New air/fuel ratio gauge

Umfan92 · 10-31-2012, 02:55 AM

Well I finally got the air/fuel ratio gauge I've been wanting for some time. Ordered an AEM wideband UEGO from summit ant it arrived today.

I'll be welding the bung soon and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the location of the bung and wiring for the sensor. I have shorty headers so I'm not putting it in the collector like most people do. I'll most likely be putting it in the pipes farther down closer to the transmission. I don't want it to be too close to the exhaust.

As far as wiring, what would be best? It has this big pin connector about a foot from the sensor. I would like to have that inside the car but I don't know if I will get it to reach and I haven't decided where I'm going to route the wires. Any advice?

Thanks. I can't wait to get this installed.

SWPruett · 10-31-2012, 08:53 AM

Sarah,

Looking forward to seeing how it works. One thing: don't be concerned about getting it "too close" to the exhaust. This is actually a good thing in that these are heated UEGO sensors and the quicker they get up to temp, the better they work and the cleaner they stay. Generally, just rear of the collector merge flange is good. It is not unusual to use an individual UEGO sensor in each header tube about 6" from the exhaust port for heavy dyno tweaking, so don't worry.

Keep us posted!

ozarks06 · 10-31-2012, 09:02 AM

I mounted mine in the pipe on the driver's side under the car (the instructions say to mount it at least 18" from the exhaust port since too much heat will destroy the sensor) and ran the wiring up the firewall and then into the car. I wrapped the connector with rubber electrical tape (waterproof). Be sure and weld the bung so the wired end of the sensor points UP about 10 deg to keep moisture out of it.

From the instructions:

A weld-in M18 X 1.5 boss is supplied for sensor installation. Mount the O2 sensor in the
exhaust system at least 18 inches downstream from the exhaust port. If you anticipate
high EGT's (over 800C), run a turbocharger, run at high RPM for extended periods of
time or plan on running leaded race fuel then you must mount the sensor at least 36
inches or more downstream of the exhaust port as all of these can cause the sensor to
overheat. On turbocharged engines the UEGO sensor must be installed after the
turbo charger, if not, the pressure differential will greatly affect the accuracy of
the unit. For accurate readings, the sensor must be mounted before catalytic
converters and/or auxiliary air pumps. To prevent collection of liquids between the
sensor housing and sensor element during the cold start phase, the installation angle
should be inclined at least 10° from horizontal with the electrical connection upwards.

kenash · 10-31-2012, 09:15 AM

Hi,
Mine's in the collector on an upward angle (moisture control). Wiring should be pretty straight forward, knowing you obviously need to protect it. I'm sure the kit offers instructions on this anyway.
Good Luck

SWPruett · 10-31-2012, 09:26 AM

Hmmmm....a shame. Seems these are more "conservative" installation recommendations for the Bosch LSU-4.x wide-bands than those I am used to. Good info!

zray · 10-31-2012, 09:53 AM

I had my AEM unit about 3 inches downstream of the Tri-y headers on a supercharged GT-350. It worked great for years (about 7 or 8). When I sold the Shelby I put the same unit a little closer to the engine on a '65 K code. Still working great.

Z.

mikemstang66 · 10-31-2012, 11:01 AM

be sure to keep us posted on progress and tuning , i've been wanting one

zray · 10-31-2012, 11:14 AM

Anyone have the analog AEM version instead of the digital readout one? I've often wished I'd bought it instead of the digital one, would have looked more at home in a vintage car .

Z

ozarks06 · 10-31-2012, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemstang66

be sure to keep us posted on progress and tuning , i've been wanting one

I ran the AEM in my car for 3 years (until I sold the car a couple of weeks ago). It is great. I burned E85 and the mixture changes with the seasons (more gas in the winter for easier starting) and I could always tell when it was time to change the tune because the A/F would change (only at WOT since the ECM compensated at part throttle).

Makes EFI tuning easy, and I assume it would help greatly with carb tuning - you can dial it in on the money. Probably the best investment you can make if you want to tune for power, economy, whatever - no more guessing or reading plugs/tailpipe. If you're 1 point rich you might be leaving 10% power on the table, as well as losing a lot of mileage.

BTW, if you want to datalog it, I wrote some software for that - it's free (for the 'crippled' version). I never got around to putting in a tach interface (using the sound card - messy), but it will log A/F and times. http://www.southstreetperformance.com/index.html

Umfan92 · 10-31-2012, 03:03 PM

Thanks everyone. I'll try to respond to most of the comments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SWPruett

Sarah,

Looking forward to seeing how it works. One thing: don't be concerned about getting it "too close" to the exhaust. This is actually a good thing in that these are heated UEGO sensors and the quicker they get up to temp, the better they work and the cleaner they stay. Generally, just rear of the collector merge flange is good. It is not unusual to use an individual UEGO sensor in each header tube about 6" from the exhaust port for heavy dyno tweaking, so don't worry.

