Anyone using an Innovate LM-2 A/F ratio datalogger

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Watts0001

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Hi All,

i'm thinking of buying a Innovate LM-2 air/fuel data logger so i can rejet the carb with the new engine mods and monitor that it never runs lean.

From what i can understand, you weld the oxygen sensor bung in the headers, fit the sensor, wire in the rev counter and then you can monitor the A/F ratio Vs revs and record the data over a 1/4 mile run, pull the SD card out and review the data on the laptop in the Logworks software.

So is it worth buying one of these for £300 or just buy the oxygen sensor and a gauge for £130

i only race a few times year but would like to have the car running right and jetted correctly.

My nearest Dyno by the way is a good 200 miles away, there just isn't that many knowledgable V8 dyno places over here..... and a session will cost over £300 anyway.

any thoughts much appriciated.:cheers:
 
I borrowed a friends one to tune one of my cars. They're a marvelous tool. Plus if you ever get a car running a tunable ecu, you can use it to tune it it real time.
If I had the $$$ spare (And I don't btw) I would totally buy one.
 
They are pretty good. I'm using an LM1 plus Auxbox.
On the plus side - Innovate's WBO2 reading method responds very rapidly and accurately. You can recalibrate to free air as needed. My recollection is that the LM2 comes with the rpm converter built in. Having RPM is critical to make the decisions on carb tuning.

On the down side - it is a consumer grade product and not surprisingly there were some issues with the RPM readings, especially on the LM2. Hopefully they have by now fixed the issue. You can send in for repairs - customer service is slow and annoying in the US but they do respond with gentle prodding.

The system can be sensitive to ground offsets and electric noise from alternator. These can all be overcome if an issue and Innovate instructions cover this. The instructions in general are OK but not super great.

If you are interested in more than wide open throttle, it is helpful to have a setup which also can log manifold vacuum and/or throttle position. But that adds to the costs.

With their WBO2, the bung can be welded anywhere in the exhaust system. But on radical engines anything too close to the tailpipe will pick up outside air at low rpm. On the other extreme, in some situations an extended bung is needed.

Overall, it is probably a good choice for your situation.
 
I had one a few years ago. I only used it a few times to make sure My AFR was good while on N2O. Never used it again so I sold it on Craigslists.
 
I've been using one for awhile to get my Holley dialed in.

For the most part, the LM-2 is a decent piece, but I can vouch for the RPM issues. It'll just lose the signal altogether sometimes or will stick at 3000 RPM.

If I were to buy another wideband, I'd go with one of the models that FAST makes.
 
My luck with wide bands have not been the best, I ordered a new LM-2 it worked two times then it will no longer warm up the o2 sensor so I put it back in its box and bought a Fast unit. The fast unit will not data log.
But it is a great tool for dialing in a carb and my carb needed a lot of dialing in.
 
Think i need to check out the Fast products, I'm assuming summit sells them??

Also sounds like the data logging is a hassle too far unless your constantly modding your motor

this is really helpful information, many thanks all
 
ok, i'm all out of shape here.......just seen the AEM fail safe gauge, this looks a nice bit of kit??

checked out the Fast products, they also look good, though a little more difficult to get hold of in the uk

so many choices.......
 
I've bought an Innovate MTX-L for tuning my daily-used '73 Dart. Later I bought another one to tune the seperate longram-intakes in my '60 Chrysler.
It's the most useful tool I've bought in a long time. It also has digital and analog-outputs for logging.

On a dragstrip you always deal with constant changing rpm-sweeps and always at fullthrottle. It will be good to actually 'see' if you're rich or lean at those situations.
If you're serious at dragracing, you might want to buy 2 of those MTX-L's, one for every exhaust to compare the left with the right engine bank.
If you're real serious you maybe want a per cylinder EGR-sensor to see if all cylinders do the same amount of work.

But since dragracing is usually more about having fun in Europe I would start off with one unit.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zexa9vfAm2M"]1960 Chrysler NY LongRam AFR-Tuning (Tranny in Drive) - YouTube[/ame]
 
BBM - 'no script' is blocking something tied into a hidden click for your video. I'll try to figure it out later. Probably related to you tube's advertising.

Watts - Hopefully all this will help you make a better decision in the end. Innovate has (or had) offices in Europe and some of their people speak Deutch. I haven't used the FAST or AED so I can't evaluate if either is more user friendly. At least for Innovate, instructions and software can be downloaded free from their website.

FWIW, I'll attempt hot linking to images I posted on moparts showing a pair of wide open throttle dyno runs. This will show some of the differences between systems. You can probably find similar screen shots for other systems.

First is from the Dynojet's data collection. This Dynojet collected rpm, afr torque and mph. Shown here are mph, AFR, Hp going through 2nd and 3rd gear. Sniffer for O2 was in tailpipe.
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/upload2/7718283-N1-Discon-Secondaries.jpg

The second image is the Innovate data collected on the same dyno day. WBO2 was in the intermediate (head) pipe. Measured and shown are RPM, AFR, Manifold Vacuum against Time. It's an overlay of similar pair of runs with the difference being that instead of going WOT in 2nd gear, the throttle was squeezed open so it stayed in 3rd gear. This is the normal dyno procedure for automatic transmissions.

7684198-N2-Reconnect-Secondaries-log.jpg
 
Here's the direct link to the clip;
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Zexa9vfAm2M"]1960 Chrysler NY LongRam AFR-Tuning (Tranny in Drive) - YouTube[/ame]


 
Guys, thank you for all the input, i'm loving the forum thing!!

I went for the AEM Fail Safe in the end, arrived today £215 delivered, so cheaper than the FAST or LM2

The AEM software looks good and easy to use, it measures A/F against vacuum and revs, logs 2.5 hours of data, has the fail safe alarm should you A/F drop to a critical level for some reason......and all this in a 52mm gauge

I'll try and install it this weekend, i'll keep you posted!!

thanks again for your inputs.
 
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