Wideband comparision

N2HIFI · Post by **N2HIFI** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 5:43 am

ok i was over on honda-tech and found a link to this article where the did a shootout/comparison of the most popular widebands available.

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2007 ... /index.php

chris

thsmrtone1 · Post by **thsmrtone1** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:52 pm

wow, thats actually quite a surprise to me... ive never had a problem with my plx, but apparently the one they tested wasnt too accurate... i wonder if theres a difference between the m300 they tested and the sm-afr that i have, cuz +-1AFR is a LOT of variance...

b18b-t · Post by **b18b-t** » Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:54 pm

i have a uego and despite its bad rep it still works well and very accuratly.

LowePerf · Post by **LowePerf** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:09 am

On the dyno my old PLX m-250 was about + 1 A/f off. I tried different sensors, checked supply voltages, checked grounds, nothing helped. It was no big deal as I knew this and tuned accordingly. I also checked it against my 5 gas weekly to be sure of any changes.

My 5 gas analyzer is an "emission quality" analyzer ($8000) that is calibrated with certified gas and does not just use oxygen to determine A/F but uses a Lambda formula using all 4 gases to accurately calculate A/F. This is why I use it as my "standard".

My experience with widebands are that no 2 can be expected to show exactly the same everytime. I just purchased a new PLX SM-AFR and it works perfectly. It's dead on with the 5 gas and I've ran it side-by-side with a F.A.S.T. unit also. The FAST unit reads about .1 leaner than the others.

While your wideband is a great tuning tool, it is just 1 tool. Sometimes you need more than 1 tool to get the job done. If your wideband reads 12:1 but everything else tells you it's lean, don't be afraid to pull plugs, check the EGT or anything else that you could do to confirm the A/F. I think when it comes down to it that ultimately we are responsible for checking our own equipment to make sure it right.
-John

mike93hatch · Post by **mike93hatch** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:40 am

my m300 is dead on. if youre comparing it to a wideband sniffer on a dyno then that is not good. i have not seen one sniffer that was dead on. they were always off by +- 1 afr

LowePerf · Post by **LowePerf** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:28 am

I was not comparing to a dyno wideband, I was referring to my dyno wideband. This is the wideband that I use and logged with the dyno data. These comparisons are done with the o2 mounted in the pipe not in a sniffer pipe at the tailpipe.
You are about right though, if using an o2 mounted in a sniffer at the tailpipe add about .5 on the lean side. If the same setup is on a vehicle with a cat add about .5 more.
For you guys that say your wideband is accurate, I'm curious as to what are you referencing it against?
-John

thsmrtone1 · Post by **thsmrtone1** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:41 am

LowePerf;52462 wrote:For you guys that say your wideband is accurate, I'm curious as to what are you referencing it against?
-John

not referencing it to anything, but it gives me a good starting point to get my fuel maps close before tuning the ignition timing... and gives me a reason to freak out when there is the possibility of detonation... like i said, ive never had a problem tuning my fuel maps with my plx, but i have no clue if it is as accurate as it should be.... and i definitely check my plugs to make sure.

b18b-t · Post by **b18b-t** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:40 pm

LowePerf;52192 wrote:On the dyno my old PLX m-250 was about + 1 A/f off. I tried different sensors, checked supply voltages, checked grounds, nothing helped. It was no big deal as I knew this and tuned accordingly. I also checked it against my 5 gas weekly to be sure of any changes.

My 5 gas analyzer is an "emission quality" analyzer ($8000) that is calibrated with certified gas and does not just use oxygen to determine A/F but uses a Lambda formula using all 4 gases to accurately calculate A/F. This is why I use it as my "standard".

My experience with widebands are that no 2 can be expected to show exactly the same everytime. I just purchased a new PLX SM-AFR and it works perfectly. It's dead on with the 5 gas and I've ran it side-by-side with a F.A.S.T. unit also. The FAST unit reads about .1 leaner than the others.

While your wideband is a great tuning tool, it is just 1 tool. Sometimes you need more than 1 tool to get the job done. If your wideband reads 12:1 but everything else tells you it's lean, don't be afraid to pull plugs, check the EGT or anything else that you could do to confirm the A/F. I think when it comes down to it that ultimately we are responsible for checking our own equipment to make sure it right.
-John

very nicely put! as far as the uego being accurate, i compared the data with the plx. about +-1afr. Lowe do you tune shareware like crome? I was wanting to dyno tune my car as its only been street tuned a few times

LowePerf · Post by **LowePerf** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:24 pm

b18b-t;52655 wrote:very nicely put! as far as the uego being accurate, i compared the data with the plx. about +-1afr. Lowe do you tune shareware like crome? I was wanting to dyno tune my car as its only been street tuned a few times

Yes, we do.

twkdcd595 · Post by **twkdcd595** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:19 pm

thought this would be a useful link to a thread on honda-tech about widebands I started.

obviously the best wideband on the market is the motec, but for people who are not going to spend over a grand on a wideband I started a poll to see what everyone has the best results with.

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread/2096374

and here is a link to that test being discussed on honda-tech as well... in which most people voice their opinions about that shootout.

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2027063