Wideband O2's-DIY and OTS

rdrkt · 09-06-2002, 10:05 AM

The product that EVERYONE needs is FINALLY here. The Australian company that was selling the components for you to make your own DIY Wideband is now offering complete units. This means that you no longer have to get the pieces and then find an electronics guy to assembly it for you. The best thing is the price its about $300 US to get it insured and shipped to your door. At that point the only think you need is the O2 sensor off of a Civic VX.

If you are wondering what it is or what id does I suggest you do some research online. The simple answer is that a wideband 02 sensor will be able to tell you your exact air/fuel ratio. You no longer have to depend on your inaccurate a/f gauge or datalogger. With this you will be able to read your exact a/f ratio at all times. I can’t tell you how useful this product will be. Some of us wonder how we ever use to be able to tune without a datalogger this will be the same thing.

L2RTSiAWD · 09-06-2002, 01:12 PM

Awesome. Everyone has to see this.

2-0turbo · 09-06-2002, 01:19 PM

I will have mine in hand in approximately 2 weeks. I have had the components for some time and my friend (more electronics savy than myself) has been putting it together for me. He has used it on his FD3S a little and it works just great! I have put it in the tailpipe of my Explorer and it sits there displaying 14.7 just as pretty as you please during idle.

Note that WB heated O2 sensors should not be installed in place of the factory unit. You still need your factory unit and the excessive heat will kill them in short order. I have installed mine in the far end of my downpipe, several feet from the engine. I can make available a SST bung and cap (for when you want to remove the sensor) to weld into your SST exhaust system for a nominal cost. Please contact me if interested. I have several sets laying around right now.

RocketBoy · 09-07-2002, 01:03 AM

Anyone use this yet? Opinions?

NDgsx · 09-07-2002, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rdrkt
With this you will be able to read your exact a/f ratio at all times.

At all times meaning 5 times per second

. It's not the quickest display, I want to see what sample rate they offer once they get the datalogging software for the RS232 version.
I can't look at an LED display when I'm doing 100mph and merging to the freeway while tuning

It would be nice as a real time display while racing though.

Turboniam · 09-07-2002, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rdrkt
I can’t tell you how useful this product will be. Some of us wonder how we ever use to be able to tune without a datalogger this will be the same thing.

Sometimes I wonder the same thing... how did I or anyone else do any real tuning before the datalogger and just the other day I was wondering why I can't get a hold of a wideband 02 for a decent price!

I can't wait to see some of the responses on this product as I will definatly need to purchase this ASAP!!!

rdrkt · 09-07-2002, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kdogg435
Anyone use this yet? Opinions?

Wes Hess (HighPsi91) has used this unit on his car (#11 on dsmtimes.org), on my 12.1@117 on pump gas car, and he is currently using it to tune LarryD's beast. Hows that for opinions on it?

For the price its very hard to argue with it. The only real question is shipping. It has to come from Australia and I'm sure they are going to have a VERY high demand. I got to preorder mine so its pretty much guaranteed that I should have it in another 10-14 days. They officially start taking orders on Monday and something tells me they will be overwhelmed.

rdrkt · 09-07-2002, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NDgsx
I can't look at an LED display when I'm doing 100mph and merging to the freeway while tuning

You think that’s bad? Try using a pocketlogger by yourself on a 4th gear pull not very fun. Wes has his LCD panel on his steering column and that seems like a pretty good spot. What would be really cool is if some electronics guy could find a way to get the readout small enough to fit in a gauge pod.

larryd · 09-07-2002, 09:02 PM

so its the same unit that Wes has already?? thats the one youg ot?

NDgsx · 09-07-2002, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rdrkt

You think that’s bad? Try using a pocketlogger by yourself on a 4th gear pull not very fun.

Yeah I can imagine. I let a friend drive and ride shotgun with the laptop for "initial tuning" when I get a new part. Then I have the pocket logger for day to day drive to watch for knock. Now I just need to put the car back together so I have something to log

Turboniam · 09-07-2002, 10:25 PM

So total cost is about $300 and $140 for both the wideband and 02 sensor.

Am I missing anything else???

rdrkt · 09-08-2002, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by larryd
so its the same unit that Wes has already?? that’s the one you got?

Yes except I wont need to spend 2 months chasing down parts like he did. Definitely worth it IMO.

MustGoFaster020 · 09-08-2002, 05:43 PM

I recently assembled one going off the DIY page . It was relatively easy, I practiced soldering on a dead CD player for 15 minutes before I started in on it, it pretty much just take the parts (resistor, capacitor ect.) and solder it in the right place. Everything is labeled on the board, and if you get the parts from Digi-Key you can just write what each one is on the lable and bam. The actual assembly took about 3-4 hours and then you have too test it and put it in a case and what not. Then put it in the car. The test subject was a 91 GVR4 with an ETA12 and a bunch of other supporting mods. The difference was very noticeable when comparing the first pull to the second. It was really rich the first one, after a while it was tuned as good as it could get, FAST. Then of course you try to go to the track the next day and everything changes and the car goes slow

Oh well. We (the owner of the car, the tuner, and me) want to compare it too a commercially made WB and see how accurate its.

