Excited About the ZF Chassis Fitness Tracker? There Is a Similar Alternative Available Now

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We’re big fans of MotorTrend here at Innova, and reading its updates is one of the best ways to keep a pulse on the automotive industry, including new innovations coming to market. The technology inside modern vehicles seems to be advancing at rather alarming rates, and there is some really cool stuff coming out of the space. Take the ZF Chassis Fitness Tracker, or what MotorTrend has described as the “oil life monitor” for car suspensions.

The idea is that the technology, powered by a well-placed sensor, can tell you when the suspension system in your vehicle is in trouble.

Why would we want this? Well, aging roadways are a thing, as are potholes, broken asphalt, major hazards, and beyond. Sometimes, no matter how long the trip, running into these obstacles is unavoidable. The sensor will alert you if and when you hit or run over something and that affects your car’s suspension. In other words, it tells you when you need to pull over or head to a mechanic for service.

It’s certainly a useful idea and mirrors what smart wearables are doing for our bodies. If you’ve ever used a smartwatch before, you know they’re capable of monitoring body vitals and can help you discern when something is abnormal. Oxygen levels, heart rate, sleep quality, there are a lot of things you can track in your body, and vehicles are the same way.

That’s why it would be super helpful to have a true monitoring tool that goes beyond just the suspension. Don’t get us wrong, the ZF Chassis sensor tech is awesome, and we’re excited to see and learn more about it.

But there is an alternative, if you will, for other major parts of modern vehicles, and it’s a shame most people don’t know about it.

Innova advanced car scanners can check your vehicle’s vitals

You may or may not have heard us drone on about OBD2 (OBD-II) car scanners before. While they’re not the only types of unique and practical tools that Innova offers, they are some of the most important.

An OBD2 or car scanner will plug into the dedicated OBD2 port in your vehicle — it makes sense, right? But basic scanners will read the diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) or error codes that your vehicle’s computer flags, and more advanced scanners will tell you additional critical information.

That “critical information” is precisely the kind of vitals we’re talking about. Remember the smartwatch analogy? Imagine if you could read your vehicle's heartbeat on a monitor, similar to what they do with EKGs. Or, what if you could peer into the electrical patterns and pinpoint or discover anomalies? That last bit would allow you to identify battery, fuse, or component issues before they cause any major meltdowns.

Advanced technologies are always awe-inspiring when they first arrive, but the reality is that we’ve had monitoring technologies — and devices — handy for quite some time now.

Allow us to introduce you to the Innova 5610, a pro-level, diagnostics-friendly, advanced scanner that does more than just spit out simple error codes and OEM data. You can use tools like it to zero in on the source of a problem, and we do mean zero in.

It displays real-time responsive live data from your vehicle’s engine, ABS, SRS, and transmission systems, as well as tire pressure information. You can check engine emissions to make sure they meet legal or regulatory requirements. Check ABS brake codes and live data to make sure everything is working optimally. You can even do routine calibrations like dealerships and mechanics would be able to do with exclusive tools.

Preventive maintenance is also possible, as you can identify low-performing systems and administer the necessary fixes before they fail or cause damage to the engine.

Go beyond a single system, like the suspension

What makes a tool like the Innova 5610 such a good companion is that it’s versatile, especially when it comes to running vehicle diagnostics. It doesn’t tap into a single system or component but allows you to get a full, clear picture of everything going on inside your vehicle and under the hood.

Technologies like the ZF Chassis sensor are always welcome, and when working in tandem with more comprehensive solutions, can also give you a full picture of your vehicle’s health. But if you want to go beyond that now, like right now, an advanced OBD2 scanner with real-time data is the answer.

Still, we’re excited to see how some of these technologies advance over the coming years. It’s not difficult to imagine that soon, these solutions will be integrated and a vehicle will be able to tell you precisely what’s wrong from its HUD — taking away the guesswork entirely.

Wouldn’t that be something?

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