r/CarHacking

I have been working on CAN DBC Utility v2 for the last 3 months.

The biggest reason behind it is simple. I use Linux, and finding a CAN tool that actually feels good to work with has always been annoying.

Most tools I tried felt awkward, heavy, or just not built with this kind of workflow in mind.

So I started fixing that for myself.

During this time, I moved the app from PyQt to Tauri and started adding dark mode too. Dark mode matters more than people think when you are staring at CAN data for hours. It just makes the whole thing easier on the eyes.

I am still working on v2, but this rebuild feels like the right direction.

For me, this was never about making a flashy tool. It was about making something I would actually want to use every day on Linux.

Get the latest version here if interested: https://github.com/busaudit/dbcUtility

Thanks :)

Note: Image 1 and 2 are from DBC Utility v2. And the last is from DBC Utility v1.0.3 (pyQt version)

Hi all!

I've been wanting to make an external passenger display (think Ferrari passenger display) for my Si that displays cool information like speed, rpms, gear, boost psi, g-forces, etc. I worked on my uni's FSAE electric team this past year, so I was interacting a lot with canbus messages, which is where this project idea came from. Basically, I want to get data from my car's OBD-II port and just do cool stuff with it.

Here's what I've been thinking of so far for my supply list to make this project happen:

• OBDLink MX+ ($139.95)
• Raspberry Pi 5 ($50-$150)
• Some external rectangular display
• 3D printed vent mounts

As for the tech stack, I came across the python-obd library, so maybe thats a good place to start? Unsure of what I want to use to make the display software, as I want to make the UI myself.

I would really appreciate advice on the following:

• Which model of the Raspberry Pi 5 would be sufficient for my needs?
• Any good places to shop for external displays? Especially ones that can tolerate high interior heat since I live in Texas?
• Any other pieces of hardware/software I might need? I haven't really messed with a Raspberry Pi before (besides just physically connecting to one).

I'd also appreciate any other pieces of advice that may help. Thanks in advance!

LIVI is an open-source Android Auto and CarPlay headunit application. It works on Linux, macOS and Windows, but the most exciting target is the Raspberry Pi where it makes a tiny in-car infotainment system possible. Released as AppImage, deb, DMG and Windows installer, no manual build required. On the Pi the only hard requirement is Raspberry Pi OS Trixie, because the UI uses WebGL2 which depends on the Mesa stack that ships with Trixie.

Mainly tested on Pi5 / CM5. Power on -> stream in less than 22s.

What it does:

- Wired Android Auto over USB (AOAP)
- Wireless Android Auto over Wi-Fi + Bluetooth pairing
- Switch between wired and wireless on the fly
- Multi-touch input, keybindings, navigation, media metadata, hands-free audio
- Turn-by-turn navigation data integration
- Instrument cluster streaming with safe-area support
- Reverse camera
- CarPlay supported via carlinkit dongle. Native CarPlay is on the roadmap (requires an MFi authentication coprocessor)
- Forwards sensor data to the phone (GNSS, speed, EV SoC, etc.)
- Multiscreen support with flexible routing
- Embedded GStreamer

Source, releases and install docs: https://github.com/f-io/LIVI

Hello,
I've been building an app Speedometer: Driving Tracker, a CarPlay-supported driving tracker focused on trip history, analytics, and the overall driving experience across Apple devices.

Recently, I added real-time OBD2 analytics support after many users requested deeper vehicle insights.

You can now view live OBD2 data directly on CarPlay, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and even Apple Watch (via Live Activity).

Some supported data includes:
• Engine Load
• RPM
• Throttle Position
• Fuel Usage
• Coolant & Oil Temperature
• Mass Air Flow
• Intake/Ambient Air Temperature
• And more

What I personally found most interesting during testing was being able to review how different driving styles affected engine behavior across an entire trip, not just while looking at live gauges.

The app also supports automatic trip recording using Siri Shortcuts automations when your OBD2 device connects.

One important thing:
Every car exposes different OBD2 sensors, so available data can vary depending on the vehicle and adapter.

Beyond OBD2, the app also includes:
• CarPlay trip tracking
• 3D route playback
• Speed-colored trip replay
• Video recording with speed + map overlays
• Fuel, maintenance, and expense tracking
• Vehicle-based analytics & comparisons
• iCloud sync across Apple devices
• Privacy-first experience (no ads, no tracking, no signup)

The goal was never just to make another speedometer or gauge app, but to create a more complete driving companion ecosystem for drivers.

