Wide Band O2 Sensor

[twr]

Well, I got my WBO2 from plex devices over the weekend and decided to finish up the install tonight. Since I already had a dedicated O2 sensor for the Autometer A/F Gauge, it was a relatively easy install. It finally verified what I had always thought, the Autometer Gauge I had wasn't even close in displaying accurate information, I'm not sure exactly what it's problem is but I'm going to try and find out this week.

Here is where I installed it. The orange wire is wired to the Autometer A/F gauge. I bought a converter that steps the voltage down the WBO2 from 5 volts to 1 volt to help make the Autometer Guage useful as a quick reference.

Here's a night shot.

I'm suprised with all the modifications that I've done that the tune is so good. At idle and cruising (part throttle) I'm seeing an a/f between 14.5 and 15.0. Under WOT, I'm seeing 13.5 at 3k rpm and it drops to 12.8 at 7k rpm. This LPM was programmed by the ShoShop over 3 years ago, when all I had was upd's, 80mm MAF and Y-pipe. It's a sweet little unit, I bought it online from www.plxdevices.com at the recomendation of PanamaPat.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Very sweet Terry! That is sure going to come in handy, that's for sure!

 

[Axianator]

PLX is definitely the way to go, IMO. Very nice choice, Terry.

Out of curiosity, what type and brand of "dedicated O2 sensor" are you using with the PLX controller now? May I assume that it's the same one you were using with the Autometer gauge before?

 

[Hack]

Terry,

Where did you install the bung for the WBo2? I know that they must be before the catalytic converter, but is it acceptable to have only one cylinder bank being read?

I will be installing one myself soon, but do not yet know a lot about them hence the questions.

 

[twr]

The Autometer A/F Gauge uses a narrow band O2 sensor, I used a Motorcraft O2 sensor with it.

The PLX unit will not work with a narrow band O2, however the unit does comes with either a NTK WBO2 (pricey) or a Bosch WBO2 (much cheaper) These O2 sensors are used on the lean burn Honda Civic.

Glen - I had an additional O2 bung welded in when I did the Cat-back exhaust. It is directly below the OE bung on the rear down pipe. I'll try to get a picture of it today. It would be nice to keep this close of an eye on both banks of cylinders, but my pockets are not deep enough to justify another $340 for WBO2. I'm pretty comfortable with this setup.

Here's a quick vid

Edit: Glen here's the picture

 

[gmorrell]

Terry,

Where did you install the bung for the WBo2? I know that they must be before the catalytic converter, but is it acceptable to have only one cylinder bank being read?

Not necessarily. You can install a WBO2 after the catalytics. Think of catalytics as Oxygen storage/release devices. Cats tend to perform a long term smoothing of the exhaust gas O2 content, but you can still see the effects of lean and or rich combustion post-cat.

 

[RI-SHO]

Wouldn't after the cats be almost as good??

I'm just guessing because when I recently had my SHO dynoed they run a wideband sensor from the drivers side muffler to read my SHO's A/F.

 

[AutoSHO]

As Gary said, you can still see the effects of a rich or lean mixture, it just isn't as accurate.

 

[twr]

Pre cat will give you the most accurate reading of what is happening right at that moment, which is great for tuning. As Gary said, the cats smooth out the exhaust gas 02 content.

 

[Axianator]

In furtherance of the point against post-cat sensor mounting, it should be noted that most wideband sensors require placement between 24-36 inches downstream of the engine for optimal and proper performance. This point alone renders the conversation moot since it eliminates the possbility of post-cat readings on most setups.

One other note of mention for future wideband users is that while Terry has utilized a very nice dual-bung setup for his wideband, an extra bung is not needed when a PLX controller is utilized with either of the available wideband sensors (Bosch LSU4 or NTK N1H1/L2H2). With the PLX, you simply replace one of your stock O2 sensors with the wideband sensor and then follow the instructions here to adapt the simulated narrowband output of the PLX controller to your EEC input harness. This will pacify the EEC's desire for a 0-1v narrowband signal (eg. make it think it's still seeing a factory O2) and allow you to utilize the existing bungs without cutting or welding.

 

[SHO--ripper]

If you don't mind me asking how much was the total cost?

 

[twr]

If you don't mind me asking how much was the total cost?

I paid $339 for the WBO2 Controller and Sensor shipped and an additional $40 for the narrow band convertor shipped.