Hey guys, I've been thinking about putting in a air/fuel gauge in my 82. have anyone tried this? I know I'm going to need a o2 sensor, i just figured this would be a easier way to tune my carb?

Thanks,

Alvin

 

Ive heard before that they are very unaccurate and not useful maybe someone will add onto this with some personal experience but I agree I would also love something that could tell me how far my a/f mixture is off since I think ive been running Extremly rich

 

I put one in my 82 last month.
They are not exact, But do give you a good idea of where your Mixture is.

o2 sensors basically only tell you where you are from Stoich (14.7:1) they get inaccurate as you more away from that mixture.

From what I've read, if you are tuning for power they are not much help. But if you are tuning for economy they are useful.

 

O2 sensors are pretty accurate little devices. It is what you read the output of it with that determines the accuracy.
I have an O2 sensor on my v8 ranger, which is carbed. I installed an air/fuel guage, but I also installed terminals to hook up my digital voltmeter. The guage gives me a good ballpark while I am driving, but my voltmeter gives me the exact voltage being produced. I have a small chart in my truck that gives me the correlation between the millivolt signal to a/f ratio.
The O2 sensor it self reacts in milliseconds, so if something changes, you will know right away.
Some things about the sensor.
It needs to be 500f before it starts working.
leaded fuel, and rtv deposits will ruin them.
They need a good connection to work properly.
oil consumption will not hurt them, but if they get clogged with soot, you got to clean them out.

 

I have a digital o2 sensor (along with a dual egt) that I am using to tune my mikuni. basicly I tune for power with the EGT and for drivability with the o2 sensor, however they both supply information usefull for drivability and power Mine does not read in ratio but just give the millivolt reading through the sensor, From My experience I would have to say that they are useful but I have been told that they are accurate at stoic and react quickly but the further away from stoic (14.7 to 1) the less accurate they are and I am considering spending a little more money and getting a wide band o2 sensor that hopefully will not suffer from this limitation.

Here is a source I have been reffered to

http://www.plxdevices.com/

I have been told the wideband is much more usefull, we will see.

 

If you were to have a Wb02 (wide band) setup, you wouldnt have to worry about innacuracy. also with a heated element 02 sensor you dont have to wait for the sensor to heat up. Wide band O2 stuff

 

I run a Innovate wbo2 cost $550.00 Can.
12a BP 205 @ the rear wheels built by me.

 

innovate is a fantastic product at a great price. I've used that, and the techedge and the innovate is better hands down.

The regular 02 sensors with the autometer (or the like) a/f ratio gauges are decent though...i wouldn't use it as bible, but it's better than just guessing inside the car.