A/f Ratio Gauge

[killswitch88]

hey guys as topic states im gonna buy all 5 of the saber 60mm electronic gauges and included in that is an air fuel ratio gauge. im kind of confused as ive been told two different things by 2 different people. one says that i will need another o2 sensor (ideally wideband, looking at around $350) and the other says that i wont need another o2 senor im somewhat confused as both seem to be certain they are correct. can anyone else tell me if ill definitely need one or not and if i do what price im looking at and what kind i should be looking for. cheers, mark

[Duncan]

Well they are both correct. It depends what type of air fuel guage it is.

Narrow band A/F gauge runs off your standard O2 sensors, only reads Lean or Rich (may have some lights or a scale but it basically just reads between 14:1 and 15:1 which is useless). Narrow band O2 gauge is a waste of time because it will always show rich under hard acceleration but you won't know how rich.

Wide Band O2 needs an additional o2 sensor and can accurately read much wider ranges, eg 10:1 to 30:1. These are great and you can tune your car based on their output. Example is www.techedge.com.au

[killswitch88]

well its a saber gauge and it just reads lean optimal and rich. the person selling them has told me that i dont need a new o2 sensor so is it fair to assume that it is a narrowband o2 gauge? if yes should i give it a miss?

[Duncan]

yeah would be narrow for sure, the wideband ones will have a numeric read out.

Give it a miss? up to you, it doesn't tell you anything helpful but it would have pretty lights.

[killswitch88]

i do like pretty lights but on the other hand informations is always good to have. think ill be givin the a/f gauge a miss. thanks heaps mate

[GeeTR]

Iv heard of some evil things from TE products. Innovative Motorsports if you keen on having a go

[B-Man]

I just installed a PLX Wideband - about $400 from the US.

Works well

Can emulate a narrow band for your ECU

or of your ECU can do closed loop with a Wideband, there is a 0-5V output too.

[RBwhatever]

yeah would be narrow for sure, the wideband ones will have a numeric read out.

Give it a miss? up to you, it doesn't tell you anything helpful but it would have pretty lights.

If you buy the tech edge digital AFR gauge you can still get a numeric read out from the narrow band O2. If your cheap, for $60 you can go to Dick Smith and buy the kit build the thing. But as said before, it would only be there as a general reading and not to be trusted if your tuning. You basically see on the gauge what the ecu sees. Only good for seeing constant throttle position readings(kind of) and telling you if your O2 is dead.

Edited July 5, 2007 by KeyMaker

[VSPEC-33]

NGK have released a wideband AFR unit with a digital readout. The best thing about it is its pretty affordable, US$265 from some stores. Dont know if they are easy to get in Aust but i havent tried, can always ship it over from the US. I reckon it would be a handy tool for most guys here, tuning or just keeping an eye on fuel delivery.

More info http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/products/perf...fx.asp?mode=nml

[mad082]

the a/f gauge that you are looking at is good for 2 things. 1: flashy lights, 2: checking that you factory o2 sensor is working properly. at low load it should flick back and forth between rich and lean. this means that your o2 sensor is working properly. if it doesn't flicker then it means it is dead and at low load you are wasting fuel.

my mate bought a wideband kit from innovate. it was $680, but it works well, can record and plug into a laptop, and can simulate narrowband for factory ecus.

[zebra]

which stores? i cant find any online that sell the NGK one

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/products/perf...fx.asp?mode=nml

[Duncan]

yeah from $383 at the link I posted from a local mob

http://wbo2.com/2j/default.htm

[samdumbert]

I saw a kit at jaycar. Is it any good?

[Duncan]

Thats the guage keymaker was talking about above.

But you will need a sensor and controller as well, check the link I posted

[VSPEC-33]

which stores? i cant find any online that sell the NGK one

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/products/perf...fx.asp?mode=nml

Ballanger Motorsports US$250 http://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/product_i...CFSAwYAodzD3xMQ

Summit US$265 http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.a...mp;autoview=sku

Extreme PSI US$249 http://www.extremepsi.com/store/customer/p...1088&page=1

Just Google ngk powerdex afx and sort through them if you want to find a different store, this is just the first few i found.

Cheers

[zebra]

Awsome,

Thanks Mate

Andrew