If you’re the type who loves to geek out over horsepower and MPG data and all those other awesome stats that a car can generate, then you’ll be absolutely tickled to hear about the Car Chip Pro Engine Performance Monitor.

It does pretty much what it says it does–it monitors engine performance.  But it does a lot more than that–it’ll let you designate trips as business, commute or personal, which is especially valuable if you have a small business and take mileage deductions, plus it also lets you calculate gas mileage, emissions data, clear and interpret engine codes (those things that make your check engine light tick over)  and plenty more.

Here’s a quick sheet I got from ThinkGeek on how to install one of these. It’s actually not tough!

1. Locate your car’s OBDII connector. It’s found under the dash of cars, model-year 1996 or later, no more than three feet from the driver’s seat.
2. Plug the data logger in. A gentle push is all it takes.
3. Start driving. The data logger will start collecting data as soon as you start driving.
4. Connect the Car Chip to your computer via USB and download the data.

Amazing, isn’t it?  And you can find out all this stuff about your car for just under a hundred bucks.

Tags: Car Chip Pro, Car Chip Pro Engine Performance Monitor, engine performance, engine performance data

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Motorists who are curious about the level of their carbon footprints can simply look at one part of their car, their O2 censor. It’s important to know that your vehicle’s O2 sensor (oxygen sensor) plays a key role in sounding the alarm if excessive harmful exhaust emissions are coming out the tailpipe.

“A properly functioning O2 sensor plays the role of a watchdog when it comes to monitoring your car’s exhaust emissions, especially hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide,” said Warren Suter, Director, Engine Management Systems for Bosch, which developed the automotive oxygen sensor in 1976. Bosch is the world’s largest supplier of automotive parts and systems.

The O2 sensor measures the oxygen in the exhaust and signals the engine’s computer to adjust the air-fuel ratio to ensure that combustion is as complete as possible. This continuous process optimizes engine performance and fuel efficiency and reduces harmful emissions. A vehicle, depending on the make, model and year, can have between one and four O2 sensors at various locations in the exhaust stream.

If an O2 sensor is worn out and fails to assess the air-fuel ratio accurately, the engine’s computer tries to accommodate the perceived variation and, in the process, may adjust the mixture to be too lean or too rich. The result? Harmful tailpipe emissions and possible damage to the catalytic converter and other engine components.

(Source) Press

Tags: air fuel ratio, automotive parts, carbon monoxide, catalytic converter, combustion, engine components, engine management systems, engine performance, fuel efficiency, harmful emissions, harmful exhaust emissions, hydrocarbons, key role, motorists, o2 sensor, o2 sensors, oxygen sensor, suter, tailpipe emissions, watchdog

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