I am piecing together the rest of the stuff I need for the install, and I'm stuck. I can get an A/F gauge for $60 and the EG Temp gauge is $125. I was going to get both, but now I want to decide between the 2. I am only going to be using a 60 shot dry. How accurate of a reading do I really need???
Someone please tell me which to buy...Advantages/Disadvantages???

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=248965

 

Thanks, looks like I am buying and AF gauge...

 

WAIT!!! What air fuel gauge do you plan to buy? If you are planning to buy an autometer then your in for a suprise. The autometer is junk, you need a Greddy A/F Gauge to get a true a/F reading

 

Whats wrong with the autometer A/F gauge? How is it inaccurate?

 

I thought any A/F gauge that wasn't wideband was a piece of junk...not just autometer?

 

I wouldn't say true reading. You'll get an idea when running your car. My idle and lower rpm's read pig rich, but on the dyno it doesn't tell the same story. Now when I running up high and in boost it's pretty damn close. I just confirmed this Saturday when I went to the dyno. At one point my idle was 18:1 and the damn Greddy stated 9, which is super rich. Go figure! Oh well it's an okay tool, but I like the EGT once "off" the dyno. I don't feel confident enough with reading it to butt tune on the street w/out a dyno. I'm able to see my hot spots or rich areas. I'm still running lean at idle so my EGT reads just under 400 degree C. Before when it was rich it never moved that high. Also at 3500 rpms and 80 mph on the freeway the damn thing climbs to 700 degrees C. If I let off or excelerate it cools down. So I'm just plotting these areas for change next time I'm on the dyno. As for the A/F it's a nice space taker and gives an indications when I'm hard on the throttle.

 

I was going to buy an Auto Meter A/f...I guess I have to rethink it now...Damn, I'm so confused!!!

 

the autometer isnt inaccurate at all. its not the gauge thats inaccurate, its the 0-1V o2 sensor that is inaccurate. you can actually run so much fuel that the 02 will tell you it is lean and vise versa. the 0-1v o2 isnt the best to tune with, but it is a start, i like the combination of the a/f gauge and the egt to tune an engine best without the use of a dyno or a wideband.

 

Were you able to check the a/f with a known accurate wideband compared to the greddy? How close was it where it counts (under load, boost etc)? Also, did you setup the selector on the control unit? I guess also you could *tune* the gauge using the potentiometer on the control unit... I have one as well and wondered how close it is to a wideband...

 

Well. I am just going to buy an Auto-Meter N2O gauge, and an Auto-meter Pyrometer. I may add the A/F in the future. VDO doesn't make an N2O gauge.

I guess I should step up and buy a VAFC while I'm at it, and have everything dynoed along with my cam gears!!!




[Modified by NirVTEC, 6:37 PM 8/20/2002]

 

Yes, that's how I knew it was off and off by alot. The only time it was close was full throttle under boost. I'm running mid to high 12:1 A/F ration now and the guage read mid to high 11:1. So it was close and that's the important part. So if I'm wide open and I see it heading in the wrong direction and can get out of it. I haven't messed with anything else, just set and for get it for now.

 

the auto meter a/f gauge is crap. period. get a greddy egt gauge. works great and is very accurate when installed correctly.

 

Can you elaborate on installed correctly?

 

for an accurate reading, the sensor needs to be installed 3-4 inches from the block. many people do not realize that.


[Modified by jinxproof99, 3:02 PM 8/20/2002]

 

I used an Autometer A/F "dancing LED" gauge... sucked!! Do yourself and your motor a favor, get a decent EGT gauge.

 

Does the probe for the EGT tap into the exhuast header? I guess that would make sense.

 

why do you say the autometer sucked? the autometer is only as good as the sensor that controls it.

 

Exactly.

 

So what brand A/F gauge do I buy???

 

so lets say i buy an autometer A/f guage, then buy one of those Civic 5 wire wideband/lean burn o2 sensors? would this be a cheap wide band?

 

I dont think you are going to find anything thats accurate unless its wideband. I haven't heard much about the Greddy A/F (which isn't wideband) and if I recall correctly, it's like 300 dollars

 

For the 5 wire o2 sensor to work correctly you have to some sort of control unit for it. That is what the 5th wire is for. I "think" it varies the heat of the sensor.

 

The autometer cannot give a precise reading even with a good 02 signal. The lights dont tell you anything when you are trying to tune a car. You may know if you are really rich or really lean but as for real tuning its a peice of ****.

 

YES the greddy is about 300 Dollars. Worth every penny.