I was just looking around online for devices similar to the ScanGuage, and I stumbled upon the PLX Kiwi. It looks nicer than the SGII, but it seems like it has a lot of useless stuff. I was just wondering if anyone has had any experiences with it.

 

It's cute but it costs twice as much as a ScanGauge and doesn't actually provide hard numbers.

 

i think it provides real time mpg and a trip avg mpg.

but yeah, it also has your "Kiwi" score, which is not a hard number.

 

Back from the dead here, but they've now got a lower priced version without all the gizmos and video games. Coming out the end of the month, about half the price of a Scangauge, and (I think) better looking.

I just ordered 2 of 'em, one for me and the other for my Mom (happy mommy's day). I'll let you all know what I think in a few weeks . . .

 

That's a bit more like it. However at $100 shipped it's more like 2/3 the price of the ScanGauge II, which is readily available for $150 shipped on eBay. It appears to only show one number at a time; that may or may not be a detriment depending on what you're looking for. And it displays and clears codes, yay!
Looking forward to your report.

 

Free shipping on Amazon, fwiw.

 

Discussion on Amazon makes it seem like people are not very impressed with the product. I however would also like to hear first hand reports from people on this forum.

Link to Amazon discussion Amazon.com: Customer Discussions: PLX Kiwi MPG Trip Calculator and OBDII Scanner

 

Huh. not very encouraging.

Still haven't gotten mine yet - was delayed from the original 6/1 available date. But 1 of the 2 I ordered shipped this week, should get it in soon.

 

Mine arrived the other night . . . plugged it in yesterday morning, but haven't had much time to fool around with it. Seems to be working properly - but my accumulated trip mpg for the past 2 days is only 12.6 . . . yeeeaaaah. Even for my crap commute (2 miles of stoplights), that's obviously not right.

Dunno if it needs to be calibrated for the specific car or something, gonna have to read up on it.

 

hmm....that IS interesting. yeah. 12 mpg is definitely wrong. looking forward to updates.

 

I have the Kiwi WiFi.

It rocks. I use it for data acquisition while autocrossing.


My fit gets something like 18mpg while autocrossing, so, uh, 12 mpg is definitely wrong.... heh.

 

Any more recent reviews people can offer on the kiwmpg? Hopefully more positive than the amazon reviews
..looking to replace an sg- ii that went on the fritz and had to be junked


Anyone have the fuel calibrations for this thing already figured out for the fit?

 

try the msd dash hawk. i just ordered one. i used to have the scanguage. the dashhawk can do so much more. but i'm not sure its compatable with 07's.

 

I expect mine from Amazon tomorrow. If it is the bad piece of junk the as some say - I'll send it back. If it is great, I'll keep it!

I'll let you guys know.

If people can post what their calibration number is for the Kiwi, that will help others.

I think I read that the LARGER calibration number you use the smaller the MPG reading - counter intuitive perhaps. In short, if you are getting 40 and it says you are getting 45, then you need in INCREASE the calibration number not decrease it.

Is that true for you guys using it?

 

Got the Kiwi MPG. Mine is constructed fine, no flaws visible.

It successfully goes into a standby mode when the engine is off. It remains a little warm, but does not get hot in standby. I do not know if it will run down the battery - but if you switch the power switch off, it loses memory of what is has recorded to that point. At least, it did that the one time I tried it so far.

The instantaneous mpg numbers jump around a bit and sometimes do not make complete sense (like shifting to a higher gear on flat terrain giving lower mpg readout). However, they reflect pretty well what is obvious from when you use or do not use the throttle and give a number to your driving.

The 1.00 calibration (Kiwi mpg calibration setting) default as expected for Honda with MAP sensor data was way off. At about 50 mph on flat highway it read in the 20s (mpg). Bumping the number up to 3.00 made it more like 10-11 mpg. Dropping it to 0.3 brought it to more like 50. I have temporarily settled on calibration setting for the Kiwi mpg at 0.4 which was giving me 40 mpg +/- at 50-55 mph on flat highway. Temps were 70s. Dry conditions.

I'll have to do some trip and/or tanks to see how close that is for the unique car tire combo I have etc.

The fact that you MUST calibrate is fine, because I hope that calibration will result in decent readings eventually.

A good starting point seems to be to set the calibration parameter to 0.400 and then adjust from there. The default 1.00 setting is clearly NOT right for the Fit.

Tires, tire pressure, sport, non sport, weight of passengers, stuff in car... all will likely impact the final result, but it seems so far to be informative even if accuracy may always be a bit off.

It fits snuggly in the gap between the steering wheel and the display area and doesn't move around. The cable easily goes down to the OBD port and tucks behind the dash and does not get in the way of legs/feet/arms or take up any room.

So far so good...

 

Thanks for the information! It is hard to come by. I just got mine today and I was confused with why it was giving me 12MPG on a trip to the store (and using .3 gal to go 2 miles.. LOL) until reading your post. I had bumped the cal from 1.0 to 1.2 to see if that helped, with no luck. I'll reset to 0.4 or 0.5 and go from there. If I follow the directions it should be calibrated to 34mpg highway for me on an '08, not 40. Although I've averaged more like 39-40 on pure highway miles, so maybe you're on to something.

