O/2 sensors on a street/strip car??

When using o/2's,on the street would I leave them on or remove when not logging. I have heard differing opinions as to the life of the sensor using all the time or when burning leaded or unleaded fuel.

They don't last very long with leaded fuel but they should last forever with unleaded fuel. I don't think I've ever had to replace an O2 sensor on my daily drivers and I've driven several of them well past 200,000 miles.

On the dyno we replace the O2 sensors on a regular basis when running race gas. It gets super expensive. I'm thinking about switching to a high octane unleaded just to save money on the O2 sensors.

As long as the heater is powered up and you are running unleaded gas, the O2 should be okay. Like Andy said, they go for many, many miles in grocery getters. But running them cold, with leaded fuels, or in overly rich conditions certainly shortens their life expectancy.

Also on daily drivers the 02's run at as best a mixture as the controller can adjust to all the time. I mean when its to rich or lean the controller is adjusting all the time to try and run a perfect air/fuel mixture. But on most street cars with carbs until we tune for what ever mixture we are after it wont change and the 02 will see a rich or lean mixture all the time until we adjust the carb so I would think that will be much harder on the 02 sensors also. On our hotrods with carbs we have to make the change so the 02 may run in a not so good mixture for its life alot where on normal drivers they are running in about the best fuel mixture at all times since they are always adjusting mixture from the 02 readings so that may be harder on the 02's life. Even if the 02's have a heater I would think it will be harder on it when used in a non closed loop system. Ron

Been running the same one for several years and two+ of those was w/leaded gas and it`s still goin strong.......

So does this all suggest that I should remove them(I have Dual 'Fast' system,,,likely would not buy today as probably better/cheaper units available now) after each use and insert plugs in bung holes. Access to remove is a real pita.

As a second option, just leave display connected to continuously provide power and thereby extend life of sensors.

Car burns unleaded fuel only. 440 Six Pack, therefore carburetors.

Have not yet welded in bungs as am uncertain of answers to these issues and how to best with them. Currently shove up tailpipes using a 'special' mounting mechanism knowing that accuracy likely compromised.

For a street car that is going to use unleaded gas I'd go ahead and install at least one O2 sensor and wire it up so that it turns on and off with the ignition. It is just a good idea on a "hot rod" to keep an eye on the AF mixture. For most street engines you don't really need two O2 sensors. Just running one side saves you some money and some wiring.

The only time I have mine in is when I'm working on the carb. Once it's tuned I see no need for it being in.

On a carb.. take them out after your done playing... why
waste them since in reality your not using them... if your
playing injection...leave them in

I agree, my innovate just uses a 18mm, oil pan drain plug from napa for $3

I can see that providing the car sees limited street driving. But if you drive the car in different weather conditions or significant elevation changes then having the O2 on board can be helpful. But yeah, if you just drive it around town and head to the track once in awhile then no reason to keep the O2 on all the time.

Any ideas of what one may experience in decreased life expectancy by leaving them in? 100's of miles, 1000's or 10's of thousands? No race fuel usage.

Given the limit usage some of us give our cars, removing when not used may not be worth the hassle and retaining ongoing ability to monitor could provide some heads up value.

For me if leaving them in caused them to self destruct in less than 5k miles, probably worth removing when not needed.

Just finishing Racepak install. The o/2's also have separate wires for the heater.I'm thinkin to put them on a toggle switch,,,,,on & off. 95% of my driving is on the street so that doesn't seem to shorten sensor life.If Ican make track 4 or 5 times a year I'm thrilled. But life & work get in the way.

With all of the money we spend on our cars, what`s the big deal about buying a $40.00 sensor every so many years. As I stated earlier mine`s fine after at least 6 years street/strip WITH leaded for the first few years and I too leave it in all of the time because carbs aren`t a "set em and forget em" deal. And as far as a toggle switch for the heater that`s crazy.............turn on the power to it, wait for the gauge to count down(if that`s how yours works)and enjoy some DIRECTION in your tuning cos that`s what it is, not the end all.

Innovate's LM-1 Manual specifically states

p.6

If your datalogger is setup permanently, then leave the WBO2 in unless running leaded fuels. If, like me, the logger is portable, then when not using it, just remove the WBO2 and install the plug. It takes more time for me to remove the wires and T into the vac line than it does to remove the sensor itself.

Thanks Matt!
Dom,if the Racepak sensor was $40,,,,,I wouldn't worry about it

Gotcha.............not familiar w/all that high-tech stuff................

I would leave it in as a permanent installation. If the key is on, it's on.

Just driving around and watching what your AFR does will be a learning experience.

Kevin

That's the way its done on all modern cars built the last 30 or 40 years. When's the last time you replaced one?