drewfinity

iTrader: (1)

This review is of the TORQUE Android app paired with the BAFX bluetooth OBDII port interface.

TORQUE Android: (PRO) https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...l.torque&hl=en

BAFX Bluetooth OBDII port interface: (Amazon Link (no affliliate) )

I've been playing around with the idea of picking up an OBD scanner for a few cars now, but I hadn't pulled the trigger. Now I have the fine mechanical specimen that is my G37x, and well, I wanted to play around a bit.

Now that I had an adequate excuse, I spent some time looking around at the various options. I had already purchased the TORQUE PRO Android App some time ago, but the market was filled with cheap POS readers that were sketchy at best, or overly expensive (for my budget) readers in the $100-$200 range.

Fast forward a year or two, and I came across the BAFX product. The reviews were numerous and positive, and for $24 it was worth a shot.

A weekend later the product arrived, packaged as you would expect for an Amazon purchase. Inside the box was the BAFX interface itself, a mini-cd, an instruction manual, and a couple of those edible puffed-protein packing peanuts (yum! j/k). I did not and will not put the miniCD into my computer, nope.







First impressions:
I wasn't prepared for how big this thing is. It's roughly the size of my driver's license, and quite thick. It has some good heft for it's size - it definitely feels well built.



Install:
The OBDII port is a white connection immediately under the dash to the right of the parking brake (on a 7a/t). The BAFX plugs in vertically, which might be an issue when having it plugged in while driving. It does plug in snugly enough that I doubt it would fall out while moving.

Use:
Once you plug in the BAFX, all you have to do next is pair the device with your phone. Use code '1234' (the same as your luggage code) to pair your phone and you're ready to go. Boot up Torque and it will start reading the standard information.



There is some lag in the response time, which is to be expected. TORQUE supports the standard collection of OBDII information, but you can also extend it with plugins. The must-have plugin for Infiniti is 'Advanced EX for Infiniti' https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...advanced&hl=en which supports a number of additional datapoints that the ECU provides.



TORQUE can also provide graphing, logging, GPS mapping, Acceleration/0-60 tracking, OBD code reading and clearing, and a mess of other stuff. It's highly customizable in terms of the size, type, and style of gauges, as well creating custom profiles and what information you want to track/log.

So for about $35 you can get a full package of near-realtime monitoring and tracking for your car as well as check/clear your codes. Definitely worth it to me.

Presto

Which phone do you use the obd with? The ebay cheap ones do not work with my Samsung s6. Something to do with the Bluetooth connection and the phone not detecting the obd.

drewfinity

iTrader: (1)

Galaxy S6 Edge.

This is a good question. I did forgot to mention that the BAFX does NOT work with iOS. It's Android only.

Born2lse

iTrader: (1)

Do you leave it in your car or do you pull it out when you're not using it? I was looking into this earlier this year and from what I've read, certain cheap readers will drain the battery while the car is off. I think I saw on that specifically addressed the problem but it was in the $40 range.

*ICE*

iTrader: (8)

i leave the adapter in my car all the time when I was having issue with the dreaded P2A03 code keep popping every 30 miles. I would just clear it while driving and it took 2 minutes to do it. Since i got the code fixed, I no longer keep it plugged in cause I'm afraid I might hit with my left foot when getting into the car lol

drewfinity

iTrader: (1)

I don't, because it's fairly large and I feel I'm clumsy enough to hit it when getting in/out of the G.

I don't know what the actual drain is, but I doubt it would drain enough juice to be a concern unless you're leaving your car parked/off for more than a few days.

Roblom

iTrader: (1)

I use the iCar OBDII tool from vGate which is much smaller than the one down above. So when it's in the OBD connector it almost doesn't stick out and on eBay also quite cheap. They also have a Wi-Fi version which works with Apple ( Apple doesn't support the bluetooth protocol).

http://www.vgate.com.cn/en/ZhiSuBaoZhuangDai-31-1.html

And no I'm not related in any way to vGate.

drewfinity

iTrader: (1)

Feel free to write your own review thread.

Note that Vgate makes a bunch of the questionable quality readers that plague the market. The Amazon pages are full of reviews that document vgate's non-working or quickly-failing readers.

Roblom

iTrader: (1)

Sorry it was not my intention to break in to your review, just try to add some info. The reason I bought the vgate is mainly because of its size. The housing looks rigid and I know at least 6 people that own one (a 2nd version and the newest 3 version) but all without problems. Of course you get what you pay for so I don't have the illusion that it's the best but it works for me.
Besides the dongle, the torque app is brilliant! Do you also use the Infiniti plugin?

drewfinity

iTrader: (1)

I do use the plug-in. I wish it had some transmission-related data - transmission temp, slip, gear, etc would be nice. Its possible that if that data is actually available through the ODBII port and may be added in the future, who knows?

There is a plugin that will scan everything the car puts out. Apparently it takes quite a long time to do (hours!), but can result in finding additional pid/data. I've got it, so I'm thinking about running it to see what might get spit out and if I can use that data somehow.

dwb993

Did you ever complete this scan? Anything new come out of it?