Took about 2 weeks to get all the parts, and a few trips to Radio Shack for the odds and ends. Total cost was around $250 for:
Enough parts for Two board ($55)
Two boards (~$12.00)
One sensor ($125)
Plus a couple trips to radio shack (~$40)
And we ended up with one complete WB and a spare fully assembled board that need some stuff from radio shack (case, wires, switch ect)and a sensor.

ArtOfSpeed · 09-12-2002, 05:53 PM

I have one. They are really quite nice. Now I'm just waiting to finish the car so I can try it out! One caveat is that it requires over 13 volts at 1 amp to maintain heater temperature for the sensor. This can sometimes be difficult to maintain (according to list members) depending on your charging system, and it is a biyatch to find an out-of-car voltage source for testing.
Mine arrived within 2 weeks of ordering it. Everything required to build it was included save the NTK sensor. I got that from NAPA online. Assembly was reasonably easy...be sure to print out and read all of the assembly instructions twice before you begin. It has step-by-step build a little and check the circuit type instructions that help you get where you are going. Very much worth it in my opinion (which means nothing to most of you). Most list members say that its accuracy compares VERY favorably to widebands at their local dynos. Be aware that this does not have a 0-to-1 volt output to replace your stock O2 sensor, or a native 0-5V output like the FJO for your standalone. One can be added with relative ease, however.

Turboniam · 09-19-2002, 05:23 AM

I have questions about this Greddy Air/Fuel with 4 wire 02 sensor Gauge that I saw advertised on RRE's site.

Product description:

Quote:

60mm Air/Fuel White face with Peak Hold function, brand new and includes heated 4-wire 02 sensor and wire harness. Includes weld-on bung.

Note: The o2 sensor is not the same as the stock O2 sensor. You have to weld the supplied additional O2 bung on the down pipe or O2 housing

http://www.roadraceengineering.com/garagesale.htm

I have been considering buying this kit.

However, I ran across this gauge and it talks about having a 4 wire 02 sensor. Does anyone know if this IS wideband 02 equivelant, since the gauge reads A/F ratios. See gauge below.

The reason I want to know if this is wideband or not is because the gauge (with peak hold) is about half the price of the kit at $255. I'm not really concerned with the cost, just that if I don't have to spend the extra money, and still get the exact same results, then I will go with the less expensive piece... however I want to buy any/all my parts with longterm thinking in mind

Anyone with experience input on this product?

MustGoFaster020 · 10-11-2002, 07:34 PM

I e-mailed greddy a while back to check into that, they are not wideband.

TSi92 · 10-21-2002, 01:07 AM

Very nice, I'll stick to my horiba unit though.

Turboniam · 10-21-2002, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MustGoFaster020
I e-mailed greddy a while back to check into that, they are not wideband.

Thanks for the info

How reliable or what good is that A/F gauge then???

jw · 10-26-2002, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Turboniam

Thanks for the info

How reliable or what good is that A/F gauge then???

Just like any blink blink unit you buy. Some people like to pay for the branded stuff and have the complete set (a/f, boost, egt, etc) to fill up the gauge pod.

95GST · 11-07-2002, 08:20 AM

I'm interested, what is the catch?

How come serious systems cost $1000 and this is only $300?

How much would the civic O2 sensor approximately cost..?

How many hours will it last before a new sensor is required.

About the voltage issue, I think there may be a problem with my car as it can definately dip below 13V at times. However, I believe a $40 voltage regulator should solve the problem.

I have been thinking of a wide band however just couldn't justify the cost of a $1000 system.

rdrkt · 11-07-2002, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 95GST
How come serious systems cost $1000 and this is only $300?

Some serious systems are hella overpriced. But 1k is a big much. I have seen the FJO unit go for around $650 and that is a bit more of a finished product. There are a few things that this unit doesn’t have that some of the nicer ones do. I heard keeping the 02 sensor hot enough can be an issue for some people and to my knowledge it doesn’t have an output to be logged by a standalone.

Quote:

Originally posted by 95GST
How much would the civic O2 sensor approximately cost..?

Quote:

Originally posted by rdrkt
At that point the only think you need is the O2 sensor off of a Civic VX.

I see how you could have missed a link in the very first post

Quote:

Originally posted by 95GST
How many hours will it last before a new sensor is required.

Depends on what type of gas you are using. I heard it last a for months even running exclusively on leaded gas. But on pump gas it should last just as long if not longer than a stock 02

Quote:

Originally posted by 95GST
I have been thinking of a wide band however just couldn't justify the cost of a $1000 system.

Neither could I which is why I was so happy when they finally started offering complete kits