GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

is there a way to hook up a laptop to our vibe to monitor the cars performance and other things? My main interest would be to calculate gas mileage and monitor engine temps, oil pressure, etc...

Welcome to GenVibe! you'd probably need special wires and programs.

it's gonna cost you...http://www.autotap.com/welcome.asp

well, are you looking to data log? there are some free programs available to download, but you'd need a cable for the OBDII scanner to your computer or laptop. i have one that came with my Cobb Accessport for my Legacy GT, but i have yet to do any actual datalogging. there are other systems available, but they are pretty expensive.

Yeah, as said do searches around for OBD2 stuff. Such as the ELMScan.

If you just want to track gas mileage, have trip computer functions, and monitor a few basic systems, a ScanGauge would serve you good enough. Although with it you're not going to be able to check oil pressure. It does provide a good amount of info for a cheap price though. But if you need in depth analysis and statistics, it probably won't be what you are looking for. Welcome aboard, BTW.

so what kind of cables would I have to get? Do you know of any places where I could get them and do you know of any names from programs I could use? Also is there some sort of tutorial for this? I've never done anything like this before so I dont even know where I would plug into the car.

As a user of AutoTap - I recommend it ! However, there are other software packages that have better looking front ends that don't provide as much information. However, I agree with ColonelPanic there that if you aren't looking to actually data log and record information, then go with the scangauge. In the meantime, do a google search on AutoTap or ELMScan. You can also look up OBDII (or OBD2) over at http://www.mp3car.comI currently use AutoTap as a data logger to determine standard and optimal operating conditions. I also use it to determine when the O2 sensors go to a closed loop system so that I know the car is warmed up enough to operate at better gas mileage.

if the computer starts blinking and giving you warnings about your manifold temperature, just close it and tell it to shut up. then watch the green washers come out of nowhere and start shooting all over.

yea because I wouldn't want to blow the welds on my intake!

Another vote for Autotap. I'ved owned it or about three years. It is noce because all of my cars are GM ODBII. I have honestly not tried to hook it up to my Vibe since I've only owned it about a month.