Do I really need a ScanGauge?

[jlandry287]

Hey guys,

I'll make this short and sweet. I've done my reading but still somewhat lost.

I understand that ScanGauge is useful to determine when you're going through a regen, but is that really necessary?

Based off what I've read, it seems that if you interrupt a regen it'll just perform another one whenever soot mass gets back to 80%.

Is there any other reason to buy it? Or is this really the primary use?

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[JNewton918]

Most people purchase it for the peace of mind of being able to monitor the regen and/or other data. I personally have the regen on/off, Soot mass %, DPF temp and turbo temp I like to monitor. It's all preference in my opinion.

 

[RDakota]

I use it to monitor egt to make sure the turbo cools down before I turn off the engine

 

[jlandry287]

I use it to monitor egt to make sure the turbo cools down before I turn off the engine

Excuse the ignorance, but why should the turbo be cool when you turn the motor off?

 

[RDakota]

Helps to extend the life of the turbo and prevents the cooking of the oil. The manual says to wait for different amounts of time (minutes) depending on what type of driving was done before shutting off the engine. This is supposed to do the same thing. For me it’s better to have a temperature to cool down to instead of waiting a minute or two or ? Would also depend on outside temp and other factors.

 

[grimmjeeper]

Excuse the ignorance, but why should the turbo be cool when you turn the motor off?

It can cook the oil if it's too hot when you shut it off. That can break down the oil and cause bad side effects.

If you idle the motor until the oil cools down you don't have that trouble.

 

[jlandry287]

Helps to extend the life of the turbo and prevents the cooking of the oil. The manual says to wait for different amounts of time (minutes) depending on what type of driving was done before shutting off the engine. This is supposed to do the same thing. For me it’s better to have a temperature to cool down to instead of waiting a minute or two or ? Would also depend on outside temp and other factors.

It can cook the oil if it's too hot when you shut it off. That can break down the oil and cause bad side effects.

If you idle the motor until the oil cools down you don't have that trouble.

i really appreciate those replies. I wait the minute-ish as advised in the manual, I just never knew the reasoning. Now it all makes much more sense

 

[grimmjeeper]

i really appreciate those replies. I wait the minute-ish as advised in the manual, I just never knew the reasoning. Now it all makes much more sense

When the oil is flowing it only picks up some of the heat. But when you shut off the engine it stops flowing and all that heat goes into just a little bit of oil. It can get up over 1,000° though usually not that bad. Oil breaks down well below that themp.

 

[JamC12H23]

Hey guys,

I'll make this short and sweet. I've done my reading but still somewhat lost.

I understand that ScanGauge is useful to determine when you're going through a regen, but is that really necessary?

Based off what I've read, it seems that if you interrupt a regen it'll just perform another one whenever soot mass gets back to 80%.

Is there any other reason to buy it? Or is this really the primary use?

Here is my 2 cents, sorry for the long reply.

I was on the fence about ScanGuage or iDash and I was really on the fence about PedalMonster.

I had read a lot about soot load, turbo temp, DPF temp, etc and the only way to see these items are with an aftermarket monitor. I was interested in Pedal Monster so I went with the iDash from Banks because of the compatability and I’m glad I put a monitor in it.

All over the diesel forum you will see talks of soot load and regens and talk about what to do for the longevity of the emissions system. The one that sticks out is you will see members talking about getting on the highway to clear the DPF with a 15 minute drive and I was under the impression that probably did the trick.

Real life, yesterday I had an unexpected round trip for work, 6 hours of highway driving. I did some light driving in town before hitting the highway and the DPF Soot % was about 54%, as the DPF inlet temp rose to about 650 degrees the DPF load % was dropping by about 1% every 15-20 minutes (a 15 minute highway drive would do nothing for helping the DPF clear itself). By the time the 6 hour drive was over I ended at about 25% soot load while never having an active or passive regen cycle. It was nice to see how the emissions system actually works. I have seen a passive regen cycle when it was at 80% soot load, I have not seen an active cycle since monitoring but I do a lot of highway driving.

Turbo temp is great to monitor, I really believe that it will extend the life of the turbo letting it cool properly, what is that temp? No clue. I don’t shut off the engine until I get to about 450 degrees.

Now you have to ask yourself do you want all of this data to rattle around in your head? To me it is worth every penny and I feel that the Jeep really should have had all of this data monitoring from the factory or at least turbo temp, regen and DPF soot load so you would know.

PS - go with Banks and add a Pedal Monster (I bought it about 2 weeks after the iDash), I was skeptic thinking you can just push the pedal down further but holy cow it completely changes how the Jeep drives, acceleration and power at speed. Completely amazing.

 

[jlandry287]

Here is my 2 cents, sorry for the long reply.

