Game Boy enters tuning

DIY enthusiasts in the UK may soon be able to diagnose problems and tune their car’s engine performance through a Game Boy handheld games console.

TurboXS, part of a US/Australian group, has just launched the device in America and has plans to bring it to Europe.

The company’s sales manager Nathan Kofahl says there had been particularly strong interest from Germany.

The basic unit costs $229 in America, plus the cost of the Game Boy. It will measure the car’s air:fuel ratio and has a menu of add-on sensors costing up to $130 to measure exhaust gas temperature, air intake temperature and rpm. Software upgrades are available for fuel economy and power tweaks.

TurboXS plans to bring out an adapter that plugs directly into the car’s OBDII port, enabling the user to download all the necessary communications data. Currently, says Kofhal, on a car like a Subaru (the main marque his company works on) WRX STi you need a $3,000 tool to achieve that.