Trying Out Some Gadgets - Nonda ZUS Product Review

While I was away in Saudi, we
received an e-mail from the guys at Axtro. They were happy to introduce a few
products that they were bringing in to Malaysia from the US – The Nonda ZUS
gadgets. Gadgets that connect to your car and to your phone so you can see some
information about your car. Now, I’m no big fan of tech-stuff like this, but perhaps
some of you might be interested. So, I’ll give this a go.
I got the email. I got curious. So, I asked if I could
borrow these things for a while to see what’s up.
What are these things?
They are:
1. A Smart Car
Charger
2. A Smart
Vehicle Health Monitor
And
3. A Smart Tire
Safety Monitor
First Impression
I was intrigued by the Smart Vehicle Health Monitor since it
connects to the OBD2 port. Perhaps we could see some interesting information
with it. The Smart Car Charger
seemed pretty dull, but some features turned out to be helpful. I was very
doubtful about the security of the Smart
Tire Safety Monitor since it looks like something a delinquent child would
steal just for the giggles.
It comes with an App
Obviously, since it connects to your phone. To get the app
running, you will need to turn on your Bluetooth and Location services.
What does the app look like?
It looks like this:
Information from all the devices
deployed will be displayed real-time on the main user interface. I appreciate
the digital tachometer since my car doesn’t actually have one. The layout looks
pretty neat and readable.
Let’s go through the devices one by one
1. The Smart Car Charger
The Smart Car Charger does a few other things besides charging your phone, like:
- Showing the status of the car
battery
- Showing your mileage and journey costs
- Helping you locate your car
The charging time is faster than a standard
charger which makes it very convenient. It looks good too.
How do you connect it?
Plug it into the 12V socket and connect to your phone via Bluetooth.
Pros and Cons
The phone charger works well and fast.
I found the car battery health monitor to be very helpful since sometimes
you never know when the battery is running low on juice. You might have a
failing alternator or you might have a weak battery. Sometimes when you get a
battery replacement, there is a tendency that the shop might accidentally give
you a faulty one (old stocks).
If you’re the kind of person who
logs every single bit of his expenditure, the mileage feature can be useful. The
only downside is that your location is being shared with the app. This might be
a matter of concern for personal trips, but hey, Waze, Google, and Facebook
know your location too. For business purposes the mileage feature is a good
thing.
What about the car finding app? If
you need an app to help you find your own car, you might need to learn becoming
less dependent on apps and technology.
2. The Smart Vehicle Health Monitor
The Smart Vehicle Health Monitor is an OBD2 Scanner that connects to your phone. What does it scan? Well, almost anything that can be read via the OBD2 Port. The device provides information in the 6 following categories:
- Fuel, air or emission control
- Ignition System
- Speed and Idling Control
- Computer or Auxiliary Output Circuit
- Gearbox
- Car Battery
So, you can scan your car whenever
you want and you can even get a real time display of your tachometer,
speedometer, battery health, coolant temperature, and engine load. The health scans
are not entirely detailed but they are good enough to get a simple diagnosis of
a problem with your car.
How do you connect it?
Plug it into the OBD2 port. Connect to your
phone via Bluetooth.
What does it show you?
Pros and Cons
The real time display does give you a more accurate value than an
analogue tachometer and speedometer. The units are imperial by default and you
can adjust them in the settings. The Health Monitor can be a little bit
misleading. A Glow Plug/Heater Circuit is not present in a petrol car, but the
app didn’t identify that as being absent after the scan.
Overall the device is still helpful for rough diagnosis. There are
more advanced OBD2 scanners out there and they cost more. It depends on what
you need. If you’re a mechanic, you’re better off with a proper standalone OBD2
scanner. If you’re a serious DIY guy, a BlueDriver is a good option (also costs
around RM700). The Nonda ZUS scanner is good enough for a rough diagnosis and
to alert you on anything that has failed in the system.
3. The Smart Tire Safety Monitor
Most full spec modern cars would
have the Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) feature built in already. The
sensor is inside the tyre. Mercedes cars would normally have this. The Haval H2
and the new Proton X70 also come with TPMS from the factory. Perodua sold some
as an accessory at one point and they functioned similarly to these ones from
Nonda. The added feature of the Nonda ZUS TPMS? It notifies you on slow
leakage.
What does it do?
- Monitors tyre pressure and temperature in real time
- Notifies you on punctures and slow punctures
It is a good idea and it provides
useful information for the driver. Under inflated tires reduce fuel efficiency
whereas over inflated tyres might put you at the risk of a blowout. The app
also monitors the temperature of the tyres. The only problem it has is the
hardware. I shall elaborate on that.
How do you connect it?
To the USB charger. Or to the Smart Car Charger
What does it show
you?
Pros and Cons
Good information. Good idea. Helpful. The hardware is not its strong
point. Dust caps go missing very easily but they are also cheap to replace.
It’s not the same case with this type of sensor since they are not cheap to
replace. Nonda has labelled them with ‘Rear Right’ or ‘Front Left’ to help you
install them. They’ve also provided lock nuts to help you secure the sensors in
place. What’s the problem with that? Inflating the tyres becomes tedious. You
need a small spanner to get these lock nuts tightened right. However, it is not
compulsory to use the lock nuts. The TPMS will still function normally.
Another problem is that the sensor is constantly pushing on the Schrader valve pin. Which means we are now relying on the sensor cap to keep the air inside the tyre. You have to tighten it right too so that air doesn’t come out. The app warns you about this, acknowledging the possibility of it happening. Nonda claims the sensor caps will not cause any slow leakage after an extended 3-month testing period. We would still suggest you double check just in case.
Diagram of a Schrader valve
Verdict
Were the gadgets helpful? Yes,
they were. The charger is good and gives additional information and the OBD2
scanner is good enough to warn you on possible system failures. The location
service is great for tracking your expenditure (especially for small
businesses). The TPMS hardware could use some improvement. Although they might
not be necessary soon with cars having them factory fit these days.
To get it all working you need to turn on the Bluetooth and the GPS on your phone. It can be taxing on your phone battery. But then again, you can always charge your phone on the go.
Get 10% off on either of these products with the Promo code "COM10" here
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