I wanna know if that can be done... I am not familiar with it and just wanna know if it'd work. It sounds a little weird with the carb... I am planning to install it in my car later on. Please don't flame on me... I did some search before posting here but I couldn't find any info of it. I'd appreciate any positive feedbacks.

 

Can it be done, sure, is it worth it, depends. Narrow bands are light shows and of little to no tuning value, widebands are much better.

 

Just need to weld an O2 sensor bung in the header collector or the pipe coming out of the exhaust manifold.Install O2 sensor and wire up the gauge.

The narrow band units,as Trochoid said, are pretty much a waste.....although they can get you closer when tuning a carb (its still better than no info at all)
I used one to fine tune the old Yaw carb,it was helpful,but not a perfect science.

The wideband units install the same way and give you REAL,accurate info about fuel/air mixture.They are still around 300 bucks,but are invaluable for fine tuning a high performance carb or EFI engine.....

 

Like said above, you definately want a wideband if you want to have something to fine tune a carb. After reading about the narrow band gauges, they aren't really worth it. Cool to look at, and may help a little bit, but thats about it. I personally went with an AEM Gauge type UEGO wideband gauge from Jegs. Its about $275, but well worth it I think. I'm going to be working with a carb that not too many people use on these engines so I need something to really give me accurate info. It comes with the gauge and a wideband O2 sensor plus a weld in bung to hold the sensor.

 

Thanks for you guys' feedbacks!

85rotarypower, please make a post about it once you have the AEM gauge installed. I want to learn more about the rotary engine and how a carb works to make the car much faster. I want to stay NA, that's one of the reason why.

THANKS guys... keep it coming so I will get to learn more about this.

 

Was this you guys talked about?

http://www.prostreetonline.com/buy/aem_uego_controller/

 

Go with the LC-1 by innovatemotorsports

I have that on my civic

 

Thats the one I have. I was planning on making a thread when the car finally runs for the first time, with video. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Sweet, let me know. I might get an used one when it's the time for me to get it to save some money...

 

hmm..good info to know for me i was wondering how i would wire a a/f gauge to the carb..

:AA:

 

This may be a stupid question but...is there a program out there that you could use to hook up a laptop to the O2 sensor?

 

You can't directly hook a laptop up to an O2 sensor. You need some sort of controller in between the sensor and the laptop. They AEM gauge actually has an output you can wire into a RS-232 plug to plug into the serial port on a computer. Even then you need a special program to make sense of it all. The controller is what makes it all work though.

 

Try Innovative Motorsports website. I believe they have some models, or add ons that allow you to do that. The LM-1 I have has a record mode and I can download tuning runs to my computer for analysis.

Most of the other major brands should have the same capabilities. I know the MegaSquirt guys running WB-O2s are hooking up thier laptops and getting realtime data.

 

I'm gonna look into that. Thanks guys.

 

i have used the plx devices M-300 on all my setups and still do now.

www.plxdevices.com

widebands are KEY to successful tuning. (along with an egt gauge, but if your staying n/a don't worry about that)

 

I second the m-300. its a box shaped one but is pretty dam accurate and they have thier own forum just for the devices they make. so you can chat with the teks that make the shizel.

I am turboing so I need it for sure. I am going to unhook it though when I am done tuning cause it should be set when its all done. it makes a world of difference just when I adjusted my idle.

 

What makes a wideband better than a narrowband? What's the difference?

 

a narrowband makes use of a normal junky o2 sensor. technically it can only read ONE air fuel ratio and that's 14.7:1 stoich. this is what cars use in closed loop mode to try and achieve good emissions and fuel mileage.

a wideband is a 5 wire o2 sensor setup and is able to quickly and accurately understand all air fuel ratios ranging from 8:1 - 20:1 or even air.

saltyslug, i suggest you leave the wideband hooked up after you are done tuning because it can help if/when something goes wrong. also, on hot days or cold evenings the tune can change and you need to be able to see this. i have always left mine in and had it for years still going on the original sensor. these things last and it's worth it to always know what's going on.

 

Anybody try the NGK AFX wideband yet? has a digital readout, 4 character, includes everything for $260 and looks pretty good too. I think Im getting it just cause I already know and trust NGK, plus its cheapest and different

 

Oh I see... I am learning more from this...

 

Damn I want one of these... I just can't *yet* justify the investment. It's on my list, but a few other things must come first.

I want a guage-style one that I can mount where the stock clock goes between the two heater *****.

It's the ultimate thing to top off my ultimate N/A intake

(I've already got a Sterling Carb, Ported Manifold, ISCRacing airbox with K&N, a Mallory Comp 70 with a Holley 1-4psi FPR and that Ultra-Accurate 1-10psi Fuel pressure guage that bwaits sells with the quick disconnect. Add to that the RB exhaust which will house my O2 sensor and we'll be all set).

One question.... Does it matter how far back you mount the sensor? I'm going to have the RB "Street Port" exhaust system with the long primaries only collecting at the pipe just before the muffler. Can I mount it there? 'cause if I mount it any closer, I'll only see the AFR of one rotor, instead of the combined AFR of the two.

Then again I could always buy TWO of them, but where would I put the second guage, and who's gonna lend me the extra $400CDN? lol :P:

Jon

 

Jon, you could install an O2 sensor in each runner, then switch back and forth for tuning. For long term, I would monitor the rear rotor as it seems to be the one that usually goes first. You don't want the sensor too far back as it can give inaccurate readings due to cooler temps and outside air gets sucked into the tailpipe between exhaust pulses. That is why the tail pipe ones aren't terribly accurate. Mine is mounted 1/2 way between the engine and pre-silencer, on the rear header tube.

 

damn, didnt htinkabout that, i have the rb streetport system, no where to mount it except for way back behind the axle... hmmm, maybe ill get 2 of them lol

 

In most cases you don't need to monitor both rotors for AFR. Only if you have a really serious turbo engine do you need to monitor both rotors IMO, where the AFR has to be right on target. The difference between the two rotors is not likely more than 0.4, which is not enough to damage anything. If the difference is more than that, then there is likely something wrong with your ignition or intake systems and the problem would most likely be noticeable. Thats just my opinion though. I'm running a true dual system on my car so there is no way to monitor both rotors without two sensors. I'll be monitoring the rear. As for how far back the sensor goes, it says around 18" away from the exhaust port in the instructions for a normal engine with normal EGT. For a rotary, which is on the high side for EGT, probably 36" would be better.

 

I just got a PLX R-500 that i'll probably install within the next several months, tigermack, if it helps, PLX is a local company. they also have additional sensor inputs for other things you want to monitor (for example, rpm), and they have a built in datalogger that can be loaded to laptops... I'm waiting for a sterling carb and ported intake manifold, so this is in preparation for that.