Wideband tuner, teach me

Which one, what brand, why, experiences....please?

Will be used on several carbed V8 race/autocross/challenge, hell even street cars

Do you mean wideband AFR controller?

I have it on good authority that this is the best available.

Not that it helps much, but generally, there are just two different sensors- Bosch and NTK. They seem to work the same (as in both give good a/f data- the electronics are different).

As for which one to get- I would recommend one that has logging. For a carb'ed car, what you need, mainly, is engine speed and MAP (if you can translate that to which jet/emulsifier that needs to be changed).

Calibrating and driving sucks. Log it, stop, look at data, and change jets.

Beyond that, I'm no help.

In reply to aussiesmg:

I would like to suggest one to avoid. Innovate Technology.

I bought their LM-1 back in 2005 and frankly it has been a great product. I have it mounted in my CIS-E GTI where it manages fuel enrichment at WOT and provides me with key vehicle parameter data logging thru an optional LMA-2. I use one of the analog outputs to feed a NB signal to the KE-Jetronic computer (ECU) and the other is programmed to drive the ECU's engine temp input at WOT to maintain a .87 Lambda.

Why do I suggest avoiding them?

The LM-1 was obsoleted by the LM-2 which looks good on paper but has proven to be very unreliable. To make matters worse, technical and customer support, which once were excellent, have all but disappeared. Until that changes I would not purchase a new Innovate product.

On the other hand, if you found a used LM-1 on ebay for a good price, it would be a good choice if it does what you need. Word of caution on buying a used LM-1. First, avoid the ones in white enclosures. They were the first versions and it seems they cannot do everything the black enclosure model will do (either that or the couple white ones I have seen - and updated firmware on - were broken). Second, the !2VDC power connector on the LM-1 seems prone to becoming intermittent under mechanical stress. It is most likely just cracked solder or copper etch at the PCB connector mount in most cases which can be re-soldered after taking the unit apart, but a fair number of owners have complained about this particular problem.

I went with 14point7's SLC DIY2...

14point7 web page said: SLC Pure Plus 2 is a complete automotive datalogging and display unit with the ability to log and display; AFR/Lambda, EGT, Vac/Boost, Fluid Temp, Air Intake Temp, Fuel Pressure, Oil Pressure, RPM, Battery Voltage, Accel/Decel G force, Cornering G force, and dual analog inputs.

the DIY2 requires a laptop to datalog... and some very simple soldering (5 wires to the circuit board and then the rest you can crimp with a molex crimping tool or solder your choice)... $190 write a review and he'll send you your choice of an extra sensor or gauge (map is what i'm planning to get)

for $275 you don't have to solder anything and get built in data logging...

the SLC OEM EvK-Evaluation Kit is$125... complete with sensor but has to be build (circuit board and all)... no display and no additional logging... would have worked fine for a megasquirt or other EMS build... but I spent the extra so I can use it on other cars to log.

I've personally had bad experiences with the innovate LC-1s and we have a collection of five or six dead ones from Wreck Racing as well. I would avoid them if possible, though apparently they changed the design in the last year or two and the new ones are supposed to be much better. We have one of the new ones at Wreck Racing and and it's been ok for 3-4 tuning sessions.

I've used the AEM UEGO on three of my projects now, and they always work perfectly for me. Great price too.

14point7 DIY kit here too, but then I use it on fuel injected Subarus where I can use it in conjunction with Rom Raider to log everything I need to dial in a ROM. Back when I had carburated cars I used a Haltech kit from Gene Berg that worked great and was portable between cars.

PLX M300 with MegaSquirt, self calibrating, simple, complete, not the cheapest, reliable as a rock, couple of neat features...

Teqnyck wrote: I've used the AEM UEGO on three of my projects now, and they always work perfectly for me. Great price too.

I've used 2, both have behaved nicely. One, simply as a gauge. The other, feeding a megasquirt.

I've got an Innovate MTX-L. I quite like it, works well however....
This has happened to me twice now. http://youtu.be/a1eT70zT8Og?hd=1
Not a huge deal as it's a 5 minute fix, but annoying and I'm worried it'll get start happening more often.

I asked the local autocross forum this question a few weeks ago and I have an Innovate MTX-L in the Celica now. So far I love it.

I think this shows that GRM needs to dive into this topic and publish there results in an article.

Run_Away wrote: This has happened to me twice now. http://youtu.be/a1eT70zT8Og?hd=1 Not a huge deal as it's a 5 minute fix, but annoying and I'm worried it'll get start happening more often.

That was exactly why we went with the PLX, ours is on the XR4 which is dedicated and feeds the MS which controls everything, if the sensor needs calibration, car will potentially run poorly, which on a turbo car = bad.

I think Zoomby hit this on the head If this is just wanted more for a gauge (I read carbs in the OP's original post) then I'd grab whatever's cheapest, if you're going for wideband + controller, then the wideband and it's interpreter is only 1/2 the equation, the other is your engine control management be it MegaSquirt, OEM + tuner, various other stand alones, etc...

For example I placed an O2 sensor bung on my Fiat (carb'd) downpipe and I've wired it so I can swap in the PLX M300 + a Bosch wideband O2 sensor from the XR4 for reading and tune on the fly without datalogging...

For the record I have a 14point7 SLC-OEM

My Writeup

http://clarks-garage.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8338&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=68

For what it is it is and the $$$ it is great!!!

I will NOT be going with an LC-1 ever again in any of my other cars, and will probably be replacing my LC-1 in the MX6 with something else come spring.

It sucks.

My LC-1 is 7 years old and functions perfectly. I did have the original sensor crap out after sitting on the shelf for 2 years but a replacement from rockauto cured that for under $50.

I don't care for the packaging of the unit itself though. It is meant to be ziptied to a framerail so it isn't easy to get a nice clean looking installation with it.