I picked up a AEM UEGO wideband and was wondering on the best place to install it. I’ve seen people install it about 6" from the turbo in the stock O2 sensor location but in the installation instructions it says 36" from the turbo outlet and greater than a 15deg angle. On my car I’m running a stainless steel SR20 downpipe and test pipe. The test pipe has a ~2" bung welded on it but it is horizontal.
What’s the best way to install it? Should I have the plain steel bung that came with the wideband welded (can you weld stainless and plain steel?) to the downpipe? Or say screw it and reduce the lifetime of the sensor and install it in the stock O2 location?
The only benefit I see from the stock O2 sensor location is the reduced chance of having an exhaust leak before the sensor.
The degree angle is just to keep moisture from puddling in the sensor upon shutdown, which would destroy it. Preferably 15 degrees or more from horizontal is what you’re looking for. The sensor will work at any angle, but any moisture that collects in the sensor due to being “tip up” can damage it.
The distance is good to keep back at least 20" from the turbine to get proper readings due to exhaust pressure and turbulence issues close to the turbine. The sensor accuracy degrades in that close proximity to the turbo.
Mild steel bung to an SS pipe is fine, use 309 filler rod to weld.
Thanks Adam. Yeah I’m going to pickup another downpipe and get it welded on. Don’t want any downtime with the car since the nice weather is here for a little bit, plus I don’t like the megan sr20 DP much. Would you recommend mig welding it with stainless wire? If so I’ll just weld it myself.
You can just mig is with Er70s wire if need be, it’ll just rust at the bead over time. The bung is going to rust anyway as it’s MS.
If you want me to TIG it on for you just drop the DP and bung off at the shop one day and I’ll do it. Won’t take 5 minutes, maybe 7-8 if you need me to drill the hole out in the DP. Just mark where you want it positioned really good, and just be sure you have plenty of room to get the sensor in/out once the DP is in place on the car.
Ah. Yeah there very few here that have actually seen some of the serious work I do other than the typical street car build. Justin, JClark, Eric Smith, J.Adams…about it.
You should give me a call next week, we can discuss for future reference :nod Phone below
6 inches from the back of the turbo is fine for the NTK sensor, but for that Bosch sensor I’d have it at least 3 feet away like the manual says. To say they don’t like heat would be an understatement…
Def put the sensor at least a foot MINIMUM from the turbo. I went 24 inches but I have no cats to get in the way. If you have cats, obviously put it before the cat, but as far away from the turbo as possible.