wide band and let which one?

[ste porter]

after a some what catastropic engine failure at the end of last year and my new engine already entering the thousands i have decided that i want as much added security so to speak and extra monitoring as posible

i have been looking at wide band kits but to be 100% honest i dont know alot about them

i have read about people wiring the kits into let management ect and woundered how you would do this

also what type will work with lets?
do you keep the standard lamba in place and wired in as normal?

basicly im after as much info on the general fitting and non obvious advantages as posible
also what are the best
whats the best kit for the least money and any experiances everyone has had with wide band use

cheers in advance steve

[phazer]

You'll want a kit that has a narrowband output which means you can use it in place of the standard lambda sensor. It'll give the let management a more accurate signal but the real reason is the accurate fuelling indication.

Fitting is straight forward, they fit into the standard bung, though with a turbo you might want to get an adapter that moves the sensor away from the direct heat of the manifold (Like this: http://www.dynotunenitrous.com/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=158)

Everyone has different ideas on which is best but to be honest for what you want they will all do the job. I'm using a PLX with a guage in place of the clock. Very happy with it and from what I've seen it's very accurate - I used it to balance the TB's for MOT time and it was spot on.

The Bosch sensor should last around 50000 miles on unleaded provided your engine isn't burning oil. I use mine full time.

If you can do basic wiring you'll be fine. I think mine has four wires (12V, Gnd and 12v Guage, Guage signal). The sensor harness is self contained plug and play.

[meritlover]

I have used the Zeitronix AFM for years.
it has a fantastic responce time, pc data logging and plots AFM/lambda against boost/vac TPS, EGT and an aux input which is user defined. the PC software is great for mapping.

it comes with dash mounted gauge that displays all of the above in real time, its not too helpful for mapping, but its nice to just be able to keep a check on the AFR when you're beasting through the load bands.

you can keep your existing lambda sensor and add another boss to take the Bosch LSU. Or you can use the Bosch LSU in place of your OE sensor and use the simulated narrowband output from the Zeitronix unit to run your ECU on closed loop.

check their website.

[ste porter]

thanks for the info

is it a case of you get what you pay for as i have looked at so many kits and prices vary from £100 to about £500 and i dont want to buy a lower end jobbie and it be no more use than a standard narrow band sensor

[meritlover]

pretty much, however like all things dont go on price alone. many use the same wideband sensor like the Bosch LSU 4.2 most interface over USB or RS232 (can be used on a new laptop with a USB-RS232 convertor)
look at things like response time and sample rate these are the most important things. everything else is just a fancy box with some flashy software.

i dont know if this helps:

http://www.zeitronix.com/press/afrshootout1.htm

http://www.zeitronix.com/Products/zt2/zt2.htm

i may sound bias in my opinions, but having used this kit for years, i really cant fault it. price 'was' very competative at the exchange rates at the time. but this will probably effect all wideband products from overseas.

[Lee H]

Would keep the standard lambda in position for the ecu and fit the wideband further away from the turbo as the heat kills the wideband sensor in no time. Would also use a heatsink bung on the sensor to further take the heat away.

[Rick Draper]

I would buy a AEM.

[Stuart]

as Phazer will confirm, not all wideband controllers behave the same... and some not even to the right spec for the Bosch sensor :( but that only means their lifespan is reduced as opposed to accuracy issues etc.

Where I used to work, we would use the NTK blue box UEGO's and then feed the analogue output into a ADC into the pc. I think they are about £500 but come with a calibration certificate and individual voltage/Lambda curves etc

[phazer]

as Phazer will confirm, not all wideband controllers behave the same... and some not even to the right spec for the Bosch sensor :( but that only means their lifespan is reduced as opposed to accuracy issues etc.


Yes indeed and that particular very popular set up (which shall remain nameless ;) ) is an **** to keep accurate, it allows offsetting of values and needs a free air calibration every so often - so how do you know it's actually accurate? The data logging and interfacing is top notch but too much agro for what I use mine for.

[Rick Draper]

Yes indeed and that particular very popular set up (which shall remain nameless ;) ) is an **** to keep accurate, it allows offsetting of values and needs a free air calibration every so often - so how do you know it's actually accurate? The data logging and interfacing is top notch but too much agro for what I use mine for.

That been a Innovate LC-1 then?!lol

[phazer]

That been a Innovate LC-1 then?!lol

lol Glad it's not just me :thumb:

[meritlover]

be very carefull of what sensor a cheap gauge uses. a lot of cheap ones arent wideband at all. theyre narrow band sensors with extrapolated outputs, that the sensor has no chance of reading accurately. particularly the units that use Bosch LSM 11 sensors.

[phazer]

be very carefull of what sensor a cheap gauge uses. a lot of cheap ones arent wideband at all. theyre narrow band sensors with extrapolated outputs, that the sensor has no chance of reading accurately. particularly the units that use Bosch LSM 11 sensors.

Nice one, had no idea they were being used. Bit deceitful isn't it?

LSU 4 on mine :D