Autometer wide band

[HottestZ28]

I was looking into this gauge http://autometer.com/cat_gaugedetail...id=3604&sid=11 , my question is I know little about wide band other then the instant a/f ratio. I saw some that were 2 channel and data loggers etc. I was wondering if the autometer is a waste of money after I get a tune? Plus this gauge looks really good (looking for a gauge to fill in the trans temp spot after the T-56 conversion)

[Mark B]

You need to get a wide band O2 sensor for that to work. Not cheap. Those two parts are used for WOT tuning. You can use that info to adjust your fuel pressure or to calibrate your tune. If you are not planning on doing either of those... You can just get a regular Air/Fuel ratio guage that will work with your stock O2 sensor. They look cool & are cheap. But it really wont provide you with any useful information.

[Injuneer]

The AutoMeter Wide-band is a FULL wide-band controler, and includes a Bosch wide-band sensor. It is a complete unit with no additional parts required.

Notes:
Includes:
-8 ft. tubing or wiring harness.
-LED digital display.
-0-4v data output feed for ECU, data acquisition unit, or Laptop tuning
-Auto-Dimming gauge brightness feature
-Includes high-quality Bosch wideband O2 sensor

Display data in Lambda or numerical A/F ratio
User programmable range
Peak recall/memory
10:1 to 20:1 AFR Range for Gasoline Applications
Adjustable for Alternate Fuel Types (Ethanol, Methanol, Propane, CNG)
6:1 to 18:1 AFR Range for Alternate Fuel Types
User Programmable Warning Function

But, it does need to be installed in one of two ways.....

1 - Add an O2 sensor bung to each side of the exhuast, so you can install the wide-band sensor on either side. This allows your stock narrow-band sensors to feed the PCM.

2 - Check to see if the AutoMeter wide-band description (0-4v data output feed for ECU) means is has an adjustable (for voltage range) narrow-band emulator, that would allow the gauge to read the wide-band A/F ratio, while feeding a separate 0-1V narrow-band (equivalent) signal to your PCM to allow it to control using the wide-band sensor. That would eliminate the need for new O2 sensor bungs.

This will provide invaluable data to monitor the state of your custom "tune". It will tell you when something is going wrong in the control system, that would cause the PCM not to be able to meet the intent of the tune.

But, the absolute last thing I would use a wide band for is to:

You can use that info to adjust your fuel pressure or to calibrate your tune.

You do not tune using fuel pressure..... does not work, due to the stock PCM's logic, which uses or does not use the "learned" long term multipliers, depending on whether it was adding or removing fuel in the high load memory cells.

If the wide-band indicates your tune is not within specs, you look for things in your existing system that are preventing it from achieving the desired results (e.g. - incorrect fuel pressure), or you have the tune "adjusted", preferably on a dyno or at the track.

There are other wide-band setups that are also very valuable. The Innovate Motorsports LM1 is very popular, and includes the narrow-band voltage emulator, and can be expanded to log data from other sensors. The Altronics dual wide-band "O2 Alert" has dual channel sensors, so you can monitor both sides. And FAST is now making a dual channel wide-band sensor.

[HottestZ28]

I don't know if this is a no-no but can I mount the o2 sensor in the "test" pipe and watch it that way or will that be a total waste of time?

[Injuneer]

Assuming your "test pipe" replaced the cat(s), that would be an acceptable location for a wide-band sensor. The wide-band sensors are heated, and the controllers are temperature compensated, so the location is not as critical as the stock narrow-band sensors. The wide band has to see exhaust gas that has not been altered by the catalytic converter(s).

[HottestZ28]

Will this be "ok" for checking a good/bad custom tune? I really want to thank you for all your help by the way!

[Injuneer]

There's no "correct" A/F ratio that will produce max HP/torque in engines "in general". It depends on the specifics of the engine, so where one engine might run best at mid 12.x:1, another might run better in the low 13.x:1 range. A sepcific A/F ratio is not going to be indicative of a good or a bad tune... unless its so far off (>13.6:1, <12.3:1) that its just not a reasonable possbility.

You get a custom mail-order tune. You log the data, and feed it back to the tuner, so he can see what its like. He may decide to make further adjustments to the tune. Or, better yet, go to a shop that can dyno tune, and let them optimize the A/F and ignition timing to produce the most power (or are under the curve, or whatever criterion defines the performance you are after). From that point forward, monitor the exhaust to watch for departures from the optimum tune.

If you start running a power adder (nitrous or forced induction), it gets even more critical. Departing from the correct tune, particularly on the lean side, is going to damage pistons and heads very quickly.