Keep us posted!

Thanks for the advice. I'm afraid of putting it too close because I think it might heat up too much. You make a good point however, about those who put a different sensor in each header pipe. Oh and btw, my car's name is Sarah. I edited my sig to eliminate the confusion since it wasn't very clear before. I'm Daniel, nice to meet you! lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozarks06

I mounted mine in the pipe on the driver's side under the car (the instructions say to mount it at least 18" from the exhaust port since too much heat will destroy the sensor) and ran the wiring up the firewall and then into the car. I wrapped the connector with rubber electrical tape (waterproof). Be sure and weld the bung so the wired end of the sensor points UP about 10 deg to keep moisture out of it.

Thanks. I read all the instructions completely last night. I was just wondering if anyone has done it differently. I'm going to try to keep the sensor on the top half of the pipe to help with the moisture issue. I was just wondering where I was going to put the big connector, but wrapping it with electrical tape sounds good. I think I'll be able to keep it away from the pipe, but if I can't, maybe some heat wrap would work?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenash

Hi,
Mine's in the collector on an upward angle (moisture control). Wiring should be pretty straight forward, knowing you obviously need to protect it. I'm sure the kit offers instructions on this anyway.
Good Luck

Yeah the only issue is that my shorties barely have a collector. All the pipes meet together and end at the joint. So I would have to put it in the pipes after the header. And I was thinking of putting it like 6 inches away from the end of the headers, just in case it's not good to put it so close to the joint.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemstang66

be sure to keep us posted on progress and tuning , i've been wanting one

I'll definitely update this thread. I hope to install it soon, but I have a few tests to study for

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozarks06

Makes EFI tuning easy, and I assume it would help greatly with carb tuning - you can dial it in on the money. Probably the best investment you can make if you want to tune for power, economy, whatever - no more guessing or reading plugs/tailpipe. If you're 1 point rich you might be leaving 10% power on the table, as well as losing a lot of mileage.

BTW, if you want to datalog it, I wrote some software for that - it's free (for the 'crippled' version). I never got around to putting in a tach interface (using the sound card - messy), but it will log A/F and times. South Street Performance Products

Yeah I'm really looking for economy, and I suspect I'm too rich, so I should end up with a little power in the process. What could I use the datalog for? Sounds cool. Thanks.

TommyK · 10-31-2012, 06:24 PM

I am running the same one. I installed it about 6 inches from the collector on a set of mid length headers. I just zip tied the harness/connector to the existing wiring harness. It has worked great for 2 years and I have learned a lot about carb tuning. Too bad the old Innovate Motorsports forum is defunct. It was a gold mine of carb tuning info using a wideband.

buckeyedemon · 10-31-2012, 07:14 PM

assuming you only have one sensor, wouldn't it be best to install it in the h-pipe? or does that create issues?

ozarks06 · 10-31-2012, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buckeyedemon

assuming you only have one sensor, wouldn't it be best to install it in the h-pipe? or does that create issues?

You probably don't get enough flow through the H-pipe. You really only need one sensor. If you have a manifold with an open plenum you will, in theory, have the same mixture to each cylinder. Likewise, with EFI, except for minor differences in injectors, you should have the same mixture in each cylinder. Having one for each bank would help diagnose a fouled plug or something, but the A/F gauge is not really a diagnostic tool but a tuning tool.

buckeyedemon · 10-31-2012, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozarks06

You really only need one sensor. If you have a manifold with an open plenum you will, in theory, have the same mixture to each cylinder. Likewise, with EFI, except for minor differences in injectors, you should have the same mixture in each cylinder. Having one for each bank would help diagnose a fouled plug or something, but the A/F gauge is not really a diagnostic tool but a tuning tool.

i have an open plenum manifold and have noticed for example, the left side idle mixture screws have a much smaller impact on the AFR when the sensor is plumbed in the right side pipe (which is the reason i thought the crossover pipe might be a little better). i flipped the sensor to the opposite and the same effect. basically i make sure to keep all screws balanced when adjusting.

ozarks06 · 10-31-2012, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buckeyedemon

i have an open plenum manifold and have noticed for example, the left side idle mixture screws have a much smaller impact on the AFR when the sensor is plumbed in the right side pipe (which is the reason i thought the crossover pipe might be a little better). i flipped the sensor to the opposite and the same effect. basically i make sure to keep all screws balanced when adjusting.

That makes sense at idle since there is so little air flowing it probably does tend to flow to the nearest bank. At WOT or part throttle it probably doesn't have nearly as much effect (assuming you jet both sides the same).