We all know scanning for KR is critical when modding. However, some people don't want to spend $250 on an aeroforce or even more on advanced tuning software. (An aeroforce is still recommended, however.) After chatting with several community members, I got the impression that Torque Pro for Android is a great program. After using it, I very much agree! But I, like many others, don't own an Android phone. For those of you with this same predicament, I have an alternative solution for you:
(All of this is all done at your own risk, I take no responsibility for anything you do or don't do.)
1. Get/borrow a laptop. Preferably one that can boot from USB. Built-in bluetooth is a plus.
2. Buy a bluetooth OBDII adapter. Specific brand isn't important, you just need something that works with the torque application for android. I used this model. ~$20
3. Buy a bluetooth dongle. Brand doesn't matter, and you can get them dirt cheap on amazon. ~$5
4. Flash Drive. 1Gb or bigger would be fine, and you can probably get away with a smaller one. ~$5 (if you don't already have one collecting dust somewhere.)
5. This is where the work begins. First, go to this website. It's the android OS for PC. Go to the download tab, and download the .ISO file that best matches your laptop. I went with the ASUS laptop version even though I have a Toshiba laptop, and aside from a little message at startup, it's exactly the same.
6. Burn the .ISO file to a CD/DVD. In windows 7, all you have to do is double-click the file and go through the prompts. On other systems, you'll probably need third party software like nero to burn the disk.
7. After the burning is complete, make sure the disk is in the drive, and the drive is closed. Insert the USB stick. Insert the bluetooth dongle if necessary. Now, shut down the computer. When you boot it up, you will have to get to the boot selection menu and select CD/DVD. I can't tell you how to get there on your particular PC, but for my Toshiba L-series, I had to hold F12 while powering the computer on.
8. Now, it should boot from the DVD. A menu should come up after a bit. Select the "install" option. You can run it as a live CD, but any customizations you make in the OS or the App will not be saved when you reboot. The installer will ask you some basic questions. You'll want to leave your current file system alone if you want to protect the data on the USB stick. When this is done, you'll no longer need the DVD... just the USB stick. (NOTE: If your laptop doesn't have a CD drive, that's fine. Just follow steps 5-8 on a different computer, then plug the USB drive into the laptop.)
9. Shut off the computer again, and go back to the boot selection menu. This time, boot from USB. It should boot to the android OS, and ask you some basic preference questions. After that, your laptop should behave mostly like a real android...except that you can't make phone calls, of course. You're going to want to go to the settings screen, and under the display properties, disable the auto-rotate...or you will pull your hair out when the screen flips sideways.
10. Log in to your google account in the play/app store, and buy Torque Pro. Yes, there are ways to pirate it, but come on, it's $5 and worth every penny.
11. Now, just follow dsmuts's Torque Pro app guide to get the application installed correctly:
And there you have it. Now, I realize that this is a lot of work for someone who isn't comfortable with computers, so let me know if I need to clarify anything.Originally Posted by dsmuts
Also, this isn't as convenient as an aeroforce/Android Phone because of mounting issues and portability. However, in my case it was just what I needed: a way to look at my vitals directly after doing a mod such as a pulley drop. I was able to get my girlfriend to hold the laptop and watch/read the screen while I did WOT testing, but you can also log data. Torque is a great tool.
