Wideband Questions
 

Hi guys,

From what I have been reading on the wideband subject through tests the Innovate digital LC-1 seems to be the best.

I am wondering what is the difference between the Innovate LC-1 with X-16 gauge and LC-1 with DB gauge? Is it that the DB gauge is not re-calibrable??

From what I have read it is completely useless to have a Wideband if it cannot be recalibrated as over time the sensor changes and because it is set by the factory if not able to re-calibrate it over time it is essentially not doing its job.

The only other wideband I see with calibrating ability is the NGK but in the tests I had read it had the worst accuracy of all widebands.

Any comments or discussion would be fun. Thanks.

could u not just replace the sensor periodically to keep it fresh?

You can replace the sensor if it goes bad or... recalibrating the LC-1 is a simple matter which is explained by the manual.

Free air calibration is done by connecting the sensor to the 12v power source, then after it is warmed up either pressing the calibration button, or crossing the calibration wire and with the ground wire briefly. Wait for at least 30 sec (must have the sensor uninstalled, or wait atleast 6-8 hours after engine shut down if still in DB) after the recalibration before starting the vehicle again.

The Bosch sensor used in the LC-1 is right about $90 in and of itself, no need to fork out that kind of cash on a regular basis (unless you break/damage the sensor).

Interesting discussion in that other thread, but from what was said it seemed like the LC1 was fine for road cars and only became an issue on highly tuned cars or those running leaded fuel?

I'm going with the LC1 and Bosch sensor shortly I think - no gauge though :Wconfused (as I'll be connecting it up to a datalogit and laptop) is there any need for a gauge at all?

I'd install a guage.

The different gauges for the LC-1 are just gauges - the LC-1 has 2 outputs, one of which connects up to the gauge. It's simply a 0-5v output, the gauge displays the results.

There's another wire on the LC-1 that's the calibration wire. You wire up an LED and momentary push button switch to it (included in the kit). Every 6 months or so, with the car stone cold in the morning, I turn the key to On and watch the LED. It will flash slow, then flash quick, then go solid when it's warmed up and ready. Then, press the button - light goes out for a second, then back on. Congrats, you just did the free air calibration. Easy as pie.

LC-1 is a heckuva good wideband, well designed, good looking displays for it, 2 configurable outputs, and dirt cheap. IMHO, best way to go.

Dale

Dale which gauge do you have attached?

Thanks for the info guys

Quick question: How does the LC-1 compare to the NGK wideband unit?


=Ben

Leaps and bounds better.... do a quick search, there is a good comparison out there of just about every wideband on the market, Innovate came out way on top, NGK was towards the bottom IIRC.

The X-16 (or is it XD-16?) is a nice gauge even if you do interface with the datalogit (as I do). You can display low/high readings with the push of a button, recalibrate as noted above, and a nice feature is that the light intensity is contolled by a tiny light meter so it is bright enough in the day and just right (not blinding) at night. The programable color coding is nice but certainly not a "need." It helps to code ranges of readings so you get the message even if not looking directly at the gauge just by the color. It's also very thin and easy to mount/work with. I haven't owned any other, but this is a nice gauge!
--Jeff

Maybe we should get a GB going.