Budget AFR/EGO Setup

[Guest]

A proper wideband setup is not a budget item. That is why you will mostly find them in the hands of tuners, mechanics and racers. I am a bit of all 3, unfortunately.
How much is an LM-2 over there?

Yeah I'm starting to realise that... bugger!

There's this for $229:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Innovate-Motorsports-Air-Fuel-Meter-MTX-L-AFR-Wideband-/180728965085?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a144927dd

And of course they just go up from there...

[Guest]

Actually looking further shows $195...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Innovate-Air-Fuel-Meter-DB-Blue-Gauge-Wideband-Kit-BLUE-/290716949453?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43b0149bcd

[gearhead13]

I have an Innovate red DB gauge with LC-1, like this:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/INNOVATE-3796-52MM-DB-RED-GAUGE-LC1-KIT-AIR-FUEL-RATIO-w-O2-SENSOR-/270969221784?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f17063298

Can be found cheaper.
It also allows you to connect it up to a laptop and go for a ride and get better data at throttle openings that wouldnt allow you to look down at a gauge. BTW the red led gauge is hard to read in bright light.
Mine is a permanent install with the sniffer bung welded to the exhaust, with the ability to unhook it with a bullet connector. They seem to draw quite a lot of power so I leave it unhooked unless I need to use it.

[posplayr]

Here is a picture of the sniffer. I patterned it after another design I found in a review of the LM-2. I used a section of black steel pipe, and welded ends on for the brass fittings as well as the bung to mount the O2 sensor.

The idea is to get good flow through the pipe so that there is no lag in response of the sensor. The steel pipe is basically straight through using the thin 1/4" copper tubing that is about 2-3 foot long (just beyond the gap in the collector/mid pipe. )

The rubber tubing gets hot and more copper can be substituted. The length of rubber tubing is to avoid cold air from coming back into the sensor and distorting the readings that way.

[Guest]

I have an Innovate red DB gauge with LC-1, like this:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/INNOVATE-3796-52MM-DB-RED-GAUGE-LC1-KIT-AIR-FUEL-RATIO-w-O2-SENSOR-/270969221784?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f17063298

Can be found cheaper.
It also allows you to connect it up to a laptop and go for a ride and get better data at throttle openings that wouldnt allow you to look down at a gauge. BTW the red led gauge is hard to read in bright light.
Mine is a permanent install with the sniffer bung welded to the exhaust, with the ability to unhook it with a bullet connector. They seem to draw quite a lot of power so I leave it unhooked unless I need to use it.

I'd definitely make mine a short term install, but the blue version I reckon is the go:



Would fit in well with the blue backlight of my Acewell:



My work laptop has an SSD in it, so I could use it for data logging while moving without risk of killing the hard drive, and it's tiny and fits in my panniers for every day riding to work.

One question though... how useful is data logging without a throttle position sensor to know what throttle opening matches to what AFR reading?

I could always to cheapo data logging by mounting it near my throttle, taping the marks on the throttle as per the plug chop guide, and videoing the whole thing while riding...

[posplayr]

I have an Innovate red DB gauge with LC-1, like this:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/INNOVATE-3796-52MM-DB-RED-GAUGE-LC1-KIT-AIR-FUEL-RATIO-w-O2-SENSOR-/270969221784?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f17063298

Can be found cheaper.
It also allows you to connect it up to a laptop and go for a ride and get better data at throttle openings that wouldnt allow you to look down at a gauge. BTW the red led gauge is hard to read in bright light.
Mine is a permanent install with the sniffer bung welded to the exhaust, with the ability to unhook it with a bullet connector. They seem to draw quite a lot of power so I leave it unhooked unless I need to use it.

If you run the O2 sensor in the exhaust stream without having it plugged in and powered you wil ruin it.

[koolaid_kid]

Yeah I'm starting to realise that... bugger!

There's this for $229:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Innovate-Motorsports-Air-Fuel-Meter-MTX-L-AFR-Wideband-/180728965085?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a144927dd

And of course they just go up from there...

