Users can e-mail their saved logs in KML format for importing into Google Earth or in a CSV format that can be imported into almost any spreadsheet editor for conversion to whatever sort of chart or graph you may need. Users of both the Pro and Lite versions of Torque can specify any grouping of these parameters along with GPS coordinates to be recorded via the apps' logging function. These gauges can be set to monitor any of a number of metrics supplied by the phone's sensors (GPS, compass, barometer) or a connected OBD-II monitor (engine RPM, fuel flow rates, temperatures of coolants, oil, or intake air). Gauge types include dials, half dials, bar displays, graphs, and digital readouts. Users can swipe between seven "screens" upon which they may place any number of virtual gauges. The Realtime Information dashboard is the heart of the Torque Pro and Lite apps. The free Torque Lite takes the user straight to the Realtime Information screen and lacks the other four functions of the Pro version. Additionally, the home screen displays one large default gauge - either a tachometer or accelerometer depending on the hardware present.
For my testing, I made use of the PLX Kiwi Bluetooth, which plugs into the vehicle's diagnostics port (OBD-II) and paired with my Android phone wirelessly, to transmit the full spectrum of available vehicle data to the app.įiring up Torque Pro brings the user to a home screen where the app's five main functions (Realtime Information, Check Fault Codes, View Map, Test Results, and Graphing) can be selected and accessed. However, it's not possible to take full advantage of the app's full functionality - to really dive deeply into the inner workings of your car's electronic brain - without a connection to your car's OBD-II port. We used the PLX Kiwi Bluetooth to supply OBD-II data to the Torque Pro app. That data alone gives Torque Pro enough infomation to calculate 0-60 and quarter-mile times and to record and export historical position logs to Google Earth. Without any external hardware, Torque can still pull sensor data from your phone's GPS antenna, internal compass, barometer, and accelerometer. Torque doesn't require anything more than the hardware already present on your Android phone to function.
This is where diagnostics hardware and apps like Torque Pro and Lite for Android step in, putting all of that data at your fingertips. However, your car's electronic brain (ECU) is actively monitoring dozens of parameters behind the scenes that you, the driver, could find useful. Your car's dashboard is probably home to a speedometer, a tachometer, a fuel gauge, and - if you're lucky - a coolant temperature gauge.