I see a lot talk about Wide Band 02 sensors.

What exactly is it and why would someone want one?

 

Do a search on google. There are like a thousand different sites right now that talk about the benifit of a wideband o2 sensor in great detail.
To sum it up in one word... Accurate!

 

I understand that a WB02 can read outside of the OEM 02's range and is extremely accurate. I guess my question is more of why would I want one and how is it typically used?

Would someone normally use the WB in conjunction with an OEM O2, or would it be used more as a readout device to a guage? Can you use an output from the WB controller to replace your oem 02 and increase the accuracy of the computer's A:F adjusting? I was thinking that the computer (7730 in my case) wouldn't read the signals as fast as the WB could output it since the WB is near realtime. If that's the case, the computer wouldn't benefit much by the better accuracy of the WBO2, would it?

Is the WB necessary to diagnose a poor running engine because the O2 emission on a bad engine may be beyond the ability of an OEM O2? In other words, if you have a good running engine, would you really want a WBO2 given it's cost, or is it desirable more for the people who want the "perfect tune"? Simply, if your engine is running good, will the stock O2 be accurate within it's capability range?

I hope these questions make sense!
(yes, I'm currently a newb)

 

long story short.


The car runs of the stock type narrow band(for this discussion)

U use the wideband 02 to decipher your areas that do not fall under the 14.7afr. Outside of that range the stock 02 is useless. U do not know what u are running at WOT or when u just step inot the gas. A wideband setup with logging will let u record these same instances for far greater control

(very simplified explanation)

Tons and tons of info if u search

later
Jeremy

 

the car runs off its narrowband sensor.


the wideband O2 is just for you.... you use it to see where the car is at, and to tune with.

you dont need to always have it in the car.. its just for when you're tuning...

 

Now I understand what I'm reading about WBO2. Thanks for the explaination!

 

It is very useful for performance tuning (i.e. WOT). You can dial in the A/F ratio you want for best performance which is not 14.7. I bought an LM-1 (Innovate Tech) and it is great. This one in particular could replace your O2 if you wanted but I wouldn't use it for that. Also I have three cars to tune so cost is more justifiable than having dyno sessions