Dynolicious turns iPhone into cheap performance meter [Archive]

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nizmoz

Jul 29, 2008, 08:58 PM

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/29/dynolicious-turns-iphone-into-cheap-performance-meter/

SeVeN

Jul 29, 2008, 09:02 PM

cool, cant wait

*oh, its already out*

aawil

Jul 29, 2008, 09:45 PM

I bought it today and calibrated it. Haven't had a chance to try it yet though. I wish they would have included a 0 to 60 mph option though.

twoodcc

Jul 29, 2008, 10:03 PM

I bought it today and calibrated it. Haven't had a chance to try it yet though. I wish they would have included a 0 to 60 mph option though.

it says that they do have a 0-60 mph. it says that they have 0-10 all the way thru 0-100 in 10 mph intervals

aerospace

Jul 29, 2008, 11:06 PM

Not very useful on iphone v1 :(

...also how many people have actually floored their car to test its 0-60 speed?
Even if the speed limit is 60 I'd bet a cop would pull you over in a second to find out what the heck your doing/if your drunk/etc.

twoodcc

Jul 29, 2008, 11:32 PM

minik

Jul 29, 2008, 11:41 PM

I will definitely buy the app tonight and try it. :p

nizmoz

Jul 29, 2008, 11:45 PM

why wouldn't it be useful on iphone v1? it doesn't use GPS

It requires 2.0 and it does use the GPS

DR'O'

Jul 29, 2008, 11:47 PM

Here are 3 screen shots of my last test....

elistan

Jul 30, 2008, 12:00 AM

It requires 2.0 and it does use the GPS

Why do you say that? According to their webpage: "Dynolicious utilizes the accelerometer built in to your iPhone or iPod Touch to sense the motion of your vehicle. This data is sampled as many as one hundred times per second, developing a detailed picture of the car's acceleration. This information is then used to determine the speed of the vehicle and the distance travelled. Due to the unique hardware integrated into the iPhone, this can all be done with no setup, wires, or extra equipment!"

Nowhere on the website or the App page is anything mentioned about a GPS requirement.

Oh, and the 2.0 bit refers to the 2.0 iPhone software, not "second generation" iPhone. All first-gen iPhones support the 2.0 software.

aerospace

Jul 30, 2008, 12:01 AM

I have 2.0 but not gps obviously on v1. It would record g forces but speed would likely be way off unless it can record over time and get an average.

How many g's would a Lamborghini do 3-4?

I know my chevy aveo would likely not pass go lol

twoodcc

Jul 30, 2008, 12:02 AM

Why do you say that? According to their webpage: "Dynolicious utilizes the accelerometer built in to your iPhone or iPod Touch to sense the motion of your vehicle. This data is sampled as many as one hundred times per second, developing a detailed picture of the car's acceleration. This information is then used to determine the speed of the vehicle and the distance travelled. Due to the unique hardware integrated into the iPhone, this can all be done with no setup, wires, or extra equipment!"

Nowhere on the website or the App page is anything mentioned about a GPS requirement.

Oh, and the 2.0 bit refers to the 2.0 iPhone software, not "second generation" iPhone. All first-gen iPhones support the 2.0 software.

thanks you for backing me up :)

slapguts

Jul 30, 2008, 12:47 AM

I'd love to see a video of this in action. I'd like to know if it could be set to start, and not take readings until I can get it back in my pocket, get my gloves on, and the visor of the helmet flipped down.

aerospace

Jul 30, 2008, 12:47 AM

Here are 3 screen shots of my last test....

What do you drive? :P

I assume horsepower is something you input/or your car type? Without knowing weight the acceleration data wouldn't be enough to calculate it.

Vaphoron

Jul 30, 2008, 12:51 AM

I will be really impressed if this app would really work on my iPod Touch and be accurate. I'm gonna keep a close eye on this cause I will definitely buy it if it works.

DR'O'

Jul 30, 2008, 01:10 AM

What do you drive? :P

I assume horsepower is something you input/or your car type? Without knowing weight the acceleration data wouldn't be enough to calculate it.

I'm still not sure how it works, but it is fun to play with...

Maximum Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 6,600 lbs. vs Curb Weight 4,671 lbs.

I need to retest using the Curb Weight + Me = ~4,900lbs and see what happens...

Scale weight is 5240 + 235 = 5475

elistan

Jul 30, 2008, 01:33 AM

Well, I "splurged" and bought it. I've thought many times of getting a GTech Pro RR for autocross and trackday feedback, but never felt the need to spend the $300 for it. The SS version is cheaper at $200, but for my purposes would just be a toy without much practical use. So only thirteen bucks for the toy seemed like an easy decision. :)

By the way, I have a first-gen iPhone. So far, playing with it in my living room, I don't see any functionality that requires GPS.

I've never been to a drag strip and don't plan on it, so I have no real way of determining if it's accurate or not. I'll leave that up to the professional auto sites/mags.

