Newb Tuning Questions

[Sienile]

I'm about to get a MVPI2 and in my search for the best price I ran across a bundle with an AFR monitor and wideband O2. Question is, if I plan on doing my own tuning do I need that? I can read AFR already through a PID my stock PCM, shouldn't that be able to serve the same purpose? Vehicle is a 2013 Caravan.

I read before that HPT hadn't cracked the 62TE transmission's tables yet, but that info was quiet old. Is this still the case?

Being new to tuning, I'd prefer to start out with a pre-made tune. Anyone know someone that tunes the Caravans? Overkill Motorsports was supposed to, but seems something happened to the guy that runs it because he hasn't responded to any of my messages. Found a guy that does general Dodge tuning, but I'd prefer someone who has actual experience on the Caravans.

[5FDP]

Commanded AFR is only part of what you need to know. The wideband is telling you the real AFR in the exhaust.

The idea is to make commanded match actual. So if your vehicle comes standard with narrowband o2 sensors you would need a wideband to monitor what is happening in the exhaust. Narrowband sensors do not tell you this information.

An example would be that you are asking for 12.5 AFR at full throttle. The narrowband sensor is only going to tell you a voltage in mv, like 890mv but not an AFR/Lambda value. Then with the wideband in there you could see how far off that commanded value is. If it reported 12.8 when commanded is 12.5, there is some adjustments needed to bring the two closer together.

[Sienile]

Thanks for the insight on wideband O2s. Given that info I figure I should put it after my banks join to get a reading on the state of the whole engine, but my engine has cats directly after the head. Just wondering if going through the cats will alter the reading.

Since it seems I will need it to monitor and fine tune my tune, I'll be getting the wideband bundle (base price $495). They offer 3 options: AEM X-Series 30-0300 (free option in bundle), AEM UEGO 30-4110 ($20 option), and NGK AFX 90067 ($60 option). I've heard the NGK one is discontinued, but HP Tuners sells a clone kit based on it for use with the MVPI2, so I figure it is compatible. Since my stock O2 sensors are NGK, I think it will be best to use the NGK option so I won't introduce variance by using different manufacturers. Is there a guide on how to install this to be able to log with the MVPI2?

[5FDP]

Get the wideband that has the OBD2 dongle for the CAN-BUS vehicles. It makes logging the wideband a breeze. I use the AEM OBD2 wideband in my 2016 truck with no problems.

https://www.aemelectronics.com/produ...and-uego-OBDII

So I wouldn't buy the wideband bundle if it doesn't come with that one. Using the other ones would require that PRO feature or using a serial adapter to log the wideband in HP Tuners.

Reading the entire exhaust really isn't required, just pick whichever bank is easier to get at. The wideband after the cat isn't the perfect scenario but it still works. The readings slightly vary compared to before the cats for idle/part throttle but wide open throttle is going to be the same or within .1 on the wideband.

[Sienile]

After reading up on the NTK kit, you're right - it would need Pro Features. HPT's product page for their clone kit just says it's compatible, but there's no interface for it and using the analogs requires Pro. To get the gauge you suggested and the MVPI2 separate it cost about $10 more than the NTK bundle, but it's well worth it for the OBD2 integration (saving me from the $250 for Pro). Thanks again for saving me some future headaches... and wallet aches. :P

As for mounting it, I'm stuck with post-cat. I read up on all the popular widebands and all of them say they need to be a minimum of 12 inches from the exhaust ports, which would be dead center in my cats on either bank. So I'm just going to install it past the collector as I was talking about earlier and log readings for a week or so to learn the variance between my upstreams and the wideband.
Do you know if that gauge allows for entering an offset value so I can correct the output once I learn the variance?

edit: Tried to give you another rep boost for helping me out and saving me about $240, but it's saying I got to "spread it around" first. But he's the only one being helpful! :/