Jus-A-CMax Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) Does anyone here ever used one in their vehicle? I've been thinking that this would be a great gauge to have so I know if the road is flat or inclined. Driving to Mammoth, I swear parts of the 395 is downhill but Maxine is saying "nope" so I figured it would be super cool to know the incline... cause if its downhill I will drive different to upslope.I am looking for a back lite digital, preferably battery vs cord. Let me know if anyone here has some experience her. Thanks :) Edited May 12, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riddley Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) On my way to work - 33 miles - I can usually get 3-5 Miles more per gallon than on the return trip. I've ruled out ambient temps, because temps are actually more favorable on the return trip. My working hypothesis is over the 35 miles, the altitude drops. So - in addition to the "inclinometer" it would be nice to have an altimeter. My dad had one installed in his truck - he was a long haul trucker. Edited May 12, 2013 by Riddley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotomoto Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 There's an app for that. OK, kidding but maybe..... Jus-A-CMax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted May 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 That's a great suggestion,, but I want something that's permanent to the vehicle. However I'll explore the app solution as well, great tip guys :rockon: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viajero Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Get a phone app that logs your path to a GPX file (I use GPSlogger for Android). Open that file in Google Earth and you can right-click on the track and tell it to show an elevation profile. Don't use the elevation directly from a GPS unit. They are very good with horizontal position but very inaccurate and noisy with vertical position. Last time I did it Google seemed to use topographic data, probably from USGS, which includes landforms but not bridges. So it won't include overpasses, and if you take a bridge over a canyon it will show you falling off one side of the canyon and climbing the other. Jus-A-CMax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 There may be one built into the car, eco cruise sure seems to know when you are going up or down hills. Adair 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmckinley Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 There may be one built into the car, eco cruise sure seems to know when you are going up or down hills. No, that's not how cruise control works. It monitors speed - when it senses the car is slowing down it adds throttle until speed is no longer dropping. ECO cruise just adds throttle slower than normal cruise so speed may drop a few miles per hour before catching back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted May 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Get a phone app that logs your path to a GPX file (I use GPSlogger for Android). Open that file in Google Earth and you can right-click on the track and tell it to show an elevation profile. Don't use the elevation directly from a GPS unit. They are very good with horizontal position but very inaccurate and noisy with vertical position. Last time I did it Google seemed to use topographic data, probably from USGS, which includes landforms but not bridges. So it won't include overpasses, and if you take a bridge over a canyon it will show you falling off one side of the canyon and climbing the other.I luv this idea! That's why this forum RAWKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 No, that's not how cruise control works. It monitors speed - when it senses the car is slowing down it adds throttle until speed is no longer dropping. ECO cruise just adds throttle slower than normal cruise so speed may drop a few miles per hour before catching back up.That is how a normal cruise control works, but this one switches between ev and ICE too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DozerBob Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 I use my Garmin GPS in my Energi to give me elevation changes because my car has the 300a package which does not have Navigation or Sony HD radio. BUT! If you want to know your elevation, and Lat. and Long. I've found it on the 8 inch screen by doing these steps.1 Start car and turn off your radio, go to home screen.2 Hold down two buttons at the same time, the eject button for the cd player and the right seek button until the screen goes black.3 release the buttons and you'll get a speaker test screen.4 Push the top left return button and you'll see a list of diagnostics, the first one down is the APIM diagnostics, push that one.5 The fourth line is GPS , push that one. you'll then see the Latitude,Longitude,Elevation direction,heading and other stuff.Even though my car doesn't have Navigation it still has a gps in it somewhere. Go figure! DozerBob wab and JAZ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestead Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Is the ev plus the only use for the GPS if you don't have Nav? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtb9153 Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) Does anyone here ever used one in their vehicle? I've been thinking that this would be a great gauge to have so I know if the road is flat or inclined. Driving to Mammoth, I swear parts of the 395 is downhill but Maxine is saying "nope" so I figured it would be super cool to know the incline... cause if its downhill I will drive different to upslope.I am looking for a back lite digital, preferably battery vs cord. Let me know if anyone here has some experience her. Thanks :)I download for free an Altimeter app, they also have an inclineometer app. Should really come as no surprise these days Edited May 12, 2013 by mtb9153 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riddley Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) Altimeter Apps for Windows Phone: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/search?q=altimeter Clinometer Apps for Windows Phone: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/search?q=clineometer For elevation and nearly everything else GPS-related, this one is probably the best for WP8: GPS Calculator One of the features I like is that you can record trips and do an elevation profile (which I'm going to use