New Scan Tool Options

[firstclass]

I am a new shop looking to buy a scan tool. we work on a wide range of domestic and foreign vehicle. i know no one tool can do it all but for the first one i am looking to make the right choice. im looking at the ae pro and the launch x431. if any sugestions or just input on these two please share. thank you

[Matt Fanslow]

I am a new shop looking to buy a scan tool. we work on a wide range of domestic and foreign vehicle. i know no one tool can do it all but for the first one i am looking to make the right choice. im looking at the ae pro and the launch x431. if any sugestions or just input on these two please share. thank you

Knowing what you will be working on, a reflection of your target market, will help us help you. Why the choice between the two?

Later, Matt.

[firstclass]

all domestic, honda, nissan, toyota, some audi, land rover and saab. very few bmw and merc. im not limited to the two, just thought those were the best for around the same price. thank you

[Mike Webb]

all domestic, honda, nissan, toyota, some audi, land rover and saab. very few bmw and merc. im not limited to the two, just thought those were the best for around the same price. thank you

=================
i have no time on the launch tool , none .
but from what i have heard the launch coverage on domestic car lines leaves much to be desired .

AE on the other hand does pretty well .
AE has coverage for all that you show BUT
AE has no coverage on SAAB beyond what will be in generic OBD2

no matter what , i suggest that you BUY the AE tool .
and BUY VCDS .
but after that - BUY the OE tool for the car line you work on the most and continue as funds allow ... buying the OE tools in descending order for the lines you work on the most .

imho.

remember that ...
no aftermarket tool will do what the OE tool does

[m.fannin]

I am a new shop looking to buy a scan tool. we work on a wide range of domestic and foreign vehicle. i know no one tool can do it all but for the first one i am looking to make the right choice. im looking at the ae pro and the launch x431. if any sugestions or just input on these two please share. thank you

I have the Launch x431 and it's a pretty good scan tool. Domestic coverage, Ford and Chrysler are surprisingly very good with lots of module coverage and bi-directional controls, GM absolutly SUCKS I can't stress that enough. Asian is strong and Euro is very strong. There's a steep learning curve to the Launch tool but I'm glad I bought it. I mostly use my Snap On Modis but when I run into a test or mudule that the Modis doesn't cover I usually have it covered with the Launch tool. Maybe find your local Snap On dealer and see if he has a used Snap On Solus scan tool that someone has traded in. WIth the Snap On it has pretty good Domestic and asian coverage and would be a good tool to start with. HTH
Mike

[firstclass]

thank you for the feedback so far. i was hoping to get more info but do appreciate the info. the modis tool is an expensive unit, im not looking to jump in that deep so if possible what big differences between the launch, AE and the modis. what specifically can the modis do that the AE cant. thanks eric

[m.fannin]

thank you for the feedback so far. i was hoping to get more info but do appreciate the info. the modis tool is an expensive unit, im not looking to jump in that deep so if possible what big differences between the launch, AE and the modis. what specifically can the modis do that the AE cant. thanks eric

Sorry I don't have AE so I can't really give any advice on it. You may want to look at a used Snap On Solus scan tool. The difference in the Modis and the Solus is the Solus doesn't have a 4 channel oscilloscope but they have the same scanner software. HTH
Mike

[Mike Webb]

Sorry I don't have AE so I can't really give any advice on it. You may want to look at a used Snap On Solus scan tool. The difference in the Modis and the Solus is the Solus doesn't have a 4 channel oscilloscope but they have the same scanner software. HTH
Mike

on this graph , i could re do it FROM already saved data and change the scaling values on the MAF sensor screen so the next time a play the graph , the MAF sensor amplitude would fill the screen AND i could also change Scaling on any saved PID to fill the screen or not as chosen at the time the graph gets played back ... even way in the future .

the graphing
if there is any thing in the snapon easier to use than AE it would be the graphing .
i do not like the snapon graphing but many users do .
but

whenever i compare the two AE has better coverage . and AE can log to csv files and or graph many PIDs but then playback any 4 selected from the recording , AE used to auto scale to fill the screen with the PID value but
now you can configure PID values to suit your own desire s after you have configured the values you can save the file so the next time you work on that same car
your saved values can be pulled up and reused .

