Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Wideband O2 sensor and surge tank

Tonight I put together yet another part of the wiring harness, splicing an Innovate LC-1 wideband oxygen sensor system in. Wideband sensors are a pretty handy tuning tool, especially on a turbo engine. The LC-1 can work with a factory ECU, but to get the most out of it, you either need an aftermarket ECU that can work with a wideband controller (like Megasquirt) or dyno tuning. You can also get a wideband sensor and controller from Tech Edge and the DIY-WB Project.

I also sat down and drew up a plan for my fuel system so I'll have some idea of what fittings, tubes, and connections it will need. Thanks to "Lamrith" from the Megasquirt forums, I plan to use a fuel filter as a surge tank. I'm using a Goldenrod industrial 10 micron fuel filter for this application. They may already call a slant six "agricultural" given its heavy and brute force design, but this project's getting even more agricultural with this mod. I bought the fuel filter at Tractor Supply, where it cost only $25 for both the filter and the mounting. You can't get more agricultural than hopping up your car with parts from Tractor Supply Co! Well, I suppose I could find a slant six powered combine and swap that engine in. (Seriously, they're out there. Slant sixes turn up in some surprising places.)

The drawback is that running a surge tank requires two fuel pumps. I've already got a Summit Racing electric pump for feeding the carb, so that pump will feed the surge tank. Then I will use a Carter high pressure pump (bought from a local auto parts chain; tell them you need one for a '89 Ford F150) to supply the injectors. This will mean that I'll have the current draw, and the noise, of two electric fuel pumps. But it sure beats adding baffles to my gas tank!

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