PLX Kiwi

[natethegreat38]

Before we got hacked, we had a thread talking about the Kiwi. For those of you not familiar with it, it is similar to the Scangauge II but TONS better. See for yourself: www.plxkiwi.com

I am not sure, but I think I am one of the first (if not THE first) person in the forum to have one. Here is my review after having it for seven days:

First off, it's quite pricier than the Scangauge. The pricetag for the Kiwi is $299 (MSRP). I have seen it sell for as low as $279.

I really like the organic (color) LCD display. The graphics are a little cheesy, but it gets the job done. The the tutorials are fun and it really helps you learn to drive more economically. There is also a beeping function that will start to make noise when you are driving less-efficient. I like this because sometimes, I will get into my music and will not pay so much attention to driving that I will start to speed up too fast or slow down quickly and the Kiwi quickly reminds me to drive more responsibly.

I don't want to go on and on about it, but just a couple of other cool features: You can read CEL codes, and monitor sensor information to see air intake temp, water temp, engine load, fuel pressure, etc... Probably my favorite feature tho, is being able to see how much money you have saved since owning the unit. You program in your gas price and it will calculate how much you save per trip and how much you have saved overall!! :w00t:

The Kiwi really does so much more than the Scangauge and I, personally, think it is worth the money. There is a lot to say about it, but don't want to bore everybody. Feel free to reply to this or PM me! :thumbsup:

[LtNoogie]

But can it clear the CEL? That's one reason why I bought the ScanGauge. After spending $50 for a shop to tell me that my sister probably did not tighten the gas cap after filling up, I figured that I wasn't going to pay someone else to read and clear my CELs again.

[natethegreat38]

i am not sure. that is a good question that I had not yet thought about. I will look into this...Thanks for bringing this up!

[CTScott]

But can it clear the CEL? That's one reason why I bought the ScanGauge. After spending $50 for a shop to tell me that my sister probably did not tighten the gas cap after filling up, I figured that I wasn't going to pay someone else to read and clear my CELs again.

It can:

http://www.plxkiwi.com/product/images/how_check_engine01.jpg

I really like their round gauge package, but unfortunately it doesn't do MPG.

http://www.plxdevices.com/NewsLetters/OCT2007/OCTOBE4.jpg

[natethegreat38]

Thanks CTScott! I am pretty sure it can do everything the DM-200 can do, plus the MPG. You cannot change the display to look like the DM-200 tho. :( That's too bad because I like the looks of the DM-200

[CTScott]

Thanks CTScott! I am pretty sure it can do everything the DM-200 can do, plus the MPG. You cannot change the display to look like the DM-200 tho. :( That's too bad because I like the looks of the DM-200

After seeing the prior thread I checked with PLX and unfortunately the gauges can't do MPG. They suggest buying the Kiwi if you want MPG...

[natethegreat38]

I've been impressed so far. This morning (after my drive to work), the trip summary said that I have saved $7.20 since owning the Kiwi. Assuming that I do the same driving, this would mean that it would take about 35 weeks for the Kiwi to pay for itself! That's not too bad. I drive to Arizona every now and then which is about 800 miles RT, so it would definately help out even more!

[Jack Reacher]

Interesting gadget. I'll look into getting one. Thanks for the link.

[natethegreat38]

Nice avatar! BTW- It has the capability to hook up to a computer via USB, but I am not sure if it will hook up to a MAC (if you were wondering) :)

[Jack Reacher]

Nice avatar! BTW

Made the switch about a year and a half ago. My only regret is not doing it sooner. You couldn't pay me to use a windows based machine. Unless it was a new Mac Book Pro running it :wink:

[natethegreat38]

i had the silver avatar like yours before the hack (or was it black??) idk... I just have an iMac, but love it too...

[Jack Reacher]

i had the silver avatar like yours before the hack (or was it black??) idk... I just have an iMac, but love it too...

I have a 24" imac as well. I have no need for a laptop .If I did it would be a mac

[natethegreat38]

Am I the only one with this device, or does anybody else have one??

[kofkorn]

I just got one yesterday. My lovely wife bought it for me (a wonderful woman). I've had three trips so far and scored 90 on each one of them. I've averaged 46 MPG per trip. I'm not sure that it's going to help a whole lot with my driving styles, but it does give me a whole bunch of good info. Plus with the OBD scanner and reset ability, it takes the place of me needing another tool.

I'm not really keen on the cable management. Any suggestions you may have would be great. Right now the cable bumps against my leg once in a while.

A really good addition for this would be a bluetooth connection between the OBD connector and the unit, with a good battery in the Kiwi itself or just being able to power it from a standard plug in.

