Which wideband do you run and why? Looking at purchasing my first wideband!

Hey all,

I am wanting some feedback on which wideband is best. There are a few brands that seem common, AEM, Innovate, PLX - Which one should I buy?

More importantly, whats the difference between them all? Are they all as accurate as each other? (From my understanding they all run the bosch sensor?)

I plan on putting the wideband into my subaru forester via a bung in the exhaust - but was thinking it would be good if I could take it out and use it through the tailpipe on other cars, is this possible?

I guess to summarize my rambling -

1. Which wideband should I buy and why?

2. Is one brand/product better then one another?

3. Is it possible to have it fitted to my subaru's dump pipe then later taken out and used in the end of the tailpipe as most dyno tuners seem to do?

4. When using wideband sensor in the tailpipe, how accurate/inaccurate is it compared to one 60-90cm away from the headers of the motor?

I use Innovate LM-1, it has since been replaced by the LM-2 though, I also use an Innovate LMA-3 in conjucntion and I find Innovate logworks to be very powerful.

Yes, you can remove the sensor from the exhaust and cap the bung at any time but don't just place it in an exhaust, you need the proper mount for two reasons, if you just set it in the pipe vibrations will destroy it fast and if its not placed in the pipe far enough it will actually get feedback from the outside oxygen making it read leaner than it is. Also, don't be tempted to buy a second sensor and leave a sensor in the exhaust without a controller connected, this will destroy sensors.

The accuracy may differ at the tailpipe if a cat is installed.(Going by installation manuals)

Wideband choice becomes a little bit personal in my experience. There are a wide range of products on the market and they all essentially do the same thing, however each brand has pros and cons. Interestingly while you'd assume that if 4 different widebands used the same sensor then they'd all read the same, but that's not the case. The calibration is up to the manufacturer and there can be quite noticeable differences if you run 2-3 widebands simultaneously on an engine. Here's my 2c anyway:

1. I use an Innovate LM2 for a portable wideband. I use a suction cup to stick it to the windscreen. I use this unit because it reads identical to the MoTeC PLM in our dyno and it's easy to integrate an analogue input to the ECU if you want. That's just my choice though and just to be clear, Innovate haven't paid me a cent to say this :)

2. See my comments above - You usually get what you pay for so the higher priced units are often better or offer more features. One important point here is that if you're going to integrate the output with an ECU, you're much better off doing this via CAN rather than an analogue voltage output if your wideband and ECU are both capable of doing so. CAN ensures the integrity of the data which means the AFR that the ECU displays is exactly what the wideband controller is outputting.

3. Yes

4. Under high load/rpm the sensor reading is normally very accurate in the tailpipe. At idle or when there's low exhaust flow it can be affected by ambient oxygen.