9 Cool Car Apps You Should Know

There is a cool app for just about anything you appreciate in life. But when it comes to your car fetishes, there are a handful of truly awesome apps that we wouldn’t leave home without. Curious what you might be missing out on? We were too:

You know those cool videos of cops and thugs getting busted for acting stupid. Well, we wouldn’t have those if it weren’t for people with dash cams. And guess what? There’s an app for that. More than a couple actually, but a few of our favorites include TripREC, Daily Roads Voyager and AutoBoy Dash Cam.

If $20 parking chaps your rear, the right app can find you the best spot at the closest distance to your destination. You can also use many of these to pay your fee from your phone, and if you happen to be downtown during a big game, it will help you find a spot, period. BestParking and ParkMe are two of our favorites, but there are a lot more (both free and paid) where these came from.

GasBuddy may be old, but it is still one of the best ways to find the best prices on gas in your area. And if you become a ‘reporter’ you can earn points towards prize giveaways.

If you think that most speed limits are ‘suggested limits,’ the iRadar will help keep you out of traffic court, by warning you of upcoming speed traps and red light cameras. It does this through its social network of users who have joined with the combined goal to not let a traffic ticket/fine ruin your day. It is available on both Android and iPhone.

You’re standard GPS might get you where you need to go, but having the real-time help from other drivers has its advantages… like avoiding traffic jams, speed traps, and culminations of a**hole drivers. As an added bonus, Waze also helps you find the best gas prices.

iOnRoad is a full-on ‘driver assistant. It helps you to locate your car in crowded parking lots, avoid potential accidents using its software algorithms, and it can even be taught to know when you’re ‘on the road’ and in need of assistance. It features a “black box” recorder, and can help keep you safe by monitoring the traffic around you, the speed you’re traveling, and warn you when you’re about to cross a solid line on the road.

Through the magic of the XLR8 app you can make your old Ford Focus (or whatever) sound like a Ferrari GT40, Lamborghini, or classic V8 muscle car. And it is piped through your kick’in car stereo, so it actually sounds pretty realistic. It works by using the accelerometer of your device to respond to real-time acceleration, braking and cornering forces. It is available for both Android and iPhone.

If your more into the performance of your car than its soundtrack, this handy little app can test your vehicles horsepower, 0-60, braking, 1/4 mile, and lateral Gs with fairly reasonable accuracy. iPhone only

Ad free music is a beautiful thing, and Spotify and Pandora both allow you to stream your favorite songs and genres (ad free) at a reasonable cost ($4.99 – $9.99) per month. If you are trying to figure out which might be better for you, Heavy.com has a few important points to consider here.