Wideband setup?
Thread Starter
8th Gear
Joined: Jun 2022
Posts: 8
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Wideband setup?
Happy Holidays,
I am in the process of an AEM wideband install and want to put the sensor in the upstream 02 sensor spot on the passenger side. My question is do I need the narrowband I’m replacing?
id like to leave the wideband in that spot from now on. I have an HPTuners and want the convenience of logging and tuning as needed.
i am looking for a no-weld option if leaving the narrowband removed isn’t possible.
thank you for the help.
I am in the process of an AEM wideband install and want to put the sensor in the upstream 02 sensor spot on the passenger side. My question is do I need the narrowband I’m replacing?
id like to leave the wideband in that spot from now on. I have an HPTuners and want the convenience of logging and tuning as needed.
i am looking for a no-weld option if leaving the narrowband removed isn’t possible.
thank you for the help.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,413
Likes: 3,270
From: Hartford WI
Would it even be possible? I thought the narrow band one is 0.1-0.9V whereas the wideband is 1-5V. How would the ECM understand what that voltage means? Wouldn't it be reading "out of range"?
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 3,726
Likes: 368
From: Montoursville Pa
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,413
Likes: 3,270
From: Hartford WI
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 3,827
Likes: 1,299
From: nashville TN
you need a dedicated bung welded in if your running cats and both pre and post o2 sensors are being used. no way around it.. most tuners will run a sniffer in tailpipe if a Wideband o2 isnt in the car. so you could turn off your post o2 and run a wide band in that location but you wont pass emissions if your state requires it
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,413
Likes: 3,270
From: Hartford WI
you need a dedicated bung welded in if your running cats and both pre and post o2 sensors are being used. no way around it.. most tuners will run a sniffer in tailpipe if a Wideband o2 isnt in the car. so you could turn off your post o2 and run a wide band in that location but you wont pass emissions if your state requires it
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Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 3,827
Likes: 1,299
From: nashville TN
ideally you want the wideband upstream of the cat. if your not willing to weld a bung in your only choice would be post cat in the bung turning off the post cat sensors. you need the narrowband sensors in place since the ecm doesnt read Wideband and your aem setup wont be read by the ecm .
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,413
Likes: 3,270
From: Hartford WI
ideally you want the wideband upstream of the cat. if your not willing to weld a bung in your only choice would be post cat in the bung turning off the post cat sensors. you need the narrowband sensors in place since the ecm doesnt read Wideband and your aem setup wont be read by the ecm .
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 3,726
Likes: 368
From: Montoursville Pa
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 3,827
Likes: 1,299
From: nashville TN
yes. most tuners will turn off post cat o2 sensors if the car doesnt have to pass emissions. so you could run it there. the sniffer is because the car wouldn't have a Wideband installed. narrowband only reads rich or lean Wideband has a much more detailed reading of afr to determine how close to stoich the car is running
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,413
Likes: 3,270
From: Hartford WI
yes. most tuners will turn off post cat o2 sensors if the car doesnt have to pass emissions. so you could run it there. the sniffer is because the car wouldn't have a Wideband installed. narrowband only reads rich or lean Wideband has a much more detailed reading of afr to determine how close to stoich the car is running
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 3,827
Likes: 1,299
From: nashville TN
post cat is turned off. that is an emissions reading. (to let emissions see a reduction from pre cat to post cat.) as I said ideally you want it upstream of the cat. if the o/p doesnt want to weld in a bung (which he stated a "no weld" solution) there arent any other choices than post cat
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 1,810
Likes: 615
From: Blacksburg Va
Aklim you are correct. A post cat reading would be virtually worthless. I imagine you can look around the web and find video of a post cat reading which will show how useless it would be. While actual O2 sensors are somewhat generic it is best to use the recommended sensor for your wide band reader or gauge. Also there are air/fuel ratio sensors which look nearly identical to an O2 sensor but operate completely differently and output a completely different type of volt signal. This is why I say use the sensor provided or recommended for one's reader. As far as I am concerned, if one is not willing to weld in an additional bung, you might as well stop thinking about a wide band setup.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 576
Likes: 164
There are wideband kits that do a conversion to output a second signal in narrowband allowing you to replace one of your upstream O2s without having to add a second bung.
Though I would honestly just weld on another bung as that sounds like a nightmare to validate the readings to verify it matches the other bank upstream.
Also much easier to pop into a local store an grab a narrowband O2 if one goes bad and fix same day. If the wideband goes out you can still drive the car until a replacement comes in.
Though I would honestly just weld on another bung as that sounds like a nightmare to validate the readings to verify it matches the other bank upstream.
Also much easier to pop into a local store an grab a narrowband O2 if one goes bad and fix same day. If the wideband goes out you can still drive the car until a replacement comes in.