LC-1 Wideband sensor review

Discussion in 'Product & Service Reviews' started by crashtke, Sep 22, 2006.

  1. crashtke

    crashtke Member Supporting Member

    Aight so I finally threw this in yesterday. The kit was ok. Luckily I already had a bung in my downpipe. Bad part was it was kind of far back on the TXS DP so my mounting choices were pretty limited for the LC-1. I did however end up using a piece of aluminum sheet metal to make a small 4"x4" heat shield. I drilled a hole in the middle that was 3/4" and threaded the o2 sensor through it. It seems to work fine. They recommend copper, but trying to find copper sheet metal was just not working for me. I plan on wrapping the DP eventually any way so heat should not be a huge issue.

    I ran the wire leading out of the o2 sensor vaguely near the dp then up to the far passenger side (as far as I could from the DP) and mounted it near the passenger side strut tower. I made a heat shield for the LC-1 unit out of some more sheet metal until I can get the cobb heat shield on there (no time yesterday before work to take the IC back off). From there I took the output wires and the hook up wires across the back of the wirefall near the AC lines and went in through a grommeted hole in the firewall.

    I hooked the power wire up to a switched 12 v source on the radio, the grounds went to the same area and they really did not give you much to work with, so they got vamped into the radio harness too. My kit for some reason did not come with an LED for the indicator status. I plan on rewiring that section next when I get a chance to go to radio shack and grab an LED. For now the calibration wire is just taped off. The two programable outputs likewise are taped off for now until my AF gauge gets here. At that point I will hook up one of them to the AF gauge, making it a wideband monitor. The stereo jack output that is connected to a serial port I left above the radio. It just kind of sticks out under the little blank panel next to the cup holder. It is kind of short and I really did not have anywhere else to take it. I wanted to take it to the glove box, but it just was not long enough. I may try to rework it or extend it.

    So after getting it all hooked up, I pluged in the serial port to a serial->USB adapter and jacked it in to the computer. First try worked perfectly. I had to run in to work, so I was not able to play around with it much. Later I booted it all up again and the software was not able to find the LC-1 through the s-usb adapter. ***Start serial port rant****I shut everything down and finally was able to get it. They REALLY need to start making some things in the automotive world go to a damn USB cable. Serial is so slow and outdated I really don't know why they use it any more. ***End serial port rant***

    After messing with it and getting it going I finally was able to do some logging after work. Seems my AF is fine even pushing 17 psi of boost through the upgraded IC. I hit as low as 9.9 The curve seems kind of jerky, but that could just be the ECU not coping well with the added boost. It is trying to maintain up to 15.8 and is reading higher at any given point due to the more free flowing bar and plate IC. Hopefully I should be able to get this cleared up a bit with the ST software.

    All in all it seems like a decent product (except the freaking serial output!!!). It was a pretty straight forward install, just took time to run the wires the way I want them, make the heat shields, etc. They do specifically recommend the heat shields though for turbo cars, so I considered it a necessity. The software seems good and there is a plug in for ST that allows ST to view and log the LC-1 wideband. For $180 off ebay (including shipping) I am pretty darn happy. Considering you can also use any type of AF gauge (with some programing of the LC-1) on the outputs makes this a real cool package. Pictures would be kind of worthless (everything is kind of hidden), but if you want to come take a look, feel free. I think if you are going to be playing around with the ECU this is definitely worth the money to find out a little more about what your car is doing.

    Hope this made sense. Feel free to ask any questions.:fawk:
     

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