Comparison

MLink Setup vs Tachwire

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MLink Setup

Features
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Companion app for MLink, the drive mode controller for BMW. MLink adds the M1 and M2 steering wheel buttons from BMW M models to M-Sport cars. Use this app to set what each button does: • Drive mode: Sport, Sport Plus, Comfort, Eco Pro, hybrid modes and more • DSC: On, DTC or Off • A third profile for pressing M1 + M2 together Connects over Bluetooth. Includes a diagnostics report you can send to support. For BMW 1–8 Series, X and Z models with the M-Sport steering wheel. Supported models and features vary by car. Check yours at traveolabs.com before buying. Requires an MLink controller, sold separately.

About

Tachwire

This app displays real-time car data like oil and gearbox temperatures, boost, and gear on your phone's screen. It provides spoken warnings for critical conditions and offers detailed insights for BMWs and other supported vehicles. It also includes road camera alerts and drive recording features.

Highlights
  • Live OBD data display
  • Customizable tiles on car screen
  • Spoken warnings for critical conditions
  • Detailed BMW diagnostics
  • Road camera alerts
  • Drive recording and analysis
  • Track lap timing
Features
Read full description

Tachwire reads your car through a Bluetooth LE OBD adapter and puts what the dashboard keeps to itself — oil and gearbox temperatures, boost, gear, a hybrid's battery, on a BMW even oil pressure — on the car's screen, laid out the way you want. When something runs critically hot, it says so out loud. Deepest on BMW, which it asks through its own engine, gearbox and hybrid units. First support for many more makes, from Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Ford to Toyota, Land Rover and RAM. Standard readings on any car with an OBD port. A SCREEN OF YOUR OWN IN THE CAR • Tiles of any size on a grid fitted to your car's display. • Pages for the road, the track and the warm-up, a button apart. • Arrange it on the phone, start from a layout in the Gallery, or edit on the car's screen while parked. • A Live Activity on the Lock Screen, in the Dynamic Island and, on iOS 26, in CarPlay. YOUR CAR AND YOUR DRIVES • Car: your car pictured in its factory colour; tank, battery, tyres and the last drive at a glance. • Drives: a diary by day — city, highway or track, with alerts, pulls and records. • A drive's page: the route, a verdict with its reason, every reading on one time line. • Route video: a 15–60 s flyover on an OpenStreetMap map, saved to Photos. • Logbook: records and trends against your car's own usual; ignition timing pull and power by rpm. • Power from the torque the engine reports, never estimated. 0–60 mph or 0–100 km/h, ¼ and ½ mile, timed from the car's speed — on a closed track only. ROAD CAMERAS • Spoken alerts and a map window on the car's screen for speed and red-light cameras, section controls and low-emission zones in Spain, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Norway, Cyprus, Malaysia and Russia. France: danger zones and low-emission zones only, as French law allows. Silent where such alerts are banned. • Off until you turn it on. TRACKS • 535 tracks in 17 countries, or set your own start/finish line. • Laps by session and the gap to your best, on the car's screen too. Runs and laps only on a closed track. • Track guidance in CarPlay: on a circuit, the track map with the next turn, and your braking points once a lap is recorded. A Track map tile for any page. WHICH CARS • BMW, the deepest: G-series from 2018 and F-series, recognised from the VIN — oil temperature and pressure, gearbox temperature and gear, boost, torque and power, a plug-in hybrid's e-motor and battery, a diesel's DPF and AdBlue. • MINI (2014–2024) and the Toyota GR Supra are read the way a BMW is. • First support, readings vary by model: Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ford (F-150, Mustang, Ranger and more), Toyota and Lexus (Land Cruiser 300 among them), RAM, Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT, CUPRA, Mazda and Honda. Their own readings stay quiet, with no warnings, until a drive confirms them. Renault, Dacia and Alpine are recognised. • Any other car with an OBD port: revs, speed, coolant, intake, load, often oil temperature and boost. A tile stays empty rather than show a wrong number. Make by make: tachwire.app/cars. WHAT YOU NEED • A Bluetooth LE OBD adapter: OBDLink CX (the fastest), vLinker, UniCarScan, or an ELM327 BLE clone (slower). Classic Bluetooth and Wi-Fi adapters can't connect to an iPhone. • iOS 18.4 or later and CarPlay, wired or wireless: the app reads the car only while CarPlay is connected. • No car nearby? Choose "No car yet" on the first screen for a demo drive. READ-ONLY, PRIVATE Tachwire only reads live values: no fault codes, no coding, nothing changed in the car. No account, ads or tracking. Drives stay on the phone unless you turn sending on (encrypted, route removed; only laps on a track keep their positions). Crash reports turn off with one switch; usage data only if you agree. GPS runs only during a drive. Tachwire is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by any carmaker. All trademarks belong to their owners.

Screenshots

MLink Setup4 screens
Tachwire4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Tachwire at every 3 days against MLink Setup's fortnightly. MLink Setup's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MLink Setup ships an update fortnightly, Tachwire every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
MLink Setup versus Tachwire: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMLink SetupTachwire
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.4
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB167 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTraveo LabsMaksim Pogozhii

In-app purchases

None

MLink Setup

No in-app purchases

None

Tachwire

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MLink Setup free?
MLink Setup is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tachwire free?
Tachwire is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MLink Setup or Tachwire have ads?
Neither MLink Setup nor Tachwire shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MLink Setup or Tachwire?
MLink Setup ships an update fortnightly, and Tachwire every 3 days. Most recently, MLink Setup was updated on October 31, 2026 and Tachwire on October 31, 2026.

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