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Autospeed Tuning Air Fuel Ratios
Autospeed Tuning Air Fuel Ratios
Autospeed Tuning Air Fuel Ratios
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Tuning Air/Fuel Ratios
What numbers do you use?
by Julian Edgar
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Programmable engine management allows the selection of pretty well any air/fuel ratio and any ignition
timing at any load and rev point. But what are the "right" settings that should be used? It's unlikely
that you'll be doing a full programmable management tune yourself (you really need a dyno and a wide
band air/fuel ratio meter) but here's a guide to the settings that will give good fuel results.
Measuring Air/Fuel Ratios
Before a programmable management system can be effectively tuned, the air/fuel ratio needs to be
measured. As described below, the air/fuel ratio will need to vary in different conditions, and so the
meter needs to be accurate across a wide range of ratios. While the oxygen sensor found in the factory
management systems of all cars can determine rich/lean scenarios, it is not accurate enough to be used
in the tuning of programmable management.
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Air/fuel ratios are typically measured using a so
called "wideband' air/fuel ratio sensor. This is
usually just a normal oxygen sensor that is a little
more linear in its behaviour away from the 14.7:1
'switchover' point (where the sensor output voltage
suddenly changes from high to low) than a typical
oxy sensor. More sophisticated sensors use UEGO or oxygen pump designs, but in tuning workshops
these are still almost unheard of.
In addition to this high speed measurement, some workshops use a slower speed gas analyser, logging
its results during dyno power runs so that they can compare those readings with the oxygen sensor
system. The disadvantage of gas analysers is that they are too slow to get the instant results which are
needed when tuning realtime. But for setting the steadystate lightload cruise mixtures, for example,
a gas analyser is fine.
Most workshops have highspeed air/fuel ratio metres than read too rich at the rich end. All meters will
be able to read around 14.7:1 mixtures in lightload, closed loop cruise but that same meter may read
a full ratio too rich at 10:1 air/fuel ratios. Meters typically read too rich because the exhaust gas
temperature compensation is poor. Mixtures around 910:1 (ie ultra rich) will cause the car to blow
black smoke, but even when workshop meters are displaying that figure, smoke is rarely seen. However,
a meter reading richer than reality is in many ways a safe meter the tuner won't set up the car
dangerously lean. But a key question to ask of tuners is: how long since you replaced your air/fuel ratio
sensor?
Ratio Requirements
A welltuned engine used in normal road conditions
has an air/fuel ratio that is constantly varying. At
light loads, lean air/fuel ratios are used, while when
the engine is required to develop substantial power,
richer (ie lower number) air/fuel ratios are used.
There is no one air/fuel ratio where all emissions are minimised. At an air/fuel ratio of 14.7:1 oxides of
nitrogen peak, while hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide (CO) increase substantially as the air/fuel ratio
richens.
1. Cranking and Idle
The amount of fuel that needs to be added
during cranking can best be determined by
experimentation. This enrichment may be
configured by just a onedimensional
variable based on engine coolant
temperature, or it may be able to be
controlled in a more sophisticated manner.
Examples of the latter include poststart
enrichment and enrichment decay time.
Cold start is one of the dirtiest times in
regard to emissions, and so if emissions
requirements are to be met, a sophisticated
ECU with multiple starting enrichment and
decay maps should be used. Reducing the
cold start enrichment but increasing cold acceleration enrichment will reduce the total amount of
emissions. Some factory systems open the idle air bypass during cold deceleration, presumably to act as
a form of exhaust air injection.
The air/fuel ratio required for a smooth idle will depend on the engine's combustion efficiency and the
camshaft(s) used. Some engines with hot cams will require an air/fuel ratio as rich as 1212.5:1 for a
smooth idle, while others will run happily at 1313.5:1. Engines with hot cams that are fitted with
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sequential injection management systems can run leaner idle mixtures than systems using bank or
group fire. Those engines that can be configured to run in closed loop at idle will use an air/fuel ratio of
about 14.7:1 when fully warmed, although they will still usually idle better at a slightly richer air/fuel
ratio. However, keeping the engine air/fuel ratio as close to stoichiometric as possible will benefit
emissions because the cat converter works most efficiently at this ratio.
2. Cruise
Lightload cruise conditions permit the use of lean
air/fuel ratios. Ratios of 1516:1 can be used in
engines with standard cams, while engines with hot
cams will require a richer 14:1 air/fuel. If a specific
lean cruise function is available, air/fuel ratios of 17
or 17.5:1 can be used, normally at the standard
lightload ignition advance. However, running too
lean a cruise mixture will cause the cat converter to
overheat. If a dyno and exhaust gas temperature
probe is available, the cruise air/fuel ratio can be
leaned out until exhaust gas temperature becomes
excessive for these load conditions (eg 600 degrees
C+), or torque starts to significantly decrease. Remember, an engine in a road car will spend more time
at lightload cruise than in any other operating condition. The air/fuel ratio used in these conditions will
therefore determine to a significant degree the average fuel economy gained, especially on the open
road.
3. High Load
A naturally aspirated engine should run an air/fuel ratio of around 12 13:1 at peak torque. The exact
air/fuel ratio can be determined by dyno testing, with the ratio selected on the basis of the one that
gives best torque. Rich air/fuel ratios can be used to control detonation, and this is a strategy normally
employed in forced induction engines. Thus, on a forced induction engine, the mixture should be
substantially richer: 11.6 12.3:1 on a boosted turbo car and as rich as 11:1 on an engine converted to
forced aspiration without being decompressed. As is also the case for ignition timing, the air/fuel ratio
should vary with torque, rather than with power.
Most factory forced induction cars run very rich full
load mixtures, with 10:1 being common. This is
done for engine and cat converter safety reasons
in case an injector becomes slightly blocked, or the
intake air temperature rises to very high levels.
These cars will normally develop more power if
leaned out. Note that emissions testing does not
normally take place at full throttle, so full load
emissions can be high without legal problems.
In the engine operating range from peak torque to
peak power, a naturally aspirated engine should be
slightly leaner at about 13:1, with the forced
induction factory engine about 12:1 and an
aftermarket supercharged engine staying at about
11:1.
4. Acceleration
During acceleration the engine requires a richer mixture than during steadystate running, with the
extra fuel provided by acceleration enrichment. Under strong acceleration, the air/fuel ratio will typically
drop 1 1.5 ratios from its static level. The amount of acceleration enrichment that is required is
normally found by trial and error, and this is best done on the road rather than the dyno. The
acceleration enrichment should be leaned out until a flat spot occurs, then just enough fuel to get rid of
the flat spot should be added. This approach usually gives the sharpest response. Note that both over
rich or overlean acceleration enrichment will result in flat spots, and that a greater amount of
acceleration enrichment is needed at lower engine speeds than higher speeds.
5. Overrun
In roadgoing vehicles, deceleration enleanment is used to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy.
This normally takes the form of injector shutoff, with the shutoff often occurring at midrpm (such as
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30004000 rpm) and the injector operation
restarting at 12001800 rpm. High rpm
injector shutoff can, in some cases, have
the potential to cause a momentary lean
condition.
Conclusion
How a car drives on the road is a pretty damned important part of owning a modified car and in both
the power that is developed and the driveability, air/fuel ratios are a vitally important ingredient.
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