I was on the fence about ScanGuage or iDash and I was really on the fence about PedalMonster.

I had read a lot about soot load, turbo temp, DPF temp, etc and the only way to see these items are with an aftermarket monitor. I was interested in Pedal Monster so I went with the iDash from Banks because of the compatability and I’m glad I put a monitor in it.

All over the diesel forum you will see talks of soot load and regens and talk about what to do for the longevity of the emissions system. The one that sticks out is you will see members talking about getting on the highway to clear the DPF with a 15 minute drive and I was under the impression that probably did the trick.

Real life, yesterday I had an unexpected round trip for work, 6 hours of highway driving. I did some light driving in town before hitting the highway and the DPF Soot % was about 54%, as the DPF inlet temp rose to about 650 degrees the DPF load % was dropping by about 1% every 15-20 minutes (a 15 minute highway drive would do nothing for helping the DPF clear itself). By the time the 6 hour drive was over I ended at about 25% soot load while never having an active or passive regen cycle. It was nice to see how the emissions system actually works. I have seen a passive regen cycle when it was at 80% soot load, I have not seen an active cycle since monitoring but I do a lot of highway driving.

Turbo temp is great to monitor, I really believe that it will extend the life of the turbo letting it cool properly, what is that temp? No clue. I don’t shut off the engine until I get to about 450 degrees.

Now you have to ask yourself do you want all of this data to rattle around in your head? To me it is worth every penny and I feel that the Jeep really should have had all of this data monitoring from the factory or at least turbo temp, regen and DPF soot load so you would know.

PS - go with Banks and add a Pedal Monster (I bought it about 2 weeks after the iDash), I was skeptic thinking you can just push the pedal down further but holy cow it completely changes how the Jeep drives, acceleration and power at speed. Completely amazing.

Thanks for that reply, I had never considered turbo temp before this thread and now I'm worried the minute or so I spend idling isn't enough to properly cool everything in this Louisiana heat.

On a side note, I've been eyeballing the pedal monster. It sounds like it makes a substantial difference, I'm just worried how it'd effect my MPG. I'm already sitting around 23.5 avg, and have no idea why I'm getting less than most others (75% highway, stock 33s, no major mods). Either way, I didn't buy the jeep for fuel economy, I bought it to have fun.

Really appreciate the note about Banks, I recently watched a video where they installed a Derringer and Pedal Monster. I loved the concept, I'd just hate to tear something up

 

[JamC12H23]

Thanks for that reply, I had never considered turbo temp before this thread and now I'm worried the minute or so I spend idling isn't enough to properly cool everything in this Louisiana heat.

On a side note, I've been eyeballing the pedal monster. It sounds like it makes a substantial difference, I'm just worried how it'd effect my MPG. I'm already sitting around 23.5 avg, and have no idea why I'm getting less than most others (75% highway, stock 33s, no major mods). Either way, I didn't buy the jeep for fuel economy, I bought it to have fun.

Really appreciate the note about Banks, I recently watched a video where they installed a Derringer and Pedal Monster. I loved the concept, I'd just hate to tear something up

I don’t have the Derringer, I’m not really interested in that.

My MPG is steady just over 26, I run the Pedal Monster on City 6 or 7 (I cannot remember). However I do a lot of highway driving and my Rubicon is stock except for the Pedal Monster which is how I will leave it until it isn’t a daily driver for me.

 

[john adams]

Hey guys,

I'll make this short and sweet. I've done my reading but still somewhat lost.

I understand that ScanGauge is useful to determine when you're going through a regen, but is that really necessary?

Based off what I've read, it seems that if you interrupt a regen it'll just perform another one whenever soot mass gets back to 80%.

Is there any other reason to buy it? Or is this really the primary use?

I don’t have one and am not really interested. I do enough long drives that it takes care of itself and I don’t want to add clutter to what I think is a gorgeous interior.

 

[Ratbert]

Thanks for that reply, I had never considered turbo temp before this thread and now I'm worried the minute or so I spend idling isn't enough to properly cool everything in this Louisiana heat.

On a side note, I've been eyeballing the pedal monster. It sounds like it makes a substantial difference, I'm just worried how it'd effect my MPG. I'm already sitting around 23.5 avg, and have no idea why I'm getting less than most others (75% highway, stock 33s, no major mods). Either way, I didn't buy the jeep for fuel economy, I bought it to have fun.

Really appreciate the note about Banks, I recently watched a video where they installed a Derringer and Pedal Monster. I loved the concept, I'd just hate to tear something up

MPGs are severely impacted when attempting to push a brick through a fluid at higher speeds. The difference between 70 and 85 is pretty damn dramatic, especially if there are headwinds. Not that that keeps me from going that fast, but just be aware of the implications.

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