I really love it so far. Looking forward to breaking 95 :)

[Revsson]

I looked at the site and the owner's manual pdf. They don't show any pics of
the cabling or say how long it is, though I just did a quick scan of the info.
Can you provide any pics of the unit, cabling, and how you mounted it?

[natethegreat38]

Hey guys,
I think the cable that it comes with is about 4-5 feet.

I found the best way to be to tuck it behind the steering column. This was really easy and the cable stays out of the way. Then, I took all the excess cord and zip-tied it together to some other wires in the panel that easily opens up just below the steering column (you'll see additional wires in the picture, but those are for my fog lights- the thick black one is for the Kiwi). See for yourself! :thumbsup:

[Stargate YARlantIS]

But can it clear the CEL? That's one reason why I bought the ScanGauge. After spending $50 for a shop to tell me that my sister probably did not tighten the gas cap after filling up, I figured that I wasn't going to pay someone else to read and clear my CELs again.

to turn off your CEL, while car is on, change your trip meter to trip b,

while pressing and holding the tripmeter button, turn your car off, (keep holding),

Turn your car on the the ACC position, (still pressing and holding)

then the led should flash, and then turn off your cel...

*this is from memory, it might not be exact, I'm sure someone will correct me.

[Revsson]

Thanks for the pics. One more question, does that OBDII connector detach
from the box for easy removal to put into another car? :iono:
It isn't clear to me how it plugs into the side of the box or if you can get
a second cable to move to another car.

[natethegreat38]

to turn off your CEL, while car is on, change your trip meter to trip b,

while pressing and holding the tripmeter button, turn your car off, (keep holding),

Turn your car on the the ACC position, (still pressing and holding)

then the led should flash, and then turn off your cel...

*this is from memory, it might not be exact, I'm sure someone will correct me.

Stargate- This will not turn off your "Check Engine Light" the process that you have described will only turn off the "Maint Reqd" light.

[natethegreat38]

Thanks for the pics. One more question, does that OBDII connector detach
from the box for easy removal to put into another car? :iono:
It isn't clear to me how it plugs into the side of the box or if you can get
a second cable to move to another car.

Good point- I was wondering this too. Unfortunately the cable does not detach from the Kiwi unit itself. It is hard-wired and I guess would have to be opened up to access the wires. I am not willing to do that though. That is one nice feature of the Scangauge II- being able to buy more cables and move it from car to car.

[BailOut]

Does the Kiwi know how to recognize DFCO and Engine Off Coast states?

[natethegreat38]

it's weird. The instantaneous MPG goes to 0.0 but the Trip Average MPG continues to increase. So, i think it is registering it but that it must be so high (at some points) that it is hard to register. This just happens some of the time.

Most of the time, you will still see a great increase (somewhere around 150 mpg) when you are in DFCO. If you turn the engine off, the Kiwi turns off and gives you a summary of your trip, so if you do that while driving then you will get the summary instead of it displaying your trip info.

[BailOut]

Ahh. That's a deal breaker for hypermilers. I'll just stay with my SGII.

[drummerboy2004]

This thing is sweet, just two things made me get SG II...
FAS would shut off the Kiwi, and there goes your numbers, but this is only a concern for hypermilers.
Also, the price is a bit steep, but if it works for you...
Oh, and the cable issue sucks... got the same problem in my car.

Matt

[natethegreat38]

This thing is sweet, just two things made me get SG II...
FAS would shut off the Kiwi, and there goes your numbers, but this is only a concern for hypermilers.
Also, the price is a bit steep, but if it works for you...
Oh, and the cable issue sucks... got the same problem in my car.

Matt

So, I'm confused...did you get the SGII or the Kiwi? This thread is about the Kiwi so I am guessing you are saying the Kiwi is "sweet"? :iono:

[drummerboy2004]

So, I'm confused...did you get the SGII or the Kiwi? This thread is about the Kiwi so I am guessing you are saying the Kiwi is "sweet"? :iono:

I apologize...

I got the SG, but the kiwi is pretty cool... just a little too costly for me. The features are nice, so it is worth it, if you have the money.

Matt

[natethegreat38]

aahhhh! Understood. How are you liking the SGII ??

[drummerboy2004]

aahhhh! Understood. How are you liking the SGII ??

Love it! It was not as accurate as I would like at first... but then you set the tank after filling up, and all becomes well. It doesn't score you on your driving, but... I guess I could score myself based on what others are getting in the same car. Essentially, it does just about every necessary thing I need it for, but could use a makeover in the looks department. Should have a more rounded look like the Kiwi :w00t:

Matt