Post by Teh Man! on Mar 17, 2006 15:06:10 GMT -5
The Techedge Wideband Oxygen Sensor Controller
When it comes time to tune your setup, you will need a wideband oxygen sensor of some kind so that you can accurately monitor your air to fuel ratio. There are many widebands available on the market now. They range from $250 all the way over $1000. For the do-it-yourselfer, you shouldn't need anything above $450. I personally chose to go with Tech Edge(http://www.wbo2.com/). At the time (December 2002) there were not many options available on the market. The Tech Edge seemed the most appealing, mostly because of the price. They make pre-assembled kits for a fair price, however you can save a lot of money if you buy one of their kits and assemble it yourself. I 've seem people pay around $200 for their kit. A newer model has come out: version 2.0. It uses a newer sensor that is cheaper and easier to find. This makes the new version even better than the one before(1.5v). I will warn you right now, do NOT try to buy and assemble the kit if you have poor electronics skills. You will need MORE than just "soldering skills". If you are in doubt, just save yourself the time and frustration and order the pre-built kit, or have an experienced friend build one for you.
Many people find the Tech Edge website confusing at first. Maybe its the green colors...I don't know. The hardest part in my opinion is figuring out what everything costs since it's listed in Austrailian currency. Take your time to look at the site and understand how it all works. To see a basic setup of what the setup offers, I've made the following diagram that shows a typical installation of the kit:
There are several optional things drawn in the diagram. First, you will need some type of display. Your options are either the Tech Edge digital readout and/or a laptop. Some chose both because they like to have the display in thier car at all times, so that they can always monitor the A/F ratio (kind of a safety net if you will). The laptop is a great and almost essential item when it comes time for tuning. It allows you to log air to fuel ratio, RPM, and three user inputs, as shown above. This is the main way that you will tune your setup. Another option is to use a Palm Pilot, however some people were getting inaccurate results with thiers, and they liked the Windows software much better. Plus, it's best to have a laptop in the car anyways when you burn chips for the tunes.
One cool feature that comes with the unit is a simulated narrow band output. Your stock o2 sensor provides a non-linear 0-1 volt output for the ECU. A wideband gets its accuracy because it uses a linear 0-5 volt signal. Rather than running two oxygen sensors (thus having to weld on a second sensor bung) you can utilize the simulated output from the controller and feed it back to the ECU where the stock 0-1v signal would normally go, thus eliminating the need for a stock o2 sensor. Keep in mind you will have to disable the heater circuit in the ECU. If you're using Uberdata, it is as simple as changing a checkbox in the options.
When it comes time to tune your setup, you will need a wideband oxygen sensor of some kind so that you can accurately monitor your air to fuel ratio. There are many widebands available on the market now. They range from $250 all the way over $1000. For the do-it-yourselfer, you shouldn't need anything above $450. I personally chose to go with Tech Edge(http://www.wbo2.com/). At the time (December 2002) there were not many options available on the market. The Tech Edge seemed the most appealing, mostly because of the price. They make pre-assembled kits for a fair price, however you can save a lot of money if you buy one of their kits and assemble it yourself. I 've seem people pay around $200 for their kit. A newer model has come out: version 2.0. It uses a newer sensor that is cheaper and easier to find. This makes the new version even better than the one before(1.5v). I will warn you right now, do NOT try to buy and assemble the kit if you have poor electronics skills. You will need MORE than just "soldering skills". If you are in doubt, just save yourself the time and frustration and order the pre-built kit, or have an experienced friend build one for you.
Many people find the Tech Edge website confusing at first. Maybe its the green colors...I don't know. The hardest part in my opinion is figuring out what everything costs since it's listed in Austrailian currency. Take your time to look at the site and understand how it all works. To see a basic setup of what the setup offers, I've made the following diagram that shows a typical installation of the kit:
There are several optional things drawn in the diagram. First, you will need some type of display. Your options are either the Tech Edge digital readout and/or a laptop. Some chose both because they like to have the display in thier car at all times, so that they can always monitor the A/F ratio (kind of a safety net if you will). The laptop is a great and almost essential item when it comes time for tuning. It allows you to log air to fuel ratio, RPM, and three user inputs, as shown above. This is the main way that you will tune your setup. Another option is to use a Palm Pilot, however some people were getting inaccurate results with thiers, and they liked the Windows software much better. Plus, it's best to have a laptop in the car anyways when you burn chips for the tunes.
One cool feature that comes with the unit is a simulated narrow band output. Your stock o2 sensor provides a non-linear 0-1 volt output for the ECU. A wideband gets its accuracy because it uses a linear 0-5 volt signal. Rather than running two oxygen sensors (thus having to weld on a second sensor bung) you can utilize the simulated output from the controller and feed it back to the ECU where the stock 0-1v signal would normally go, thus eliminating the need for a stock o2 sensor. Keep in mind you will have to disable the heater circuit in the ECU. If you're using Uberdata, it is as simple as changing a checkbox in the options.