but in comparison to them, this forum is like the M25 at rush hour, lol!!.

I've read the first bit of the manual now, and you have to set it up telling it gas(petrol)/diesel/lpg and size of engine. I suppose it will then work the figures out correctly :)

I did start transfering my website into a content managed site, but with various things going on at work I've never got it finished.

The old pages are still there, but you have to click the link to find them. Once I've got it finished I will go back and edit all my previous posts and correct any direct links that are in them.

Will post my findings with the scanguage once I've got it all set up correctly.

Cheers,

Phil.

[Hoovie]

$30 less would make the duties less if they did intercept it - Wondering which source to buy from now

Pips - did you connect this to a Sportage or to a RAV4?

I did read that the scanguage can be set to US Gallon, Imperial gallon or Litre so should be easy enough to change.

[Hoovie]

Pips, just saw your update posted while I was typing mine :D questions answered.

While I am typing, I found your RAV4 Website very handy

[anchorman]

Somebody told me there are concessions on some items imported from the USA. Things like Cds and DVDs are not subject to duty and I think niether are single items such as accessories. If they can see you are importing items for resale (multiples etc) they will charge duty and from what I understand - so don't shoot the messenger, they can tell from the markings on the packaging. They just open a few at random and check the contents tie up with the coding.

[chatman]

Somebody told me there are concessions on some items imported from the USA. Things like Cds and DVDs are not subject to duty and I think niether are single items such as accessories. If they can see you are importing items for resale (multiples etc) they will charge duty and from what I understand - so don't shoot the messenger, they can tell from the markings on the packaging. They just open a few at random and check the contents tie up with the coding.

The CD and DVD part is true...I deal with a company operating out of Boston...and all the software we get from them has no duty...just have to ensure they mark up the packages right and proper shipping doc's etc.... :) :) :) :)

Still want a scan gauge though... :( :(

[cornishlee]

the MPG shows really low at 30mph, it only gives me 12mpg!! If I get upto about 40mph and drop into 6th gear then the mpg rises to 28mpg.

I fitted mine last week and was going to wait a bit longer before replying on here, with photos of the installation, etc. But I just thought I'd add something to this for now.

Mine is currently reading 12.3mpg, when the one in the factory stereo used to read 40.1mpg. You correctly stated that there's a system for calibrating your speed, etc., which obviously makes a difference. There's also one for calibrating the mpg.

Basically, you manually tell it how much you put into the car each time you fill up, correcting its estimate - instructions are in the manual. I've only started this process today and expect to see some early results at the beginning of next week.

[pips]

the MPG shows really low at 30mph, it only gives me 12mpg!! If I get upto about 40mph and drop into 6th gear then the mpg rises to 28mpg.

I fitted mine last week and was going to wait a bit longer before replying on here, with photos of the installation, etc. But I just thought I'd add something to this for now.

Mine is currently reading 12.3mpg, when the one in the factory stereo used to read 40.1mpg. You correctly stated that there's a system for calibrating your speed, etc., which obviously makes a difference. There's also one for calibrating the mpg.

Basically, you manually tell it how much you put into the car each time you fill up, correcting its estimate - instructions are in the manual. I've only started this process today and expect to see some early results at the beginning of next week.

It's amazing what you learn when you R.T.F.M. !! lol!

I filled up on Sunday and have reset and also made sure I selected Diesel a and set my tank size. So when I'm next empty and fill up again it should hopefully improve things

It seems to show really random results though - in 1st gear when setting off from the lights it shows between 2 and 7 mpg, then about 30mph it shows 12-15 but then if I get upto 40 and drop into 5th or 6th gear I can get anything between 35 and 48 mpg!!

It's a pity it doesn't have an average MPG setting rather than an instant one (well ok, 2 second delay one) or maybe it does and I haven't read the manual properly.

Like we said though, probably once we've done the second fill up using the same pump at the same time of day and with the car facing the same direction then we should start seeing more accurate results!

Phil

[anchorman]

It seems to show really random results though - in 1st gear when setting off from the lights it shows between 2 and 7 mpg, then about 30mph it shows 12-15 but then if I get upto 40 and drop into 5th or 6th gear I can get anything between 35 and 48 mpg!!

I reckon those figures are about right. I presume you are still in 2nd or 3rd at 30mph unless you settle down to cruise?

[Hoovie]

It's amazing what you learn when you R.T.F.M. !! lol!

I filled up on Sunday and have reset and also made sure I selected Diesel a and set my tank size. So when I'm next empty and fill up again it should hopefully improve things

It seems to show really random results though - in 1st gear when setting off from the lights it shows between 2 and 7 mpg, then about 30mph it shows 12-15 but then if I get upto 40 and drop into 5th or 6th gear I can get anything between 35 and 48 mpg!!

It's a pity it doesn't have an average MPG setting rather than an instant one (well ok, 2 second delay one) or maybe it does and I haven't read the manual properly.

Like we said though, probably once we've done the second fill up using the same pump at the same time of day and with the car facing the same direction then we should start seeing more accurate results!

Phil

From http://www.scangauge.com/features/tripcomputer.shtml

The GAUGE mode can display instantaneous fuel economy, but small variations in throttle, terrain or even wind will cause this to wander around some. The CURRENT trip computer and its RESET capability can smooth this out over a longer distance.

Seems that it should do what you want when you go into the 'Trip' mode - I guess they define 'Gauge' as reading instantaneous values, and 'Trip' as averaged values over time/distance - which is quite accurate when you think about it.

This kit is definately marketed by techies! The Credit Card is starting to emerge as the Scangauge II is calling out "buy me, buy me" :)

[bothwell_buyer]

Shipping from the USA - I bought 2 sway bars from my 2 RAVs - the first cost $90 and a further $260 for VAT, FEDEX, and Customs - all in an expensive item.

The 2nd was $110 and my wife brought it back from her hols in NY at nil cost!!!

However, Customs will pick up on regular/ish stuff being sent to an address. UPS is a cheaper shipper than Fedex, and of course DHL is quick. The supplier will often dictate whether VAT is added. For those bringing in stuff regularly and not declaring, Customs can backdate any claim if it all comes to light.

On the RAV instruments, they are not accurate - merely an indication. This goes for the fuel guage certainly. The speedo is equally off target. In doing quarter miloes last Sunday, my fuinal speed using calibrated instruments was around 90mph altho my speedo showed 95. On travelling at a speedo indication of 119mph, the engine cut out as the ecu is mapped to cut out at 112, and cut out it did.

So, really, taking instantaneous measures are not much better than a waste of time - better to take averages over trips or a period of time.

To measure engine health, something like an exhaust temperature will show up faults before the engine light comes on.

[cornishlee]

It's a pity it doesn't have an average MPG setting rather than an instant one (well ok, 2 second delay one) or maybe it does and I haven't read the manual properly.

Exactly so, it's in the manual under x-gauge. Mine's currently set up to display instant mpg, the average mpg since the last fill-up and the estimated distance until empty (as well as Battery voltage - I haven't managed to find something more useful to put in there yet!).

It seems to show really random results though - in 1st gear when setting off from the lights it shows between 2 and 7 mpg, then about 30mph it shows 12-15 but then if I get upto 40 and drop into 5th or 6th gear I can get anything between 35 and 48 mpg!!

I reckon those figures are about right. I presume you are still in 2nd or 3rd at 30mph unless you settle down to cruise?

My thoughts exactly. Less torque and fewer RPMs equal less fuel consumption (alright, so it's a bit more technical than that, but you get my drift).