Portable Air/Fuel gauge?

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1967 'cuda

1967 'cuda

Dropped on Head as a Baby
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I don't know if this has ever been asked before, but does anybody make a portable wideband air/fuel meter that doesn't require welding in a bung for an O2 sensor? - Possibly with an O2 sensor probe that can be inserted into a tail pipe with a handheld meter and can be moved vehicle to vehicle? Is it possible? Or do the sensors have to be located further upstream in the exhaust to work correctly? I would like to be able to use one for tuning without having to modify (drill & weld) the exhaust if possible.
 
Smog certification places use them, so they must be out there.
 
You should be able to rig any wideband to work in the tailpipe and can probably just use aligator clips for power/ground. Just keep in mind all the way at the back you will get some lag in your data and if you have exhaust leaks it can throw it off a bit. Still would probably work decent for tuning a carb.
 
well if you have a snapon or Genesis with the correct backpack you can but thats way more than your looking for...

i am gonna ask but why cant you have a 3 dollar bung installed? bet it wont cost you more than 25 bucks...
 
NO, WB sensors have to be hot to work properly. Tailpipe sniffers are a much different deal. You CAN find them on ebay but generally, more expensive. Many of the older ones are not really "wide band."

Saving money on an O2 bung:

Go to your local "real" nut and bolt store and buy some 18mm nuts, don't remember the thread, but same as Ford 18mm spark plugs. I think I paid less than a buck and a half for nuts

And if you have an old 18mm plug, you can use that for a plug if you want to remove the O2
 
I'm a newbie at tuning using air/fuel gauges (I haven't yet). But with everything I've been reading - they seem to be the way to go. I've Google searched for a portable setup with no luck so far. I checked the Summit and Jegs catalogs and didn't see exactly what I was looking for there either. I have found the ones with the weld in bungs though.
 
It's not that I couldn't weld in a bung, it's that I had hoped to find a really simple portable method for carb tuning multiple vehicles. I had hoped to avoid having to drill/weld on each car I wanted to tune. But I wasn't sure if I was wasting my time looking for something that didn't exist because it couldn't be designed that way. If I were to 'alligator clip' the probe in the tail pipe, - how likely is it that I won't be able to get a 'good' reading?
 
You won't. (Get a good reading. The install destructions warn you about problems too far down into the collector of tube headers, etc. Not only does the sensor need to be hot, you can't have atmospheric air contamination
 
67Dart273 said:
NO, WB sensors have to be hot to work properly. Tailpipe sniffers are a much different deal. You CAN find them on ebay but generally, more expensive. Many of the older ones are not really "wide band."

These 'tailpipe sniffers' that you're referring to.... What exactly are they made to do? - And when you state that the wide band sensors need to be 'hot' to work, how far back from the exhaust manifolds can you go. I know they are often installed in a header collector, but is that because of ease
or is that the ideal location? - If I didn't want to mar a set of ceramic coated headers would I be as well off further downstream?
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67Dart273 said:
You won't. (Get a good reading. The install destructions warn you about problems too far down into the collector of tube headers, etc. Not only does the sensor need to be hot, you can't have atmospheric air contamination
Click to expand...

So I take it then that there's no sense looking for a tailpipe probe. Any chance you could recommend a decent semi-portable meter that won't break the bank? - Maybe a handheld that I can use with probes that I'll have to move from car to car (realizing that it now sounds like I'll be welding bungs in each vehicle)
 
Yes, there are several after-market versions of "clamp in tail-pipe" O2 sensor mounts. You should find some in ebay browsing. I think they are particularly popular with the "Jap tuner car" crowd, since no welding required. I think all of them work only with a wideband O2 sensor, since those can be installed anywhere (as long as not so near the end they see atmospheric air). Wideband O2 sensors have an internal heater and don't rely on the exhaust to heat them. Regular O2 sensors must be mounted close enough to get sufficient exhaust heat (the heater in those is just to speed warm-up). One issue with wideband sensors is to never run them long without being connected and powered, otherwise the internal passages can clog with soot. I recall you can read more on the megasquirt site.
 
First of all let me say thanks to BillGrissom, 67Dart273, 805moparkid, SirDan, and TrailBeast for all the info. As I stated before I am a real newbie with these air/fuel meters. If this subject has been covered elsewhere before I apologize. - But if there is ANY advice you can give me to direct me to finding/purchasing/understanding as much as possible about these, - I'd sure be grateful. I'd like to get a setup asap. Thanks.
 
I'm pretty new at them too, but have been reading about them quite a bit lately and have decided to put a bung in both pipes and use one sensor.
Then Plug the bung on the side that isn't currently using it, and run the guage constantly as to keep an eye on what's up.

Seems to make the most sense I guess.
 
why not weld a bung in and screw a sensor in, that way you can plug into the sensor at anytime for a readout if you don't want the gauge mounted to the dash
 
ken5124 said:
I use this system for my tuning. I use a trailer hitch 4 wire connector to plug it in when I am using it. When the provided sensor is not in, i just plug the hole with an old o2 sensor.

Works great, price is right.

http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/Elite-Series-Wideband-Air-Fuel-Gauge.aspx
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link ken5124. I called them and liked what they had to offer but decided to order a FAST 170634 from JEGS instead. I really wanted to get one shipped to me by this weekend and it seemed to be the most economical way to get one in time. Unfortunately JEGS does not carry the GLOWSHIFT setup. ATLANTICSPEED.COM advertized it cheaper (the FAST unit) but couldn't get it to me 'til next week. - But JEGS price matched them so I should have it here in 2 days. I may be asking you for more advice once I get it set up.
 
Saving money on an O2 bung:

Go to your local "real" nut and bolt store and buy some 18mm nuts, don't remember the thread, but same as Ford 18mm spark plugs. I think I paid less than a buck and a half for nuts

And if you have an old 18mm plug, you can use that for a plug if you want to remove the O2[/QUOTE]

Thanks 67Dart273 for the bung info. I assume I'll save some $$$ taking your suggestion if I'll be adding them to several different vehicles.
 
I realize that the setup I've ordered is not a true handheld portable unit but it did look like a more affordable route. I would have preferred a digital readout too but I figure it's better to keep the cost down until I figure out what I'm doing. - Then maybe someday down the road I'll invest a little more in a setup if I feel more confident in what I'm doing. Once again, Thanks t everybody for all the advice.
 
Ferret makes a portable 5 gas analyzer, I have one but it was expensive, and requires sensor maintenance. I used it bunch when developing may EFI system.
 
KitCarlson said:
Ferret makes a portable 5 gas analyzer, I have one but it was expensive, and requires sensor maintenance. I used it bunch when developing may EFI system.
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I tried to find info on these after seeing your post and the ones I found ranged from $1700 to around $5000. I'm not sure if I was looking at the correct units, but the low side of that range is still way more than I'd like to spend. I didn't read the details about them after seeing the prices but is there anything in particular about them to justify the expense? Thanks.
 
1967 'cuda said:
By the way, that GLOWSHIFT setup is the least expensive I've seen so far. $184.99 shipped. The FAST meter ran me $212.83 with a free shirt tossed in.
Click to expand...

PM me if you have any questions.. I think you will be happy to NOT have a digital display.. For me it is easier to watch the change with a sweeping pointer instead of watching numbers change.. Works for me anyway.

Have fun !
 
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