How to check your A/F ratio?

What's the best way to check or meter my A/F ratio? Do many of you run a A/F meter in your car to keep things in check?

 

I have my A/F meter, and love it

 

I am running AFR gauge. I am using the innovative motorsports LC-1. w/a bosch 5 wire. it works great. what you can do depends on how much you wanna spend. you can get needle gauges fairly cheap but they arnt as accurate as a digital gauge. the most expensive part will be the wideband sensor, you could use the OEM sensor w/ the gauge but you will only show the area between like 13:1 and 17:1. if you want free, you can just check your plugs it very inaacurate but will tell you if your lean or rich.

 

I think you can use ECUExplorer to get AFR from your stock sensors.
http://www.tari.co.za/

I have the software and the cable, but I hadn't had time to try it out much on my car, so I can't really say how well it works. I can bring my laptop down to firestone sometime if anyone wants to try it out.

 

Yep, ecuExplorer does AFR, but is still limited by the range of the stock sensor.

Stuart.

 

I just went to Cobb AP Stage 2 and I am interested to check out the new AFR.

Also, I have a K&N typhoon setup in my garage and I want to throw it on. I know there are about 2 bazillion things saying not to do it, but there are also people out there that say its fine. I want to just throw it on, but I care about my car more than that. I'd like to throw it on and really see what it is doing to my AFR's.

Plus, it's always nice to just know what is going on inside the engine.

 

No. They say that you should only use the stock box or theirs.

 

Oh c'mon! A K&N is worth like 150 horsepower or more. And once you install Split-Fires, you'll be making mad power!

"Move over Enzo, I've got a Civic with a K&N CAI!"

 

Bikerwriter knows whats up... I had it in this fall and right before I SUCKED IN A COUPLE OF GALLONS WATER through my CAI and hydrolocked my engine, I was doing 4 wheel burnouts into 5th gear and struggling with blacking out on take off due to the G-forces.

So correct me if I'm wrong, but if I were to get a Autometer gauge for example, would that just hook up into my pre-existing 02 sensor? And that wouldn't work that well?

 

Your stock O2 sensor is narrowband, and just doesn't have the resolution needed to give you useful AFR information under load. You want to know how you are doing between 10.5:1 and 11.5:1 for most road-going WRXs that aren't guzzling race gas, using water injection, or any other aggressive things. The narrowband sensor only gives you a peek between 12:1 and leaner, anything less than that and it just throws up its hands says "rich".

 

So the autometer option is just to look good for the ladies. If I want something useful, I need to install a wideband 02 sensor?

 

i agree, a AFR gauge w/ out wideband is a expensive and annoying light show. i have the innovative LC-1 in my car if you wanna take alook some time let me know. i am very hapy with it. but if you arnt going to be tuning you prolly would need such an expensive gauge.

 

basicly you use a bosch or a vw wbo2 sensor and some manufacturer's shiney bits to read/log the results.

turboxs has the tuna, eam has whatever they call theirs....

the trick is getting one and having a way to log the readings....
for me, having the utec, it's nice having the wb readings embeded into the utec logs...

after i go to AP for this next dyno day i dono what to do.
i'm halfway thinking keep the utec installed in passive mode just for logging, launch control, and valet mode.

 

Also, Calvin (the guy behind the TARI software) is planning to add support for wideband sensors in the near future.

 

Thanks for the help guys.

 

i also believe the XD01 wideband standlaone kit, can be used to datalog. mine came w/ software for logging.

 

I believe the same goes for the LM-1 kit.

The downside to this is that without a tuna or streettuner, you cannot integrate the wbo2 info with the rest of your logs. It's nice to see your afr data right alongside timing, boost, kc, rpms, etc.

 

Bumpity bump....

Would something like this work? http://www.hybridconnection.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=149_170_322_361_1006&products_id=114

I'd like someway to be able to moniter it a bit while driving, so either a gauge or a computer hookup, heck if I could do a wideband just to my laptop that would probably be perfect.

what about this kit?
http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/innovate-standalone-gauge-xd16-p-121.html

The sites I linked to are just a very quick google search, I do not plan on ordering from these site for say, not yet anyway.

I'm a bit confused maybe all I'd need then is the LC-1 cable thingy
http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/innovate-digital-wideband-controller-with-sensor-p-41.html That I think would just hook up to my laptop.?

 

Thanks, yeah I did a little checking last night when I had some spare time, and I'm sure your right, I'll buy it straight from them, sounds like a fair amount of people have had some issues with them.

 

i was looking at this one. might be more than i need though. i just want to log to a computer.

http://www.zeitronix.com/Products/zt2/zt2.htm

 

it looks like the lc-1 with out a sensor is 149 and with one is 199. so you only save ~14-15 dollars if you buy the vw instead? or am i missing something.

 

Yup I have a buddy at work running a lm1 he buys 02 sensors from the VW dealers.

The kit justin posted will work with the VW 02 sensor is what your saying... the display set up isn't too bad either, I like that a bit better than a the gauges I've seen.