Quote Originally Posted by Bill R.
emissions since the monitor a wider range more accurately from 11 to 1 all the way up to straight air.. they are able to control wide open throttle and keep it exactly at the required ratio for maximum power instead of having to go strictly off the map which may or may not take into consideration small faults or changes that affect the overall fuel ratio such as vacum leaks etc... the wide band will allow for these corrections.. Also on the newer direct injection gas engines that are coming out, they will run stratified charge and wide band is the only way they can accurately measure the ratios when they get that lean... It looks like its a win win deal to me except for the cost of the wide band sensors compared to the old 1,2,3 or 4 wire sensors...

Wideband sensors are actually getting quite cheap now. I think you can get a New Beetle sensor for around $50 USD and I have bought a few wideband sensors in Canada (from NAPA) for around $120 Canadian. Sorry I can't tell you what I'm doing with them yet.

Mark