A Newbie here with his new EFI LIVE....ready to ask questions and learn

[scottcmb]

Hi guys, i have just received my efi live from the courier.
My Car is a 2009 Holden HSV GTS LS3 6.2lt

Questions:
1: does my car have wideband o2 sensors fitted?
2: if my car ISNT fitted with wideband o2 sensors, can i still do custom tuning with them? or do i have to purchase some and fit them?
3: When i connected the efi live to my car to log some data it said it couldn't read and get a signal from the o2 sensors and maf sensor so it recorded without them. But i noticed that whilst driving the AFR COMMANDED on the virtual dashboard read 0.25 and after a bit of running it went to its highest reading of 1.0 and the FUEL STATUS meter changed from OL to CL ( im guessing that means changing from open loop to closed loop) and when it changed to CL the AFR started to change slightly to 0.5 but max was only 1.0....is this normal?
4: after making a logged run and a few wide open throttles, i noticed that on the virtual dash board at idle the throttle percentage read 16% and at WOT it maxed at 88% ( and yes i did check to make sure there was no mat interfearing with the pedal lol)....my question is, is this normal???
5: and Finally with the EFI LIVE kit i just purchased what else do i need to buy to go with this kit? or is it fine as it is and will do the jobs nicely?

Your help is appreciated
Regards Scotty

[Taz]

... Questions: 1: does my car have wideband o2 sensors fitted?

No .. OEM O2s are NB ... you will need to purchase a WBO.


2: if my car ISNT fitted with wideband o2 sensors, can i still do custom tuning with them? or do i have to purchase some and fit them?

If you have an automatic transmission (A4 or A6) you can tune the TCM without a WBO. You can alter many areas of the ECM without a WBO - rev limiter, E-Fans, etc. To alter the MAF or VVE parameters you will require a WBO.


3: When i connected the efi live to my car to log some data it said it couldn't read and get a signal from the o2 sensors and maf sensor so it recorded without them. But i noticed that whilst driving the AFR COMMANDED on the virtual dashboard read 0.25 and after a bit of running it went to its highest reading of 1.0 and the FUEL STATUS meter changed from OL to CL ( im guessing that means changing from open loop to closed loop) and when it changed to CL the AFR started to change slightly to 0.5 but max was only 1.0....is this normal?

When you connect the Scan Tool - validate the PIDs, then confirm you have selected the correct PIDs for your specific controller.


4: after making a logged run and a few wide open throttles, i noticed that on the virtual dash board at idle the throttle percentage read 16% and at WOT it maxed at 88% ( and yes i did check to make sure there was no mat interfearing with the pedal lol)....my question is, is this normal???

Guessing you logged SAE.TP ... will not give valid % ... log GM.APP (pedal position) and GM.ETCTP (throttle position) for valid data.


5: and Finally with the EFI LIVE kit i just purchased what else do i need to buy to go with this kit? or is it fine as it is and will do the jobs nicely?

Just a WBO, some patience (learning curve is very steep), and self education - read the Tune Tool manual, Scan Tool manual and all applicable Forum discussions.


Regards,
Taz

[scottcmb]

Thanks Taz,
with purchasing the wideband O2 sensors..... do i just take out the NB sensor and just screw in the WB sensors in there place? and plug them in to the standard wiring?
Cheers Scotty

[Jayrcr3]

Some WB O2 sensors also put out narrow band info. My LC1 did, but it required a little bit of a wiring mod to get it to work. Most guys have an extra bung welded into the exhaust system before the cats and install the WB.

[Taz]

There are WBO that claim to emulate a NB - and could be installed in place of an existing NB. Not a proponent of these.

I generally weld in an O2 bung ($10 - $20 part here) upstream of the catalytic converter, and only use the WBO when tuning - this will increase the life of the often expensive sensor. Another option is to disable the post cat O2s when tuning - and install the WBO in the existing bung ... some may claim this will alter the WBO data ... and no doubt it will - but not a great deal. Some dyno tuners will use a tail pipe probe style WBO ... also post cat ...


Regards,
Taz

[scottcmb]

So when WBO's are installed which ever way up or down stream of the cats........the wiring for them just plug straight into the EFI live handset?.....is this correct? and when all is done and tuned the NBO's are just reconnected or enabled, the WBO's are taken back out and away ya go?
Regards Scotty

[slows10]

Opinions vary on the placement of the O2 sensor placement. Why take a chance on installing it post cat. When tuning with a wideband reliability and accuracy are important as the lower priced sensors have questionable performance. Most tuners would not install it post cat. There is usually enough room to install it pre cat. May be a bit more effort, but worth it.

[slows10]

If you are going to tune with just using the wideband and your car has 4 O2 sensors, you can install it in the existing bung pre cat. Meaning you have a left and right bank sensors, then an O2 just in front of the cat and one after the cat. You can put it in the bung directly before the cat.

[joecar]

Also, depending on which wideband you decide to get, V2 supports serial comms for some widebands (i.e. so you can avoid analog problems).

[scottcmb]

Do i need to have TWO WBO sensors, one in each bank for good monitoring?

[joecar]

You don't have to, unless you want to.

[scottcmb]

What brand WBO system is recommended?.....is Innovate brand ok?.....and what model do i get?
Cheers Scotty

[Taz]

Take a look at the thread linked below regarding common WBO being used ...

http://forum.efilive.com/showthread.php?13361-Wideband-Controller-Poll&


Regards,
Taz

[joecar]

Scotty,

Start the V8 software named Scan & Tune (S&T), goto F6:Devices, goto F8:Serial I/O, look at the widebands in the Wideband pull down...

those are the widebands that have serial comms ability that is connectable to FlashScan V2;


some of other widebands may possibly be made to connect serially with a minor bit modification.