Regarding your comment that it lost all settings when you turned it off.. I think I read in the booklet that if you hold both buttons for 5 seconds or so it'll "save" your data for when you turn it back on... try doing that before flipping the power button off.

Did you set the tank size at 10 or 11? I don't think it allowed tenths of a gal.

MPH and Distance (mi) were spot on for me vs the dash so that's reassuring.

Can you post a pic of where/how you mounted it? I was thinking on top of the steering column, which is where I used to have my SGII, but with nothing behind it I'm not sure how well I'll be able to push the buttons. Now thinking off to the left, near the vent perhaps. Not enough flat vertical surfaces in the Fit. :-/

 

I believe I set the tank size to 10.5 (figuring that gives a little room for error based on a theoretical fill of 10.6). I think it just let me pick the decimal figure by clicking the mode button to move the cursor over (imaginary cursor).

I haven't had it long enough to compare to mpg from fill-up data, but I am guessing that I should be around 40 on a good level road at 50 mph from others reports here for 5 speed. I hope even higher!

I didn't really 'mount' it at all. It may differ on other Fit models, but on the 2007 sport where I have the steering wheel tilt set for me it leaves a gap just between the collar of the steering wheel housing and the base where the instrument readouts are where the Kiwi mpg fits in snug enough to not move a lot - and leaving it visible and buttons pressable.

I'll post a photo. I just took the wire, led it around the right side of the steering column, stuffed it into the gap under the plastic dash below the radio and then ran it back to the OBD. Then, in a high tech solution, I took a rubber band, stretched it around the steering wheel, brought it down to the base of the column assembly and then tucked it in and slipped the wire behind part of it. That made the rubber band out of sight, and the wire firmly held in place. The result is that the Kiwi MPG is fixed in place and I can even press the buttons without moving it, but the only hardware used is a rubber band. No impact, no residue on removal.

The picture will make it clearer.

Having tested out a newer generation base Fit which had a different console layout, it may not fit as well.

I figure once I get it calibrated as well as I can, I'll probably just leave it on instant mpg most of the time.

I hope that in standby it does not use enough juice to drain the battery...

 

Thanks again Figgy! +1!

I fixed the tank size and set cal to 0.4. It seemed right on my way to work this morning. Read about 34mpg for a 15 minute drive that's half highway. I'll also check it at refill vs odo after I use at least half the tank, and see how close it is to the manual calculation.

There doesn't seem to be such a place in the 08. The top of the steering column comes up above the bottom of the dash area. At least for me.. if I adjust the steering wheel height down it cramps my legs. Either side of the dash works but then the display is blocked from view by the steering wheel...kind of kills it for real-time use.

I think I maybe found a good little spot for it in right between the left vent and the mirror control pad, but the inferior little velcro strips supplied won't stay on the textured plastic. I'll hit up Target for some 3M product and give it a whirl. Saw Proclip on the beam.. posted on an Element forum. Looks awesome but really pricey. From the left I can run the wire right through the bottom of the steering enclosure, ziptied most of the cord above the plastic wall, and the connector comes out the bottom right of the panel, right behind the jack. I'll post a pic as well once complete.

 

I couldn't wait for a full tank, but I just did about 360 miles and measuring from the refill got 43.4 mpg using gps data for miles driven and gas into tank from pump for gas amount. The Kiwi mpg calibration setting at 0.4 for that period gave 35.2 mpg as the average over that period. I bumped it down to 0.30 for the Kiwi calibration setting. We'll see next fill up if that gets closer to match the measured mpg.

Remember - making the Kiwi mpg calibration value less than the default 1.00 makes the reported number go UP. If you Kiwi number is too low, you need to decrease the calibration number.

 

I saw in another thread that 14 inch wheels (5.5") fit just fine, so for kicks I have put on the wheels and tires from the 2001 Insight. We'll see how the mpg is compared to tires on now with the stock wheels. The tires/wheels for the Insight are 21.5 lbs total and the tires/wheels for the Fit are 33.5 lbs total. They are from the previous owner Hercules MR IV 185/60R15 tires.

As far as the Kiwi goes, I find as has been discussed in other threads that it is telling me that I get much better mpg in 2500-2800 rpm zone even though my gut from driving the Insight keeps telling me to upshift. Cruising on flat at 20 mph, kiwi mpg is telling me 2nd gear is best even though higher rpms than a higher gear.

I know others have posted that the 'sweet spot' in rpm for the best mileage is about 2800 rpm with the stock wheels and tires. The kiwi mpg seems to be validating this fact. Others used the scanguage for similar data readings.

I'll compare the kiwi mpg values to reality when I tank up.

With the 2001 Insight you can essentially never lug the engine ever because it just starts to use some electric assist, so driving in the absolute tallest gear possible usually gives the best mpg. It appears that for the Fit, even though you can't feel any lugging, you are better driving low vs. high gears. I presume the kiwi is about right, as the calibration factor is getting honed down more.