what is the best way to keep track of air to fuel ratio?? air/fuel ratio gauge like greddys, or like a egt gauge??? and what is perfect a/f ratio??? does this change with fi or bigger injectors?? thanks!

 

wideband o2 sensor


Rob

 

what exactly is a wideband o2??? how can i wire it up in my car??

 

Widebands cost about a grand so they are probably not an option. Your best bet is to get an EGT guage and go to a dyno with wideband. As long as you look good on the dyno you can just watch your EGT guage for signs of leaning out.

 

http://www.techedge.com.au/vehicle/wbo2/default.htm

mine w/o the gauge, cost less than $200 150 of which was the sensor...

 

http://www.techedge.com.au/vehicle/wbo2/default.htm

mine w/o the gauge, cost less than $200, 150 of which was the sensor...

 

Cool. Can an average enthusiast use it though?

 

exactly what does the wideband do that the stock single wire doesnt?? how hard is it to read?? will this hook into any car?? and would the egt be better then the greddy air/fuel gauge that has the nedle and shows exactly the a/f ratio??

 

I have heard that the Greddy is better than the autometer, but it still isn't a wideband. Those sensors should only be used for guestimates only. The widebands are just much more accurate, and can actually tell you what your air/fuel ratios are within decimal points. Like I said widebands are expensive. The ones they use in shops are over $1000. I have never heard of the one above, but it looks like it could be a PITA. It is resonably priced though, if you really want a wideband. I would just go with an EGT guage because you can tell more from that than a shitty air/fuel guage.

 

I have and use the tech edge wideband oxygen sensor unit. It works remarkably well, and is very very accurate. As the sensor is fast at processing the information, unlike other sensors which take a long time to react to the changing air/fuel ratios and give inaccurate readings.

I have not gotten to check the techedge's air/fuel #'s against something like the motec pml, but the sensor being used ntk heated oxygen sensor is the same part # as the 600.00 motec one. The processor chip that comes with the tech edge is also supposed to be faster than the motec one, but i cannot confirm this since i dont not have a motec pml.

I used the tech edge to street wideband my car with my haltech, shooting for a air/fuel ratio of 12:1~12.5:1 since i run water/alcohol injection and have to slightly lean out the mixture due to the other compounds being burned in the combustion chamber. After tuning the haltech with the tech edge i then purchased the greddy air/fuel gauge and sensor. There is an option with the greddy gauge that you can calibrate their sensor to read what a wideband sensor does, thus making it as effective as the wideband. I just re-calibrated the greddy air/fuel sensor to what readings i was getting...bam wideband readings all the time. I did this b/c the wideband oxygen sensors do not last for long periods of time, maybe two full years of use. The greddy sensor is supposed to last alot longer, and is cheaper to replace.

So you can buy the tech edge kit, and the ntk sensor which should run you less than 300.00. You will have your own wideband oxygen sensor that you can tune with which i personally think is priceless. You can remove the sensor when you are done, and plug the secondary oxygen sensor bung with the appropriate size bolt, or go with the re-calibrated greddy air/fuel unit and sell your wideband for the same price.

Just keep in mind shoot for air/fuel ratios of 11:1~12:1 under boost, 13.5:1~14:1 when out of boost. Also shoot for air/fuel ratios of 12.5:1~13:1 using 110 octane if you ever use race gas. Hope that helps.

 

thanks, boosted hybrid, i keep taking it on/off, does the greddy use reg. 4 wire o2's?

also you must have the tech edge unit on whenever the engine is running or else you can ruin the o2 sensor prematurely(found this out the hard way... good thing napa has warranties)

 

Yeah the greddy is a 4 wire sensor, which looks similar to the stock vtec oxygen sensors, but it is supposed to be calibrated to operate over a broader air/fuel band. It is accurate once its dialed in right.

As far as the tech edge goes, i had it wired right i guess the first time i put it in, i never had any problems as far as the sensor failing on me.