I would love feedback from fellow car enthusiasts here!

I have this Dacia Sandero board and i cannot make the speed and rpm gauges work. Do any of you have experience in these?

Been working on this with a few other developers for a little while now and honestly pretty happy with where it is getting.

A big focus has been building a custom trainable scanner for working with raw ECU bins.

The work flow is basically, load any bin, run a heuristic scan for candidate maps, and mark useful results / train against your own map files.

Over time the scanner starts prioritizing the kinds of maps you actually care about instead of needing to spend money buying predefined definitions.

I've been testing it across a mix of files lately (ME7, EDC16, SID807, etc) and it's been producing some very useful results.

Alguem aqui ja conseguiu ler a flash ??

I decided to test 4 popular OBD2 adapters on my Toyota Corolla 2015 GLI, to see which one actually delivers on its promises.
I used Car Scanner Pro app for all tests. Prices ranged from 20 SAR ($5) to 80 SAR ($21).

The Contenders (See Images):

1. OBD Advanced (~$5 - Amazon)
2. ELM 327 Mini (~$5 - AliExpress)
3. KONNWEI (~$21 - Amazon)
4. KINGBOLEN WiFi (~$15 - Amazon)

The Breakdown:
1. Features & Coding (The Biggest Difference)
• The Winner: KINGBOLEN (Device #4). It was the only one that unlocked the full "Coding & Service" menu. I could access anti-theft settings, light configurations, and power window tweaks.
• The Failures: Devices #1 (OBD Advanced) and #2 (ELM 327 Mini) were completely useless for coding. The app flagged them as "Faulty" immediately.

2. Performance & Speed
• KINGBOLEN takes the lead again. Because it connects via WiFi, the Live Data refresh rate is much higher compared to the Bluetooth models. Pairing is instant and very stable.
• KONNWEI (Device #3) is very well-built and stable for basic diagnostics, but couldn't match the Kingbolen in feature access.

3. Technical Stability (The Proof is in the Errors)
If you look at the "ELM327 errors" screenshots I attached:
• Devices #1 & #2 show hundreds of "Incorrect line ending" errors (over 370 errors!). This is a clear sign of a cheap, fake firmware chip.
• Device #4 (KINGBOLEN) shows almost zero errors, meaning it handles the ELM327 protocol correctly.

The "WiFi" Trade-off (Important!):
There is one catch with the KINGBOLEN: Since it uses WiFi, your phone might disconnect from your cellular data (4G/5G) while you're using it.
This can be a bit annoying if you need to Google a fault code or watch a YouTube tutorial while still connected to the car. You'll have to toggle back and forth.

Final Verdict:
• Best Value: KINGBOLEN WiFi. At $15, it outperformed the more expensive $21 Konnwei and unlocked all professional features.
• Avoid at all costs: Anything in the $5 range (Devices #1 and #2). They are literal e-waste and can't do anything beyond reading very basic engine codes (if you're lucky).

Hi there, is it a pipe dream or might it be possible to view and edit configs/files on a cheap OBD2 display like this one? I'm satisfied with the info that is available on them but interested particularly in the possibility of creating additional custom themes or hijacking existing ones to personalise the display, such as tailoring it to fit the rest of the displays in my car.

I've tried looking for any similar questions online but haven't found one yet so I'm interested if this is something that I could experiment with. I have absolutely no issue taking it apart if it means looking at what's on the PCB to see if it's possible for the chance of helping anyone else who's similarly curious and has one.

I'm wondering if the mini USB port on the back can be a potential way to access or flash files onto it or if it would be something that might require the complexity of modifying or replacing parts of the PCB as I've seen can be the case with the way some of these kinds of products are made.

Thanks for any help to anyone who doesn't mind humouring the idea and for those who may have more of an understanding of the type of accessibility these products have or for anyone who may have one of these and a similar question.

I built a CAN viewer that runs natively on linux when making an ECU for work. Has full DBC support.

Cool part is it’s built with pure Cpp and Electron, so can easily run it on most machines. Qt is terrible on linux and always has dependency nightmares between Qt versions, this is why SavvyCAN broke.

Do you think this can improve your workflow? Curious who else has this issue

EDIT: Yes this is using pure SocketCAN! And works with any adapter using socketcan