# I told you guys my SR leaned out!!  oh no..

**URL:** <https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378>\
**Category:** SON240sx Automotive\
**Created:** [May 27, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378 "2006-05-27T21:26:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![alesserfate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@alesserfate](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/alesserfate)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/1 "2006-05-27T21:26:53Z")

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hey guys so as im driving i feel the boost is shaky always, and it doesnt smell rich, wtf ? i put in an a/f gauge, it idles lean, when i floor it, it leans out to the bottom, than when i let off the gas quick it goes to rich and back to lean… so its running lean and at 10psi, wtf no boost controller? yeap i dont have have one, and i’ve been driving like tihs ALWAYS IN BOOST for 1000km… man… i think my engine is probably worn dead from running always so lean ☹ gahhh…

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**Author:** ![BAS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/bas/32/5540_2.png) [@BAS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/BAS)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/2 "2006-05-27T21:54:50Z")

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ok what kind of AF are you using to figure this out ?? is it a multi colour LED that hooks up to your ECU or a stand alone WB…

if it’s one of those cheesy ECu hook up light show meters then you can pretty much forget about getting anythhing but a reliable light show out of it… it’s useless to tune you car by.

You need to use at least a WB os setup with a tail pipe sniffer… even better a proper O2 sensor mounted to the DP…

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**Author:** ![DTS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@DTS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/DTS)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/3 "2006-05-27T22:22:54Z")

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a narrowband a/f gauge is as useless as christmas lights, but it still shouldnt be in the lean

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**Author:** ![BAS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/bas/32/5540_2.png) [@BAS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/BAS)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/4 "2006-05-27T22:53:02Z")

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if you hop on the gas their is lag time in the ECU to when it recives the open throttle signal to when it can apply fuel to balance it… inversely when he comes off the gas it takes time again for the ECU to lean out from rich… so what he’s reading is the ECU in it’s delay and catchup mode with is normal for an ECU. the WB is outside the ECU loop and will give a steady constant signal not hndered by the ECU’s delay and look up tables

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**Author:** ![alesserfate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@alesserfate](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/alesserfate)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/5 "2006-05-27T23:21:43Z")

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no but when i floor it and hold it, once the turbo starts to spool up it goes ALL the way to lean, it almost goes out of range… it stays that way until i let off the gas and oxygen is cut hence it automatically turns rich than back to lean… and is it supposed to lean on idle ?

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**Author:** ![Uniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/34f0e0/32.png) [@Uniac](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Uniac)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 7:04am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/6 "2006-05-28T07:04:31Z")

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are you not listening to anything people are saying?

a a/f gauge that doesnt have a WIDE BAND sensor is shit, they do NOT WORK.

Yes your car is supposed to be lean at idle. Get a wideband and test it.

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**Author:** ![alesserfate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@alesserfate](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/alesserfate)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 7:57am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/7 "2006-05-28T07:57:31Z")

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> [@lucky](#):
>
> are you not listening to anything people are saying?
> 
> a a/f gauge that doesnt have a WIDE BAND sensor is shit, they do NOT WORK.
> 
> Yes your car is supposed to be lean at idle. Get a wideband and test it.

ok dude I KNOW its lean, cause when i give gas it struggles, and even thouhg the gauge is inaccurate, it still goes to lean when im in boost, I dont need a 300 dollar guage to tell if my car is lean or not, at this point its obvious

anyway… i checked all the vacuum lines to the fpr and made sure theres no leaks and tried hooking things up differently but it still makes no difference, the harness at the ecu looked like it use to have a piggyback controller, would an SAFC or a FPR solve this problem ?

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**Author:** ![Happy240sx](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/happy240sx/32/5515_2.png) [@Happy240sx](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Happy240sx)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 8:00am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/8 "2006-05-28T08:00:37Z")

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They would mask the problem.

The point is you have a stock setup. THERE IS NO REASON (other than some problem) why you would be running lean. Therefore, don’t spend money on a FPR and an SAFC (which would ultimately give you more fuel)…why not direct you energy into making it run right.

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**Author:** ![Sasha\_SG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/sasha_sg/32/5477_2.png) [@Sasha\_SG](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Sasha_SG)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 8:28am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/9 "2006-05-28T08:28:19Z")

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you have a walbro fuel pump right?

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**Author:** ![DTS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@DTS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/DTS)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 8:55am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/10 "2006-05-28T08:55:11Z")

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> [@lucky](#):
>
> are you not listening to anything people are saying?
> 
> a a/f gauge that doesnt have a WIDE BAND sensor is shit, they do NOT WORK.
> 
> Yes your car is supposed to be lean at idle. Get a wideband and test it.

the point here is that even a narrowband air fuel gauge should not go into the lean section at WOT on a properly running sr regardless of how inaccurate they are they will not tell you a exact accurate a/f number however they still will tell you rich or lean. At idle the gauge should search back and fworth from rich to lean, the only time the gauge should go lean is when you let off the throttle.

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**Author:** ![Uniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/34f0e0/32.png) [@Uniac](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Uniac)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 9:01am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/11 "2006-05-28T09:01:48Z")

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i had a megan a/d gauge on my civic for months and all it ever rear was lean to lean, the ocational time it would it in stoich.