In the meantime, I'll answer some of the questions and confusions about the product and the principles behind it.

First, you initiate a test run by hitting the start button, but the recording doesn't actually begin until it passes a certain g-force threshold. The default is 0.1 G's. Meaning you can secure the iPhone, hit the start button, put your gloves on, tighten belts, get everything ready and whatnot, then drop the clutch.

Second, GPS is not required to calculate your speed or distance. The software knows the time and acceleration, and using highschool physics concepts can figure out the distance and speed bits.

Third, the acceleration runs end at 1/4 mi. No top speed runs with this. :)

Fourth, the skidpad function only shows the max for each of acceleration, braking and cornering. There's no g force trace, so you can't see how often you were at certain accelerations, say during an autocross run.

Fifth, using it in a pocket won't work - it would move around too much, and it must be in-line with the car (vertical or flat, doesn't matter.)

Sixth, a Lamborghini would do about 0.95 g's cornering depending on tires and road surface IIRC. No idea what it's acceleration g-force would be, I'd guess somewhere around 0.6 or so?

Seventh, when you enter a car into your garage, you input its weight (it's TOTAL weight including driver and all cargo.) Based on that, and the measured acceleration, the software can do some math to figure out how much force was required, and how much power was needed to generate that force. If your weight is off, you won't get a "true" horsepower figure, and if the weight fluctuates any (a full tank of gas can weigh nearly 100 lbs depending on capacity, for example) you'll get different readings. So it's unlikely to be significant enough to tell you if that intake really gave you 10 hp or not, but it's fun to play around with.

Eighth, the reporting is rudimentary so far. It'll give you its 1/4 mi timeslip, but so far I don't see any way to get a hold of the g-force/hp/mph graph to view.

Finally, I'd love to see this software developed further with roadrace/autocross elements.

elistan

Jul 30, 2008, 01:35 AM

Oh yeah, and by shaking it in skidpad mode I got it registering up to 1.3 g's.

elistan

Jul 30, 2008, 01:43 AM

Err, another thing - there's a full calibration routine available. Plus, each run does a small calibration at the beginning, so you don't have to have it in any particular orientation. Flat, face down, straight up, whatever. (Just in-line with the car, the developer says. Dunno why, I would have guessed they could take readings from all three axes of the accelerometer and figured it out from there...)

slapguts

Jul 30, 2008, 02:01 AM

bummer it won't work in a pocket. I'll have to rig up a handlebar mount using a hard case of some sort. Would be nice to see the info as it's happening, though.

At least once a day since 2.0 I've been feeling less and less guilty about buying a $600 cellphone.

aerospace

Jul 30, 2008, 02:01 AM

drop it and see the measurement LOL

*with rubber case on reccomended*

cal6n

Jul 30, 2008, 03:40 AM

Luap

Jul 30, 2008, 09:50 AM

This does look very cool :) I will most likely get that. So thanks for the heads up. I'd be amazed if it was especially accurate, but it looks like fun, so I wont take it too seriously.
Just a little note for you guys though.. Accelerometer based performance meters need an accurate weight measurement input. Or your readings will be wildly skewed.

bimmer10

Jul 30, 2008, 10:33 AM

For me its crashing when I try to setup my vehicle.

psg0

Jul 30, 2008, 11:00 AM

Anyone having an issue getting it calibrated? I can do the portrait calibration successfully, and it advances to the landscape calibration, but I never get past that.

aawil

Jul 30, 2008, 11:32 AM

Anyone having an issue getting it calibrated? I can do the portrait calibration successfully, and it advances to the landscape calibration, but I never get past that.

I sat it on a table to keep it real still. I couldn't get passed the first one till I realized that. Other than that no problems.

DR'O'

Jul 30, 2008, 01:53 PM

I just used the curb GVWR weight listed on the door of 6600lbs...

Maximum Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 6,600 lbs. vs. Curb Weight 4,671 lbs.

We have a truck scale along side Hwy 9 near Lake Stevens, WA.

Most of the time it is un-maned and the scale is turned around to the window so anyone can drive up and get an accurate weight.

I'll try it today and see how the numbers change.

I still don't know what number to enter for "Drivetrain Loss"?

"Enter estimated drivetrain loss for use in horsepower calculations. Typical values are 15-25. Enter 0 to report wheel hp."

I used 25% on the first test. I'll have to try it at 0% and see what I get.

Where would you find an accurate #% for drivetrain loss?

