Six inexpensive data-acquisition apps to track your car’s performance.

That smartphone in your pocket has ridiculous capabilities. It can auto-dial your office, map your route, find sushi, and with the addition of an inexpensive app, it can also measure your Mustang’s acceleration, record your rat rod’s braking performance, and even post your Porsche’s cornering g’s to your favorite social media site as bragging rights. Available as easy downloads for just $3 to $13, such car-specific apps open up an entirely new dimension for enjoying high performance.

We took a trek through various app stores and found six that measure performance, efficiency and fuel consumption—or some combination thereof—for both Apple and Android phones. So before investing in a traditional in-car data acquisition system, try downloading one of these inexpensive apps instead.

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APPLE & ANDROID

Car Performance

This cross-platform app is proclaimed as the “ultimate tool for car enthusiasts.” Functions include timed runs (1/8- and ¼-mile distances, 0–60 and 0–100-mph acceleration), top speed, deceleration and the ability to create custom tests. Dynamic measurements are taken using your phone’s GPS, so no calibration is needed. The user interface is more functional than aesthetic looking. Data can be displayed in English or metric units. A pared-down Android version is free.

Cost: $3.99 Apple (iTunes App Store); $4 Android (play.google.com)

Requires: iOS 6.1 or later; Android 1.6 and up

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APPLE

Dynolicious

This is the gorilla in the room. If its friendly price tag and sparkly user reviews aren’t enough, then lateral g’s, horsepower display, elapsed time and acceleration tools should be. And that’s just for the Classic app. The Fusion version adds Dynolicious Connect, a social network app for Dynolicious enthusiasts, which claims to have improved analysis technology. The user interface looks great. Overall, this is the most popular product on the market. It’s not plug-and-go though, so prepare to input your vehicle’s info before using.

Cost: $8.99 Classic; $12.99 Fusion (iTunes App Store)

Requires: iOS 4.3 or later; Fusion/Connect require iOS 6.0 or later

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FYI Mileage

This app tracks and records mileage for whatever purposes you want, and it can interface with iXpenselt (a personal finance app) for expense recording. To totally vanquish pen and paper, FYI Mileage syncs with Wi-Fi for email use, graphs reports, and it even tracks expenses and trips. The user interface is classic Apple—intuitive and stylish.

Cost: $2.99 (iTunes App Store)

Requires: iOS 4.3 or later

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TripAlyzer

Instead of acceleration rates, TripAlyzer lets you measure trip efficiency by analyzing your speed, number of stops and idle time to determine the cost of the trip and CO₂ emissions. Text-to-speech technology uses your iPhone speaker to announce these stats, helping to save money by monitoring and improving driving habits. Trip­Aly­zer is wrapped in a neat, intuitive Apple user interface that purportedly  makes mon­itoring your driving habits that much easier.

Cost: $5.99 (iTunes App Store)

Requires: iOS 2.0 or later

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ANDROID

Dynomaster

Dynomaster measures 1/8 – and ¼-mile times, and offers graphic analysis and a variety of “trigger modes” for starting. No calibration is necessary, and the app is linkable to social media, Google Earth and Excel. Various custom options are listed, and the user interface is intuitive. Notably, this app also offers a street view, voice reports, and both English and metric units.

Cost: $2.99 (play.google.com)

Requires: Android 2.0 and up

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Torque Pro (OBD 2 & Car)

Torque Pro combines per­form­ance metrics with diagnostics and maintenance tools to provide live data on your car’s behavior. In addition to customization options, Torque Pro features include a dynamometer, CO₂ emissions readout, speed readings, an OBD II Bluetooth adapter that plugs into your vehicle, and even a fault-code database. The user interface favors accessibility more than style, but that’s fine with us.

Cost: $4.95 (play.google.com)

Requires: Android 1.6 and up

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Jeremy Da Rosa is a writer and educator living on the West Coast.

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