All he has to do is pull his damn plugs if they’re white he’s got a problem, if they’re black he’s fine.

Even if he was “leaning out” the ecu would swithc to the knock maps, in which case he’d not actually be leaning out, unless for some reason he cant supply enough fuel even for the knock maps.

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**Author:** ![spd-dmn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/spd-dmn/32/5513_2.png) [@spd-dmn](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/spd-dmn)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 9:10am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/12 "2006-05-28T09:10:19Z")

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> [@DTS](#):
>
> [quote=lucky]are you not listening to anything people are saying?
> 
> a a/f gauge that doesnt have a WIDE BAND sensor is shit, they do NOT WORK.
> 
> Yes your car is supposed to be lean at idle. Get a wideband and test it.

the point here is that even a narrowband air fuel gauge should not go into the lean section at WOT on a properly running sr regardless of how inaccurate they are they will not tell you a exact accurate a/f number however they still will tell you rich or lean. At idle the gauge should search back and fworth from rich to lean, the only time the gauge should go lean is when you let off the throttle.[/quote]

it not only doesn’t tell you an exact number, but the information on ‘lean’ or ‘rich’ is **every ratio** greater/less than +/- 0.1 lambda.

So if the AFR is, say, 14.6 it’ll tell you you are totally rich. If it’s 14.8, it’ll tell you you are totally lean. Wtf good does that do anyone? Nothing that’s what.

You said it yourself Scotty… christmas lights ftl.

![http://www.zeitronix.com/questions/O2transfer.gif](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/uploads/speedlife/original/3X/7/c/7c9d8209dbdc6ffdf212299e03df41cde033ece1.gif)

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**Author:** ![KoukiS14](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/koukis14/32/5522_2.png) [@KoukiS14](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/KoukiS14)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 9:16am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/13 "2006-05-28T09:16:54Z")

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Have you ever considered your O2 sensor could be bad? If its pooched its going to read lean all the time but that doesnt mean you car is running lean, it would actually be running rich and like garbage.

Can you confirm your o2 is working right?

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**Author:** ![Gonad](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/gonad/32/5481_2.png) [@Gonad](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Gonad)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 10:13am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/14 "2006-05-28T10:13:45Z")

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Well if you can get a wideband somehow, here are my numbers on a  
relatively stock setup (only thing bigger is a larger turbo). No tuning  
no boost controlling (only at 5psi wastegate controlled :hsugh: )

Idle upon startup: 14 to 15  
WOT full boost (5psi right now :hsugh: ) : 10 to 11  
Idle after warmup: 13.3 to 13.7  
Crusing with light throttle: 15 to 17

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**Author:** ![slipperysilvia](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/slipperysilvia/32/5485_2.png) [@slipperysilvia](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/slipperysilvia)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 11:32am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/15 "2006-05-28T11:32:34Z")

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as long as ure narrowband a/f gauge works and ure o2 sensor, it will for sure read rich in boost as long as ure ecu is stock and working efficiently…ive installed 50 of them, and unless the gauge is faulty they are always rich on idle( when the motors warmed up) and rich in boost areas.  
They are not very accurate, but they are deffinetly a way of telling if ure rich or lean during boost which is whats important…they cannot be used for tuning, but can be used from a safety point of view…  
have u tried another mafs???..

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**Author:** ![S13GG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/s13gg/32/5506_2.png) [@S13GG](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/S13GG)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 1:34pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/16 "2006-05-28T13:34:05Z")

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> [@Sasha (Turbo)](#):
>
> you have a walbro fuel pump right?

and a Z32TT fuel filter?

what colour were your plugs?

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**Author:** ![pearlS13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e68b1a/32.png) [@pearlS13](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/pearlS13)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/17 "2006-05-28T14:40:22Z")

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If your noticing hesitation when your boosting and your guage is showing lean the YES you are going lean. Ya narrowbands are not accurate at all but they will give you a good indication if your going lean/rich during boost. I had a slight hesitation with my sr in the midrange rpm and i would notice my narrowband going full lean, i added some fuel with the safc in the midrange and now its perfect. Bottom line is a good indication if your going lean would be hesitation like your describing and the narrowband proves that.

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**Author:** ![alesserfate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@alesserfate](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/alesserfate)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/18 "2006-05-28T22:07:28Z")

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alright guys my plugs are a little white, and yes i have a walbro, my harness looks like it use to have a safc or a fuel controller back in japan, if so, should I order an fpr or safc ?

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**Author:** ![QuincyRedS14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/dbc845/32.png) [@QuincyRedS14](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/QuincyRedS14)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/19 "2006-05-29T01:01:01Z")

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I had the same problem once. Turned out that my fuel lines were hooked up wrong. Yes the car will still run but it had the same symptoms.

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**Author:** ![G-E](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/g-e/32/5546_2.png) [@G-E](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/G-E)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-told-you-guys-my-sr-leaned-out-oh-no/96378/20 "2006-05-29T02:35:10Z")

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the ideal colour for plugs is like a very light mocha

research plugs and what they mean, you’ll find you can tell a lot about your engine by pulling them, also check for variation between cylinders

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