TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Jun 22, 2003 7:13 am

Hey, I was wondering, Is their anyway to hook up an air/fuel Ratio Gauge in my car? I mean the dyno places(I know I'm not a dyno place) use them all the time, and they can tune the cars so well, I figure heck, why couldn't I get that kinda set up, and put it on my v-dub, then I could get better performance, and a more effecient engine. I've seen guages around that just say "hook it up to your O2 sensor" has anyone ever done this? With another sensor? Has anyone had good luck with this? Or is it just a waste? Anyways...Just a thought, Thanks guys.

James

Sun Jun 22, 2003 7:25 am

cb performance has a complete kit that you can install. it works the same way as a dyno shop would use it. This would be the best way to get your air fuel ratio correct.

Sun Jun 22, 2003 9:31 am

Be careful which A/F mixture gauge you get. A lot of them don't have circutry in them to slow down the reading for you, and the lights/needle on the gauge are sporatic all over the place, making it so you can't read it. I had a customer come in with an auto-meter A/F mixture gauge installed on his Hon-duh, and you couldn't read what the hell it was at it was so sporatic. The gauge offered by Aircoooled.Net reads smoothly, so you can see what mixture you are at. Color coded LED's make it so you can keep your eyes on the road and see what your mixture is in the corner of your eye. I've been using one for 3 years now, and love it. Mine came with everything I needed to install it, wiring, bung, and electrical connectors.

Sun Jun 22, 2003 5:56 pm

Whoa...Thos gauges are kinda expensive...Well, say I bought a cheap one, and put it on...Would there be a "Good" air/fuel mixture O2 sensor I could "find" in a junkyard off of another car. I've been reading about them, and they say you just hook them into the 02 sensor...sounds kinda simple....and i could probably jack one out of a low milage car, anyone done this before?

james

Sun Jun 22, 2003 8:11 pm

Has anyone tried this one?

http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=4571&BQ=jcw2

not too expensive, and it does have the LEDs... but it is from jcwhitney... so hard to tell. It seems like a grab bag of quality when you buy stuff from them.

Sun Jun 22, 2003 9:39 pm

Mark my words. The cheap ones will scatter the lights (or needle) all over the place and you won't get a reading to go by. If the gauge fluctuates between 11.5:1 and 14:1, what good is that? Not much if you're using it to get the jetting right. The AC.Net gauge supplies EVERYTHING you need to install it. Gauge, wiring, HEATED o2 sensor (so the gauge starts reading in 20-30 seconds, not until the sensor reaches full operating temp), connectors, o2 bung for the exhaust, you name it. You'll even get tech support on the product.

Remember, you get what you pay for. If you need the gauge for setting your jetting, the cheap ones won't cut it, plus the 'cheap' price you pay only includes the gauge. Add wiring, an o2 sensor, etc, you're spending more than you think for gauge that still wont give you the info you need.

Here's my page where I installed the gauge in my car:
http://www.geocities.com/eaallred/afgaugeinstallation.html
Might give you more info on what you get with the kit.

Whatever gauge you get, choose wisley. It's a tool to help you work on your car, which you can (and probably will) use on many other cars. You can put a heated 02 sensor on a cheap gauge, and the reading will still be all over the place. If you put a cheap o2 sensor on a good guage, the readings will be accurate, but will take a while for the sensor to start reading correctly.

Mon Jun 23, 2003 8:30 am

Thanks man, Good Website btw, very detailed, and helpfull....Peace!

Mon Jun 23, 2003 9:47 am

on a similar note, can i use a water temp gauge as an oil temp gauge? and s there some adapter that i could get to put it in the oil pressure gauge location w/o eliminationg my stock idiot light? if that doesnt' work, i figure i could modify my oil drain plate to accept it.

Mon Jun 23, 2003 1:38 pm

Yea, Go to a napa store, and you can buy a little "T-connector" and it should screw right into the oil sensor hole, and then you can put the stock one, and the oil Pressure, or the other one. Lots of people talk abotu which one is better...I personally just stick a small thermometer into the dipstick hole, and that seems to work great for me :) plus it's only $4, but you can't see it from inside the car. Oh well, still cheap, and accurate too! Good luck man!
Oh, check out my Website, if you have questions about the "T-Connector" just look under Tech, then Under "Oil pressure gauge install" and that'll show you some pics. Peace!

James
www.geocities.com/indianavwkid

Mon Jun 23, 2003 8:36 pm

One problem with using a "T" at the idiot light location, is the oil does not flow past the sensor to give an accurate reading. It usually indicates case temperature, which is a bit lower, and will read temp changes slower.

I've always liked the oil temp sender that replaces the rear oil pressure relief plug location. Plenty of contact with oil flow, and unlike the drain plug sender, the wire isn't hanging under the car to get ripped off.

In my 64 bus, I like to keep the dash simple, and use a Berg dipstick to tell me if my oil temp gets too hot. It's cheap ($15), but the downside is, it only tells you if you're running too hot. A gauge, regardless of where the sender location is, will tell you if your temps are reading differently than normal, which can alert you of a problem before it's too late.

Tue Jun 24, 2003 9:57 am

Im all for the Heated O2 sensor, had i known better when i got mine, thats what i would have chosen. Otherwise i had to wait until it warmed up or make a full blast down the track to get a real reading.