Ever wish you could display the boost gauge from your ZL1 Camaro on your radio’s display? What about real time 1/4 mile time, 0-60 time, RPM’s, TPMS info, torque, rear wheel horsepower, or air/fuel info? If the answer is “YES”, and you’ve got an Android phone/tablet, you’re going to love this!

Nearly every automotive enthusiast has heard of apps like Torque Pro and/or Dash Command, but neither of them allow users to push information to an Android Auto/Apple Car Play compatible head unit. (If you’re unfamiliar with either of those apps, they allow you to connect to an inexpensive OBDII wi-fi or bluetooth adapter, and display all kinds of useful information from your vehicle, right on your phone.) After countless hours of scouring the internet for answers, I managed to find a companion app to Torque Pro that is Android Auto compatible and will allow custom gauges to be displayed on any Android Auto compatible head unit!  (Sorry, iPhone users. Since Apple has iOS and Apple Car Play locked down, this won’t be any use to you.)

What you’ll need:

  1. An Android Phone or Tablet – one capable of running Android Auto and connecting to Bluetooth or WiFi.
  2. Android Auto – Can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.
  3. OBDII adapter (Bluetooth or WiFi) – You can pick one up on Amazon for about $11.  I strongly suggest getting one with a small footprint, so it won’t get in the way while you’re driving.
  4. Torque Pro – Can be downloaded for about $5 from the Google Play Store – Torque Lite (free version) is not compatible.
  5. OBD2AA – This app Can be downloaded for $2 via the XDA Labs app (instructions below).
  6. Android Auto Compatible Radio / Head Unit – a 2016+ Camaro should have an Android Auto compatible touch screen, so 2010-2015 Camaros will need to purchase a new radio. ($500+)
  7. Dash Kit – 2010 to 2015 Camaro only.
    Any of the following dash kits will work:

    • Pac-Audio (RPK5-GM4101) – This kit comes in at about $399, but it’s the latest dash kit, and retains the factory HV/AC control knobs of the non-MyLink equipped Camaro.
    • Metra (99-3010S) – Can be found for about $220
    • Scosche – Can be found for about $389

XDA Labs Installation:

  1. Download XDA Labs.
  2. Install XDA Labs.
  3. Enable “install from unknown sources” option on your phone/tablet when prompted.
  4. Complete Installation.

OBD2AA Installation / Setup:

  1. Purchase the OBD2AA app from XDA LAbs: $2
  2. Install OBD2AA
  3. Patch OBD2AA if using Android Auto 3.0+ (please read this XDA Labs forum post for detailed info)
    1. Download obd2aa_patcher.zip from the post mentioned above.
    2. Extract the content of the zip
    3. Enable USB debugging on the phone from the Developer settings. (If Developer settings are not enabled, please go to Settings -> about and tap the “build version” 7 times)
    4. Connect the phone to your computer with a USB cable (if it’s the first time you are connecting it, it will probably ask to install drivers. Newer windows version will probably do it automatically, older one might need to download appropriate drivers for your phones).
      In most cases Google driver will also work ( get it from: https://dl-ssl.google.com//android/r…er_windows.zip ) for ADB
    5. launch the obd2aa_patcher from the extracted folder.
  4. Enable Developer Options on your phone or tablet to allow Android Auto to enable OBD2AA on the radio display.
    1. Open Settings > About phone.
    2. Scroll down to the Build number.
    3. Tap the Build number 7 times in quick succession until “You’re now a developer“ appears.
    4. Return to the Settings menu and select Developer options.
    5. At the top of the screen, make sure ‘Developer options’ is set to On (green).
  5. Open the app.
  6. Choose your gauges, color, etc.
  7. Connect your phone to the car / head unit
  8. On your radio / head unit, select the last tab on the right side of the Android Auto display.
  9. Press it a second time, you should see an app selector; choose OBD2AA
  10. Give it a bit of time to start pulling the data from Torque.