Best Location For Wideband Sensor?

[NeWyoRksPLaYaZ]

Hey guys I have a quick question. I will be installing my aem wideband tomorow and everywhere I read it says to get the sensor bung welded directly before the cat. In my case I dont have a cat and my exhaust is straight back after turbo and one resonator right before the muffler. There is one o2 sensor which I see thats in the middle of the car and it sits a little before where the second resonator once used to be(I see resonator has been cut and a straight pipe welded in place). So back to my question, where is the best place to mount this sensor? Thanks in advance!

 

[jpmxrider489]

Not sure if this helps but I have mine in my front o2 sensor location on the o2 housing. I have had no problems with it.

 

[airmail96]

On the instructions that came with AEM it should tell you I think the usual rule of thumb is 36inches from the turbo. Closer to the turbo will provide more accurate information, but some say it will have an effect on sensor life, but I haven't seen that with mine mounted in the stock location.

 

[jtmcinder]

18" from the exhaust ports, actually. Further away is safer, but adds more delay in the reading.

The issue here is that the sensor has a heater, but no way to cool itself. It is temperature-sensitive. If it is too hot, then it won't be accurate, because, as I said a moment ago, it has no way to cool itself.

 

[NeWyoRksPLaYaZ]

alright, so where would you guys put it? I dont want the sensor to die with in a a few thousand miles and also I dont want a completely inaccurate reading. Where is the "balanced" location?

 

[jtmcinder]

In the downpipe, after the bend, near the oilpan.

 

[airmail96]

Honestly I would put it the closest to the turbo that you can that allows you to easily access it. If anything just throw it in the dp shortly after it connects to the 02 housing.

 

[Jkorny169]

I would run it right off the turbo also. I currently have it located by my cross member in my car (right by where the cat should go, downstream of the turbo). However for my new setup next year i will place it right off the turbo.

 

[YanDsm]

Mine is in the 02 housing, runs very well. It's an LC-1

 

[NeWyoRksPLaYaZ]

cool thanks guys, ill put it right after the bend, that seems like an easy place to put it.

 

[92gstsi]

I have mine on the downpipe after the flex and it works fine with no issues...

 

[SpiderGST]

Have mine right after the subframe on the dp. Have good bit to cut the hole with if you have a stainless dp.

 

[ricktb]

I had my wide band installed by a so called professional, they put it just before the bend about 4 inches up the pipe. It worked great for about 3 months then started to give ###ed up readings. I replace the sensor then it started working great again for another 3 months and the readings went ###ed up again. From what ive read the sensor is probably to close to the turbo. Either that or my egt is way high but when the sensor was brand new it reads super rich at wot, around 10:1 afr. Not like its lean plus i have a black exhaust tip another sign of rich afr. I have done no engine mods just have higher boost from my small 16 g and 1g bov mod. I would recommend mounting after the bend, before the cat but since you have no cat I would mount it in the old second o2 location. Probably the best but i wouldnt go any further

 

[LiquidX]

I personally run my MXTL in the front o2 location without issues. Less prone for leaks and a tad more accurate and responsive. Cinder is correct though that it will get hotter so it's recommended to put a heat sink in between the bung and sensor to help cooling. I personally have not done that.

 

[Kalub]

I run mine in the second 02 sensor location.

 

[sLiCRiC911]

I run mine in the second 02 sensor location.

I second this all of my Wideband Sensor have always been placed in the second o2 HOLE<> if not i usually have the bung welded in on the Down pipe around that area... good enough distance for a proper reading and enough distance from excessive heat coming from the Turbo and engine.

 

[bastarddsm]

Keep in mind if you run anti lag, and regularly use it, you might want to keep it farther back to protect it some.

 

[blktalon3]

Stock location, no heat sink, no problems yet.

 

[Silent_White]

in the rear o2 location, no issues here

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

I have ran the wideband sensor (the same sensor, mind you) in 3 separate locations. The first was in the stock front 02 location. I had absolutely no issues with no heatsink. Later on I swapped exhausts and had the front 02 bung moved to just below the oil pan. This was just as responsive and didn't worry me with any heat issue. Also since it was solid there were no worries of Exhaust leaks beyond the Turbo-Manifold-02 housing-Exhaust Downpipe. Lastly I gave the rear 02 location a try. While it still functioned great, there was a noticeable delay in my AFR readings. While I'm sure I could have been absolutely fine with this as far as tuning and monitoring...I just didn't enjoy the delay.

Never in any location with a sealed exhaust did I experience -issues-. I don't believe that the temperatures of a good, healthy, properly running engine with ideal AFRs ever runs hot enough to reach the temperature boundaries of these sensors, then again you never know how someones' setup may effect temperatures in the exhaust if they are running extremely rich or lean. Though by then, the Wideband usually includes a warning/error LED which should flash a code to inform you that it's heat barrier has been breached. At least the Innovate LC-1 does.

 

[AZN29]

Where did you guys put the front o2 sensor? did you just unplug it and leave it?

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Where did you guys put the front o2 sensor? did you just unplug it and leave it?

For those of us running in the front 02 location, a lot of us utilize the feature known as Front 02 Simulation where the Wideband sensor can simulate the narrowband signal so that the ECU continues it's usual adjustment of +/- richness.

 

[dsmlover94]

i have mine on the rear o2 sensor, and run it up from the center console.

 

[jdxnc]

MTXL in the front o2 with a copper heat sink, 10k+ miles and counting with no issue. Some widebands liek the MTXL or the LC-1 have dual outputs, so even if you're on a stock ecu or on ecmlink V2 you can have the wideband simulate the stock o2 sensor on it's own.

 

[Eclipse2630]

good information, im about to do the same with my wideband but wasnt sure about location and i dont have an extra bung to be welded so i think ill try the second 02 sensor location, i have no cat either.