Scanmaster vs. Turbolink vs. Directscan vs. ?

[Snorman]

I'm thinking it's time to get some type of diagnostic tool for the car. So far, I've done the following....

1. 160-stat
2. Poston's base airlid
3. Hotwired Walbro 340
4. Billet inlet bell
5. Typical spring cleaning items...intercooler hoses, O2 sensor, plugs/wires, fuel filter, etc.
6. Test pipe (in my garage, awaiting install)
7. Bosch 237 regulator (in garage, awaiting install)
8. Ordering Thrasher 92 chip this week
9. Will get adjustable wastegate actuator and boost gauge shortly thereafter.

I have my own laptop from work (Dell Inspiron) and with that in mind, I was wondering if the Turbolink or Directscan setups would be a better alternative to the venerable Scanmaster. Any real benefit to these systems on a mildly modded car?
My plans are to dial the car in with the above mods, on DR's and 100 octane, and go from there. Eventually, I'd like to get the Regal into the low-mid 11's on the street with an alky setup.
Thanks.
S.

 

[Mr URL]

http://www.turbo-link.com/tlink/scanchart.html

http://www.geocities.com/rad87gn/tech/TurboRegalScantools.html

http://www.turbo-link.com/

http://www.geocities.com/rad87gn/tech/scanmaster.html

http://www.chuengineering.com/

http://www.geocities.com/rad87gn/tech/smdatadef.html

I'd budget in both a Scanmaster and either TurboLink/DirectScan. Once you have both you can't live without the other.

These cars are all about tune so invest in the proper tools. Scanmaster works great for easy monitoring and tuning while the laptop tools allow you to get into heavy detail. You won't always want a laptop sitting around in your car. That's where the Scanmaster comes in plus it's easy to see going down the track. Laptop records everything and shows the glitches easier.

 

[BLACK6PACK]

I have a Scanmaster and Direct Scan. I feel the scanmaster is a must for every TR. Its always there with 02 and knock counts in your face.

Once I started going faster and needed to be able to review my passes, I bought Direct Scan due to its 18 frames per second vs. turbolinks 1 frame per 1.5 seconds. I wanted a lot of data to review in a 11 second run, not 9 frames.

 

[qwknuf6 jr]

DIRECT SCAN

If you had to get just one scan tool I would go for Direct Scan .It has the most info .

 

[XLR8]

I would suggest scanmaster and either T-Link or Directscan. Scanmaster is more of gauge to let you know what is happening while you are driving your car and it is always on. I use T-Link (thanks Lance) to tune at the track it lets you review data from the entire run. But while going down the track, my eyes are on SM - I don't think I could monitor knock by looking at the lap top.

 

[9SECVSIX]

Scan Tools

Will the Directscan record the boost during the run providing you have a 3 bar MAP sensor.
Thanks
9sec.

 

[Mr URL]

Re: Scan Tools

Originally posted by 9SECVSIX
Will the Directscan record the boost during the run providing you have a 3 bar MAP sensor.
Thanks
9sec.

No, not unless you know how to convert the MAT sensor readings from TurboLink boost sensing hardware with a calculator. That functionality is currently a TurboLink exclusive.

 

[kenmosher]

Just a note of caution there ... boost and vacuum will vary depending on atmospheric pressure.

TurboLink has a calibrate function to make sure the boost/vac is accurate... so it's not quite as simple as a lookup table.

 

[ALBERTAN]

Originally posted by Snorman
Eventually, I'd like to get the Regal into the low-mid 11's on the street with an alky setup.

DirectScan for sure with that goal. Nothing else offers the wealth of info that it does.