SeVeN

Jul 30, 2008, 02:10 PM

curb weight is roughly your cars weight plus four 200lb people in it.

elistan

Jul 30, 2008, 03:12 PM

The weight rating in the door jamb is, I believe, the GVWR - Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. It's the rating of the MAX weight the vehicle is designed to handle. So picture yourself, a full tank of gas, and lots of lead weight going for a ride. :) Only rarely will your vehicle actually weigh that much. You're better off using curb weight as reported by magazines or the manufacturer's website, but that's still just an estimation. The only TRUE way to determine your vehicle's weight is to put it on scales each time prior to doing an acceleration run. (The GVWR on my S2000 is only 400 lbs more than the curb weight - it's really not designed for much cargo. :) )

The drivetrain loss percentage thing tries to compensate for the fact that the power your engine produces gets reduced by the time it reaches the road due to friction, transmission oil viscosity, tire flex, etc. There are general rules of thumb (auto vs manual, FWD vs RWD vs AWD) but those numbers have been debated over and over and over and you'll never find anything exact. Just go with 0%, so you'll effectively be measuring power to the wheels, which is what dynos like the DynoJet do.

Ryhian

Jul 30, 2008, 04:35 PM

According to the article its suppose to be pretty accurate, but I have a hard time believing that.

Hopefully some people who actually have gone down the 1/4 track with their car will post up on here how the software read and compared over a few runs.

I think it would be a fun little app to have and play with in different friends cars.

minik

Jul 30, 2008, 05:57 PM

Alright, now I need a closed circuit to test it out.

psg0

Jul 31, 2008, 11:09 AM

I sat it on a table to keep it real still. I couldn't get passed the first one till I realized that. Other than that no problems.

I could do that all day and it wouldn't calibrate. App probably needs an update.

WhySoSerious

Jul 31, 2008, 11:22 AM

surferfromuk

Jul 31, 2008, 02:38 PM

What about UK?

Luap

Jul 31, 2008, 02:55 PM

What about UK?

What about it?

surferfromuk

Jul 31, 2008, 03:27 PM

What about it?

We don't appear to have the app in our store!

elistan

Jul 31, 2008, 03:59 PM

hey, where abouts in dallas are you?

i'd like to test my corvette with this app.

What are you doing September 13th? I'll be out in Mineral Wells for an autocross, I'd be happy to bring the iPhone for a free ride-along. :)

Luap

Jul 31, 2008, 04:00 PM

We don't appear to have the app in our store!

I bought it from there myself just yesterday, and im in the UK. I know a fair few other folks have done too. Can see it there now even.

surferfromuk

Jul 31, 2008, 04:11 PM

I bought it from there myself just yesterday, and im in the UK. I know a fair few other folks have done too. Can see it there now even.

Your quite right - it's in Sports of all places!..

cal6n

Jul 31, 2008, 04:11 PM

We don't appear to have the app in our store!

Eh? (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=286208729&mt=8)

*edit* Too late...

Moleshome

Jul 31, 2008, 05:19 PM

For me its crashing when I try to setup my vehicle.

+1

AustinSTI

Aug 1, 2008, 08:51 AM

This app rocks on my 2G Iphone...

I can confirm NO Gps required. Ran 0-60 in 6.71 this morning...not stellar for my car but decent. Shifted slow from 1st to 2nd and that cost me...

Pb2theMax

Aug 11, 2008, 11:29 PM

Dynolicious is more accurate than G-tech. Check it out. http://www.garage419.com/episode/419_20080807

BTW, I have this app and I love it. I even made a nice mount to hold the iPhone secure in my truck, which is important when running this app. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=541595

Luap

Aug 13, 2008, 11:02 AM

Update to V1.1 available. I believe this sorts out the occasional crashes people experienced, and also calibration gremlins.

mac maniac

Aug 16, 2008, 12:11 PM

Luap

Aug 16, 2008, 04:41 PM

Ive just got an iphone 16gb (not 3g), had it jail broken and unlocked to orange, i've just downloaded the dynolicious from the apps store but it wont install!!

Do i need to upgrade my software to 2.0 from 1.1.4 or will this cause problems with the phone as its been jailbroken

Yes, you need V2, preferably V2.0.1
The app store won't support any iPhone running an earlier OS.
As for your jailbreak hack, you'll need to ask in the hacks forum perhaps about that.

aawil

Nov 7, 2008, 05:38 PM

Looks like an update to version 2.0 came today. I haven't tried it yet but the graphics update is very welcome.

Luap

Nov 8, 2008, 12:29 PM

Looks like an update to version 2.0 came today. I haven't tried it yet but the graphics update is very welcome.

Im glad that unlike so many people, you didn't feel the need to start an entirely new thread for a little update :p

But yes, I got this update also. Interface wasn't bad to start with, but it's certainly a lot nicer now. I can't wait to try it out :cool:

Helmigurt

Oct 22, 2010, 05:09 AM

I bought the App a year ago or so, but just tried it out today for the first time.

My 2010 Honda Insight (Euro Spec - all extras) did 0-100 km/h in 9.91 and the 1/4 Mile in 17.57 @ 114.7 km/h. Horsepower was rated at 69 kW though I think I did input too less weight.

Honda rates the 0-100 at 12.5 (slower than my time) and HP at 74 kW (higher than my measured HP)

Anyway: The app is nice and I will test it with my fathers S-class as well (Bit faster than my ecobox..).