Aeroforce Interceptor Scan Gauge Review

As I mentioned in February's Blackstone Labs Oil Report, emerging technology is allowing enthusiasts to analyze and monitor their vehicles as never before. This month, I'll be covering the Aeroforce Technology Interceptor Scan Gauge. 

I first became acquainted with the Interceptor Scan Gauge twenty years ago when it was available for my Mustang GT. In those dark ages, it was a lot more cumbersome and a lot less sophisticated than the sleek 52mm gauge that is present today. The old unit was just slightly smaller than a woman's shoebox and featured black text on a gray background. The most useful function was the ability to advance or retard the timing on the Ford EEC-IV computer. Other than that, the unit was pretty rudimentary.

Aeroforce now offers the Interceptor's LED display in either white, red, blue or green and it comes with a white or black face plate and a brushed aluminum bezel.  I opted for the $10 silver face plate and the $10 polished silver bezel to better match it to my car's interior. Aeroforce also recommended a $10 Add-A-Circuit (which I picked up) but I found out that mine was able to draw its power through the OBD-II port so I didn't need it. As such, all I had to do was plug-in the supplied 9-foot cable and it was up and running.  There's even a nice customization feature whereby on start up, the Saturn logo is displayed. 

The current Interceptor (Firmware Version 2.8) serves duty in a variety of GM vehicles such as the Bonneville, Cobalt, Grand Prix, etc. and is infinitely customizable.  It is capable of displaying over 100 parameters, two at a time (8 using cyclic scan), at an adjustable rate of up to approximately 20 times per second. Naturally, this is information overload so I'll just cover the ones I use on a daily basis. 

The Interceptor features two buttons, both not much larger than the head of a ballpoint pen, on either side of the gauge that lets you toggle through the available menus. Slogging through all of them can make your head hurt, but I found some of the defaults to be way off. For instance, the Altitude was arbitrarily set as 1000-feet, which is about 900-feet too much.  This helps with the correction factor, but some of the readings such as Transmission Temp, are only available for vehicles with an automatic transmission. As such, my five-speed trans temp was reported as 65,000 degrees which might be accurate if I was driving on the surface of the sun. 

The Boost feature is one of the main things I bought the Interceptor for. While an analog gauge would be easier to read in bright sunlight, it requires a lot of extra legwork and cable splicing. With the Interceptor, it was as simple as plugging it in. On a third-gear highway pull, I saw a maximum of 12.7 PSI which is slightly better than the factory's rating of 12.0 PSI and something I attribute to the higher-flowing catless downpipe. 

It's also nice to be able to check and reset an engine diagnostic trouble code (DTC) on the fly with the Interceptor. For years, I've owned a handheld OBD-II scanner but it required the vehicle to be off and sometimes by then the code was lost. The Interceptor makes it extremely easy to view the code and clear it without stopping.   

   

I also like the Intake Air Temp (IAT) which displays the ambient air temperature. Most GM vehicles have a temperature feature, but for some reason it was not an option on the Red Line Edition. Additionally, the Interceptor features a post-intercooler Intake Air Temp 2 (IAT2) reading which is particularly useful for monitoring heat soak.  Typically, my IAT2 readings sit about 20 degrees higher than ambient as the Laminova air-to-water intercooler works to keep them down. However, spin up the supercharger and it throws off enough BTUs to instantly heat the air an additional 20-30 degrees.   

Another interesting parameter is the Instantaneous Fuel Economy. With it, I observed 29.1 mpg at a steady 70 mph but under full-throttle it plummeted to a staggering 5 mpg.  As such, it only takes a few full-throttle bursts to erode an otherwise impressive return at the high-octane pump.  And with the Miles Per Hour (MPH) and Engine Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) statistics, I've been able to verify that my analog speedometer and tachometer are dead on. I can even monitor my battery's voltage to warn me of an impending failure. 

There's also some esoteric information that I don't need to know such as Run Time Mins, which is the time in minutes the engine has been running. Chances are, I will already know this since I'm driving it, and it resets every time the car is started. The Total Misfires is similarly arcane-- it reports the misfires of all cylinders but then inexplicably resets every minute. So unless something catastrophic prompts you to check it right then, it's highly unlikely you will ever see whether your engine is experiencing them or not. Finally, the Engine Load is an intriguing aspect, because it illustrates the tangible strain various accessories have on the system. The biggest culprit is, of course, the air-conditioning which I've seen account for up to one-third of the total resources. Naturally, there are other energy offenders but the A/C is far and away the biggest reprobate, responsible for cannibalizing as much as 3 mpg when in use.  

So what are the drawbacks? Aside from the $250 price tag, I've found the Interceptor is practically useless in the mid-day sun when you're running errands or waiting in a fast food drive-thru. Even adjusting the brightness to the highest setting, and inverting the image from negative to positive, makes little difference.  Polarized sunglasses, such as my Serengeti Drivers, also effectively erase the legibility of the LCD screen. Clearly, it's easiest to read in low-light situations such as dawn and dusk when glare is kept to a minimum. Considering that, the Interceptor is excellent for Vampires and other creatures of the night.

There's also the problem with mounting it. Several aftermarket companies make A-pillar pods, but putting it there not only hurts visibility, but also looks like something you might find in a riced-out import. And others place it in a dash vent, where hot air can unintentionally damage it. For those reasons, I went with a custom-made pod from JCS Gauge Pods that mounts on the steering column and the Ion's unique, center-mounted instrument cluster is ideal for this. Jason Summerhays specially makes each gauge pod from an actual Saturn Ion steering column cover so the finished product is truly OEM quality. It looks and fits perfectly, unlike cheaper reproductions that require tape to hold them in place. 

After getting accustomed to it, you'll wonder how you ever did without it. Honestly, I use it more than anything else in my car. And with true plug-and-play operation, the installation couldn't be any easier. However, if you do plan on purchasing one, I'd recommend buying from an authorized dealer and not directly from Aeroforce. Not only can you get a small price break, but you'll more than likely get better customer service as Aeroforce never responded to my emails.