Wideband O2, How Much Difference Will It Make?

[pugpete1108 62 1 Cars]

ive been running a narrow band o2 on my ms setup for some time now, in fact had it running really well after the last mot (spot on for emmisions) and it pulled well.

 

trouble is its not really refinded. it was fine when the car was stripped out and a bit mean but now im after something a bit smoother and not so lumpy.

 

so, im thinking of investing in a wideband lc1 and contoller etc to wire in.

 

really im just after some advice on the subject, as ive heard some use them to tune the engine then remove them? seems a bit odd to me? is it advisable to leave them fitted all the time,for ego correction etc.

 

its probably a really stupid question as im sure i should have been running one from the start but hey it worked ok. but i need to ask it anyway.

 

cheers

 

pete

[welshpug 1,626]

for ego correction

 

ROFL

 

 

its a tool, once mapped there's no need to leave it in.

[[L'e$kro] 2]

A narrowband sensor will only tell you if you're mixture is at lambda 1 (AFR 14.7:1 for unleaded), richer or leaner.

But it won't tell you how much lean or rich your mixture is.

A wideband sensor will allow you to tune richer than 14.7 when you're WOT. (Aim for 12.5:1 for unleaded) and will allow you to run leaner (around 16:1) when cruising on the motorway.

You can of course leave the wideband kit on your car all the time. It's just that tuning companies use it for tuning and don't give it to their customers once mapped

Nico

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

On a NA car then once mapped you shouldn't really need it there. Of course if you are using the auto tune stuff then it will benefit you over time, I'm not at all convinced on how good this really is though. However on a turbo with the speed at which it can damage itself if it goes lean on boost, I personally like to keep it fitted.

To be honest Pete I would put the dosh towards having it properly mapped by someone that knows what they are on with.

[[L'e$kro] 2]

Why not leaving it plugged if you don't need it on another car? It gives feedback for EGO correction, you can log, and if you have a gauge it will give you a hint if you have an air leak somewhere..

Nico

[pugpete1108 62 1 Cars]

ROFL

 

not that my ego needs correcting or anything

 

On a NA car then once mapped you shouldn't really need it there. Of course if you are using the auto tune stuff then it will benefit you over time, I'm not at all convinced on how good this really is though. However on a turbo with the speed at which it can damage itself if it goes lean on boost, I personally like to keep it fitted.

To be honest Pete I would put the dosh towards having it properly mapped by someone that knows what they are on with.

 

yeah when i looked a forced induction i was going to fit a megasquirt knock sensor for when it leans out (links to ecu and retards the timing etc to save on det.) but ive never really thought about the lambda.

 

it gonna stay na now so will do without then and put the money to having it mapped properly like you say. and to be honest the ve analyser in megalog works pretty well with the narrowband

 

least the bl**dy cars running again anyway

 

cheers guys

 

pete

[Sandy 189]

I've experimented extensively on my cars with WB and aftermarket ECUs. Once mapped nicely, I found it makes no discernable difference to economy. If the control loop is really well tuned it can smooth the AFR out, but it doesn't really bring any benefit with that and at certain speeds and loads, the correction itself can make holes in the map that don't show without WB correction. Correction generation is generally crap, it produces a spiky unrealistic map and should never ever be considered as an alternative to skilled mapping. You can always tell a map that's been written by an AFR slave!

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

Hmmm, I've left mine in, just thinking "might as well"... it's limited to how much it can correct by off the base map, I think it's 2 or 5% or somesuch. Should I pull it out and turn the correction off? It's not going to hurt leaving it on, surely? I'm not expecting it to really make any difference in terms of power or economy, but surely it's worth having if it's there and available? Or no?

[petert 554]

I'd pull it out and keep it as a tuning tool. They're less expensive than they were, but still worth keeping fresh. I fouled a plug once, which was enough to kill the sensor. I'd just put a narrow band in if economy is a priority.

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

Cool, ok, ta. I'll take it out today/this week and stick the old bung back in.

[Sandy 189]

After ignoring advice that AEM ones are really reliable for a long time, I've now switched to them and had about a year trouble free so far. I'd have had 2-3 Innovate sensors in that time normally.

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

Blimey. I've heard this about the LC1 although I guess I've been lucky with mine, been using it a good 2 years now (although only since building the new car has it been in permanently). Maybe if I carry on running it permanently it's life is going to be limited - another good reason to take it out, then!

 

When the LC1s pack up, what happens? Do they start sending back spurious voltages or do they die entirely?

 

(Sorry, just re-read that - you mean the sensor is packing up, not the LC1 box'o'tricks, right?)

Edited March 18, 2012 by brumster