A/F gauge and Water Temp gauge

[smufguy]

OKay, i been researching about these things and for a NA motor a regular A/F gauge is fine but we can also get a Linear O2 sensor (Wideband) and what not. BUt everything has a sender for an extra money. So i dont know what to do. I thought u just get a gauge, and hook it up to your stock O2 and ur good. but why do they say they got a sender sensor for like 20 bux extra? is it more accurate than ours?

ALso the water temp gauge, how do i tap into the wire? Do i get an extra sensor and plug into the thermostat housing or something? I dont know. i want to get a Cylinder Head Temp gauge too, but i dont know where the sender goes on there.

I have talked to a guy named Mark Sproul who drag races his 6cyl CBX and he says he uses the sender and gauge set up cause his shit is all custom, which is not the way mine is. So i dont know.

What do you guys have and how do u guys think about the accuracy when u all go about it? Sorry it sounds like a noob question, but i just wanna clarify any misconception that i have and what people might have in the future.

[shepherd79]

wideband gauge needs a wideband sensor. i know wideband is better, but i wouldn't wait my money on it unless i had that kind of money.
the problem with aftermarket A/F gauges is that they work at full open throttle only, any other time they jump.
i have a link at home with a company that modifies A/f gauges to work under throttle position. they are a little more expensive, but i heard a lot of people like them better.
i will post the link when i get home.

[riced_roach]

the problem with aftermarket A/F gauges is that they work at full open throttle only, any other time they jump.
i have a link at home with a company that modifies A/f gauges to work under throttle position. they are a little more expensive, but i heard a lot of people like them better.

Anything but a wideband a/f meter your wasting money. NO 1,2,3 or 4 wire will work accurately to determine correct a/f ratio. All aftermarket a/f meters using any of those 02's I've mentioned are absolute junk.

Step up an get the real thing because it will monitor all scales of rpms. People that say "regular a/f meters" work well have no concept of accuracy. The whole point of an a/f meter is to monitor what is exactly going on with your engine. Using a NON wideband is just like using an inaccurate gas guage not knowing if your full or empty!! Using a non wideband is an absolute waste of time and just clutters your interior of your car.

[shepherd79]

http://www.gadgetseller.com/gauges/modifiedproducts.htm

[86LXItooFAST4me]

"The modified gauge will no longer display the lower air/fuel ranges seen at idle and while cruising"

correct me if im wrong but i thought you said they made gauges "that modifies A/f gauges to work under throttle position". does this mean at idle or full throttle? my question is do these gauge read idle speeds and full throttle or just full throttle cuz on the page it just says full throttle?

[riced_roach]

As I said if ain't a wideband your paying for junk. Widebands are specifically designed for precision that is why no serious tuner would use anything else. LED lights with no digitized numbers are meaningless. Naturally aspirated cars make more power at a richer 12.5:1 a/f ratio. How is that gonna indicate anything with a bunch of .01 cents light emitting diodes???????? IT SIMPLY CANT.

Using a narrow band 02 sensor is not gonna have enough cross counts to tell you what is actually going on. No guage with cheap 02 sensors will ever tell you accurately the correct a/f ratio. Even if it "supposedly" tells you a ratio.

Save your coin and get the right tools and instruments. Buying inferior products will just delay and take more time to save for products that are guaranteed 100%!!!!!! NOT ADVERTISED CLAIMS.

[smufguy]

Thanks Alex, i got the link book marked.

riced roach, i appreciate the info man. I want it to know how accurate our Stock O2 sensors are too. I know about the wideband and i can get one for $400 tho they run more than a grand. But if i know the exact mechanism of how this wideband sensor works (i dont know about the heated sensor), i might be able to do something else, cause im building a computer for my car for navigation and audio. I can use LabView and a National Instruments Control module to read out anything i want in the engine. So i wanna know how exact our O2 reading is or they just put out a constant voltage under off idle and different throttle postions (1/4, 1/2, 3/4, full).

[riced_roach]

02 sensors put an sine wave signal going from .1 volts to .9 volts. The sine wave pattern increase as the rpm goes up. This is called crosscounts. 4 wire 02 have basically a 2 ground wire, 12volts for the heater cct and a wire for the signal to the ECM. 5 wire wide band 02 sensors get more complicated and is explained on a pdf file

http://www.sts.sae.org/membersonly/t...xygen13-17.pdf

If you have more questions look at techedge wideband a/f meter website.

As I said theres absolutely no replacement. I emailed Greddy's techs and they replied and said there "almost" wideband a/f meter shouldn't be used for tuning purposes and should be compared to a wideband a/f meter........WTF???????????? Basically even the techs at greddy are saying cosmetic purposes only. I say dont waste hard earned money on something that doesn't help you tune.