AE screen is big and very readable and very easy to use and fiddle with , screen caps are easy to save so you can document the repair sequence or email to the consumer or
post here
before
after
look at the right side of the PID menu screen , the list of available PIDs is very huge and
they are all on the menu on the screen , you just need to scroll up or down to find them .
AE logs everything , you can save the logs to the car's file then open them and copy and paste the DTC / freeze frame to the work order ,
AE has better tech support .
AE updates do not cost $1000.00 every 6 months
Mode 6 in snapon sux , damn near unusable .
bad 02 sensors no DTCs , bam there it is . try that with snapon.
if history can be tasked to show us a pattern...
next year at this time AE will be very much bigger and better than it is today ,
snapon will be about the same only more expensive.

[m.fannin]

on this graph , i could re do it FROM already saved data and change the scaling values on the MAF sensor screen so the next time a play the graph , the MAF sensor amplitude would fill the screen AND i could also change Scaling on any saved PID to fill the screen or not as chosen at the time the graph gets played back ... even way in the future .

the graphing
if there is any thing in the snapon easier to use than AE it would be the graphing .
i do not like the snapon graphing but many users do .
but

whenever i compare the two AE has better coverage . and AE can log to csv files and or graph many PIDs but then playback any 4 selected from the recording , AE used to auto scale to fill the screen with the PID value but
now you can configure PID values to suit your own desire s after you have configured the values you can save the file so the next time you work on that same car
your saved values can be pulled up and reused .

AE screen is big and very readable and very easy to use and fiddle with , screen caps are easy to save so you can document the repair sequence or email to the consumer or
post here
before
after
look at the right side of the PID menu screen , the list of available PIDs is very huge and
they are all on the menu on the screen , you just need to scroll up or down to find them .
AE logs everything , you can save the logs to the car's file then open them and copy and paste the DTC / freeze frame to the work order ,
AE has better tech support .
AE updates do not cost $1000.00 every 6 months
Mode 6 in snapon sux , damn near unusable .
bad 02 sensors no DTCs , bam there it is . try that with snapon.
if history can be tasked to show us a pattern...
next year at this time AE will be very much bigger and better than it is today ,
snapon will be about the same only more expensive.

Hi Mike
I'm not here to bash anyone's products. As I said I don't have any experience with AE, I only have experience with Snap On and Launch x431 so I was just trying to help the OP the best I could. I must say you have peaked my interest in maybe purchasing AE though. You are correct with mode 6 in the snap on if your not very experienced with it, it can be pretty much useless, so that would be worth the price of admission with AE alone. Well anyway thanks for showing some of AE strong points and I may be buying one from John in the near future. Take care
Mike

[firstclass]

thanks for the response, quick question on the ae, after installing in the laptop do you still need to have the disk to run? i am looking at a netbook and it doesnt have a internal disk drive. thanks

[m.fannin]

thanks for the response, quick question on the ae, after installing in the laptop do you still need to have the disk to run? i am looking at a netbook and it doesnt have a internal disk drive. thanks

Hi Firstclass
I would say that once installed on the harddrive all you would need to do is plug in the AE connector to a usb port on your laptop, then connect it to the vehicle you want to check and open AE software and it should connect. Maybe someone else with more experience with it will be along shortly. HTH
Mike

[Thompson_Auto_Labs]

thanks for the response, quick question on the ae, after installing in the laptop do you still need to have the disk to run? i am looking at a netbook and it doesnt have a internal disk drive. thanks

You don't need the CD to run the software, just to install it. External disk drives drives are an option or you can always just download the most current version of the pc_scantool_install.zip here:http://thompsonautolabs.com/AutoEnginuity_Downloads

[Mike Webb]

Hi Mike
I'm not here to bash anyone's products. As I said I don't have any experience with AE, I only have experience with Snap On and Launch x431 so I was just trying to help the OP the best I could. I must say you have peaked my interest in maybe purchasing AE though. You are correct with mode 6 in the snap on if your not very experienced with it, it can be pretty much useless, so that would be worth the price of admission with AE alone. Well anyway thanks for showing some of AE strong points and I may be buying one from John in the near future. Take care
Mike

i would not say anyone is product bashing ,
sometimes people would like to know what the tools can do before they buy them ,
here are some examples from two different perspectives .

that is all.