to figure out what is happening on my daily commute). Best of all - it seems to be FREE! Edited May 12, 2013 by Riddley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wab Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 I use my Garmin GPS in my Energi to give me elevation changes because my car has the 300a package which does not have Navigation or Sony HD radio. BUT! If you want to know your elevation, and Lat. and Long. I've found it on the 8 inch screen by doing these steps.1 Start car and turn off your radio, go to home screen.2 Hold down two buttons at the same time, the eject button for the cd player and the right seek button until the screen goes black.3 release the buttons and you'll get a speaker test screen.4 Push the top left return button and you'll see a list of diagnostics, the first one down is the APIM diagnostics, push that one.5 The fourth line is GPS , push that one. you'll then see the Latitude,Longitude,Elevation direction,heading and other stuff.Even though my car doesn't have Navigation it still has a gps in it somewhere. Go figure! DozerBob I like these back doors into the systems, this the second. Questions:How did you find this back door?Anybody try it on a hybrid MFT? plus 3 golfer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 I use my Garmin GPS for elevation (Where am I) and an appropriate topo map loaded on an SD card in addition to the normal Garmin City Navigator Map. Thus, as I drive, I see contour (elevation) lines on the navigation map. I have 24k topo maps (which show 20 foot contour lines) for most of the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnMarty Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) I know that you can display the gps coordinates in a hybrid without built in gps without going through the long procedure mentioned by DozerBob. Now, I don't remember what I did, but fooling around with buttons, I did bring up the lat/long readings on the bottom of the big screen. So, that brings up a question...could those of us without built in gps get that functionality by installing an SD card with the maps? And if so, would it be possible to copy someone else's maps database?--not that I would circumvent copyright... :) and PS, I believe that's how EV+ works on my car with the 300 package. Edited May 12, 2013 by MtnMarty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArizonaEnergi Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) 5 The fourth line is GPS , push that one. you'll then see the Latitude,Longitude,Elevation direction,heading and other stuff.That's especially interesting as I have the GPS and can't find anywhere in the menus the Lat, Long or Elevation of my location. Anyone have a clue where that is? (Full Disclosure: still stuck on 3.1.3) Edited May 12, 2013 by ArizonaEnergi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnMarty Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Apps for the iPhone...Inclinometer, Compass, Commander Compass...and of course Google Maps and Apple Maps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) To find "Where am I" on the MFT screen, hit the settings button, help, and then where am I. The gps coordinates are displayed along with elevation. Problem in they are wrong every time I check. Currently, I'm at home and the C-Max GPS coordinates put me 50 miles east of where I am. My Garmin GPS coordinates put me on my lot. Funny thing is my clock has been okay for over a week until I started playing around with MFT. Just a crappy, crappy, system. I guess I should complain to the Ford / dealer about the GPS being wrong as I did about the clock. Edited May 12, 2013 by Plus 3 Golfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DozerBob Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) To find "Where am I" on the MFT screen, hit the settings button, help, and then where am I. The gps coordinates are displayed along with elevation. Problem in they are wrong every time I check. Currently, I'm at home and the C-Max GPS coordinates put me 50 miles east of where I am. My Garmin GPS coordinates put me on my lot. Funny thing is my clock has been okay for over a week until I started playing around with MFT. Just a crappy, crappy, system. I guess I should complain to the Ford / dealer about the GPS being wrong as I did about the clock. I never saw the "where am I" before, nice shortcut! BTW my system is the 3.1.3Garmin also has a free software to display your Tracks and Routes called Basecamp. This is what the elevation graphs look like. Just click on the thumbnail to enlarge. It's of my drive to work of 62 Miles or so Edited May 12, 2013 by DozerBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArizonaEnergi Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Thanks for where to find the Lat and Long. I found it, but no elevation shown (a 3.5.1 improvement?), and it almost exactly equals my Garmin read-out on Lat and Long, so my GPS accuracy is excellent after having the GPSM replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Thanks for where to find the Lat and Long. I found it, but no elevation shown (a 3.5.1 improvement?), and it almost exactly equals my Garmin read-out on Lat and Long, so my GPS accuracy is excellent after having the GPSM replaced.I have 3.1.3. So you don't see: Alt. xxxx? Also, put the coordinates of both into a map program and see which is closer to the actual place you are at. Usually, the C-Max gps is within 1/2 mile (not very good) and the elevation is off by 100 feet or more. My Garmin Is usually within 20 feet of elevation markers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArizonaEnergi Posted May 12, 2013 Report Share Posted May 12, 2013 Both Google Earth and latlong.net agree and place the coordinates shown by Garmin/Ford about 20' from where the car was. Just checked again and no ALT shown anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Maxgo Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 I haven't tried this yet but could the iPhone app iHandy Level work as an inclineometer? Just secure it on a flat surface before starting out and watch the bubble move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted May 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 I think I am going with the app option as well. I have one of those removable phone holders and use that. Great ideas from everyone. Seriously...thats what the forum is all about :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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