This is closest to the one you want. It has a serial output which connects to a serial input (or a USB to serial dongle) on a PC and comes with software to do your data logging on your PC.
It is made for permanent installation but could easily be set up to be removeable. The only problem would be having a laptop/tablet/notepad on your bike logging data. Then you could concentrate on riding.
This is how you would do it:
At home or whatever, connect everything up. If the sensor is to be placed in the pipe at that time, you will need to turn it on. Very easy, the system is designed to do that. (If you run an O2 sensor in the pipe unpowered it will burn it out.) Then you go to the place where you want to do your datalogging. Boot the PC. Load the datalogging software and start a log. Make your run. I tend to do 2-3 at a time. From looking at the logs you can tell where things happen (AFR changes). Stop your run(s) go to where ever, export the data into a comma delimited file, load it into Excel, find the data of interest, do some graphs, and you have your results. Easy-peasy once you do it a few times.
The LM-2 is stand alone. It makes its own datalog, which you then download to the PC and do the analysis work. I put my LM-1 in my tank bag and start the runs, stop the LM-1, go home and look at data. End result is the same.

[Guest]

Here is a picture of the sniffer. I patterned it after another design I found in a review of the LM-2. I used a section of black steel pipe, and welded ends on for the brass fittings as well as the bung to mount the O2 sensor.

The idea is to get good flow through the pipe so that there is no lag in response of the sensor. The steel pipe is basically straight through using the thin 1/4" copper tubing that is about 2-3 foot long (just beyond the gap in the collector/mid pipe. )

The rubber tubing gets hot and more copper can be substituted. The length of rubber tubing is to avoid cold air from coming back into the sensor and distorting the readings that way.

Thanks Jim! I will add that to the memory banks for now...

[Guest]

This is closest to the one you want. It has a serial output which connects to a serial input (or a USB to serial dongle) on a PC and comes with software to do your data logging on your PC.
It is made for permanent installation but could easily be set up to be removeable. The only problem would be having a laptop/tablet/notepad on your bike logging data. Then you could concentrate on riding.
This is how you would do it:
At home or whatever, connect everything up. If the sensor is to be placed in the pipe at that time, you will need to turn it on. Very easy, the system is designed to do that. (If you run an O2 sensor in the pipe unpowered it will burn it out.) Then you go to the place where you want to do your datalogging. Boot the PC. Load the datalogging software and start a log. Make your run. I tend to do 2-3 at a time. From looking at the logs you can tell where things happen (AFR changes). Stop your run(s) go to where ever, export the data into a comma delimited file, load it into Excel, find the data of interest, do some graphs, and you have your results. Easy-peasy once you do it a few times.
The LM-2 is stand alone. It makes its own datalog, which you then download to the PC and do the analysis work. I put my LM-1 in my tank bag and start the runs, stop the LM-1, go home and look at data. End result is the same.

That makes sense, will definitely have to give this some more thought... for now I think it will have to go on the wishlist...

If I had funds, I would definitely do it, just have to wait a bit I think...

[posplayr]

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showpost.php?p=1303763&postcount=12

There is a plot of my various data from myJM-2 setup so you can see what AFR,RPM,SPEED and temp all look like.

[salty_monk]

So when are you going to lend it to me?

[gearhead13]

If you run the O2 sensor in the exhaust stream without having it plugged in and powered you wil ruin it.

Really? I would take it out but the kit didnt come with the plug
I did look at the innovate forums but they are about as useful as **** on a bull, or so it seems.
Nowhere can I find what amount of power the db/lc1 setup uses. Seems like it drains my battery so I unplugged it.

[gearhead13]

Its hard to decipher just the a/f readings by themself. A tps would be helpful, but an rpm input would be better. Hard to find carbs with a tps. With an ssi-4, you can add a few more sensors to the data, another $130. Or get what Jim has for $500? or something, no laptop needed, just an sd card.

[koolaid_kid]

You can buy an O2 plug anywhere. Make sure of 3 things: It has a socket head on it instead of an allen socket. It must be stainless steel. When you install it, use lots of anti-seize.

[koolaid_kid]

The problem is our bikes are too old to use the fancy stuff. What Jim has is the Cadillac for our bikes.
Using just AFR data takes a lot of practice and iterations. You have to be able to read where you started your run and where you end it, then figure out which slice of data you really care about.
You still have to smooth the data to make sense of it.