wide range O2 sensor module

[reesmicm]

There is another tech webpage out there called Nightrider.com They are addressing the heat issues. They have designed a broader range O2 sensor module. I would liek to see what the experts say about this modification.

Here is a capture from their webpage: All these bikes including the 2006 Dyna's are also know to have high operating temperatures and poor throttle response while cruising. This issue is directly related to the EFI closed loop operation mode at idle and cruising speeds. In closed loop mode, the narrow band O2 sensors used by the Delphi ECU hold the air fuel ratio at 14.7:1 which is good for EPA compliant emissions but creates a very hot exhaust pipe. Nightrider has a fix for this issue that will reduce the exhaust temperature, improve throttle response and increase HP- LC1 WBO2 upgrade. The upgrade will consist of the LC-1 electronic module, one WBO2 sensor, one blocking plate for the second OEM NBO2 sensor, programming instructions for the LC-1, and detailed installation instructions to connect the upgrade to your motorcycle. No ECU upgrades or ECU programming required for HD/SE Stage 1 and Stage 2 upgraded engines. The upgrade is 100% compatible with any of the HD or SE ECU downloads, and is compatible with SE Race Tuner for highly modified bikes

[reesmicm]

www.nightrider.com/biketech/hd2007HD_wbo2_upgrade.htm

link to nightrider wide band sensor for more details

[Mike]

We have no experiance with this product but seems to be a complex cure for a minor problem easily corrected with SERT. The 02's only target 14.7 if the Bias table is not changed. When .798 is used as the Bias target, then 14.1 is the corrected AFR. Another solution many tuners are using is to simply use values in the AFR table of less than 14.6. These values then become whatever the tuner desires assuming custom mapping synchronized the actual tailpipe AFR, using the VE tables, to the base AFR (typ 13.0). 14.6 is the switching value that tells the ECM to use the voltages reported by the O2's to synchronize with the voltages programmed in the Bias table. Anything less than 14.6 turns off the closed loop mode and reverts back to the offset AFR calculations as in earlier models. In theory, if the custom mapping is accurate, there should not be a lot of correction required by the O2's and taking them offline should not be a problem. It does however negate a major feature of the 06L models and does not allow that secondary fine level of tuning one would have when the O2's are active. Our approach is constantly changing based on customer feedback, but today it is to reduce active area of the O2's (via the AFR table values) an confine them to strickly the cruise area. How much we restrict them is still not consistant. We would like to keep them as active as possible without the issues you've mentioned.
Mike

[nightrider.com]

The Wide Band O2 upgrade really isn't a complex cure for a minor problem. But it is a different way of looking at things and offer tuning alternatives that are not generally available to riders. Mike has accurately pointed out that with SERT that altering the Bias Table to 750-798 can richen the closed loop fuel mixture to 14.2-14.1:1, which also happens to be the richest mixture a narrow band O2 sensor can accurate operate at. But the abililty of a wide band sensor to accurately control fuel mixtures over AFR ranges of 10.0 to 20.0:1 brings a new dimension to the possibility of "automatic" tuning. HD by providing the O2 bias table, allows a tuner to set the centering voltage for the output of the O2 sensor that will control the AFR for that RPM/Load combination. If the available tuning range was expanded from the 15.0-14.1 AFR range of the OEM O2 sensor to a range of 14.5 to 12.5 range, then your bike could tune itself across any closed loop range.

The Wide Band O2 technology used by Nightrider.com allows wide band AFR ranges (10.0-20.0:1) to emulate narrow band O2 sensor output 0-1V because the LC-1 has a fully programable output. The upside of this technology is that it allows a wideband O2 sensor to be used in vehicles that were designed for narrow band sensors. The downside is that the technology is expensive, but can be part of an overall tuning system that would allow a rider to accurately tune his own engine across the entire RPM/Load range. Not every rider has access to knowledgeable performance shops like Latus HD. Good shops like Latus are the exception, not the rule. Riders in this area should consider themselves very lucky. But the combination of wide band O2 upgrade technology, SE Race Tuner and a way to gather riding information can create a complete tuning solution with dyno like accuracy (when used properly). Seems that Daytona Twin Tec has a Scan Tool that will listen to WBO2 sensor and log all the data while you ride. Software provided with the Scan Tool takes this information and accurately shows you what your current fuel map is and can even tell you what changes to put into SERTs VE tables to ensure this table is accurate. The same type of information can be used to accurately generate PCIII fuel maps also.
I know that I have probably confused a lot of riders. But let me try to summarize. Wide Band O2 technology is the only way to accurate measure or control the complete range of air fuel ratios needed to properly tune your engine. Taking accurate engine RPM and engine Load data, then matching that up with accurate AFR data is basically what is done on the DynoJet 250. Now taking an ECM control package like SERT (my favorite tuning package) and the information available from the WBO2 upgrade, it is possible to accurately tune without ever putting a bike on the dyno. When tuning possibilities like the O2 Bias Table and a programmable narrow band emulation are understood, it is possible to set a bikes ECM up once and never have to make another change.
Of course this is a panacea. ThunderMax and Daytona Twin Tec promise the same thing. But it doesn't always work quite a perfectly as one would like. But it can be amazingly close for many street riders and knowledgeable performance riders who understant the technology. Don't under estimate the usefulnes of Wide Band technology on your HD. It isn't new, it is inevitable. A comment to Mike is that I would really like to take some of this discussion off line. For other riders, listen to knowledgable people like Mike. His healthy skepticism is something I welcome because it is thoughtful, well founded and most likely subject to change when shown what new things can do.