Spartan 3 Lite v2 Wideband Controller & Oxygen Sensor

The successor to the Spartan 2 range of widebands is now here, the Spartan 3 Lite v2 is the very latest wideband offering from 14Point7 and they have really brought the goods with these latest models. Almost every aspect of these units have had improvements, they now utilise a dual power design, the wideband controller itself is now powered by an ARM Cortex M4 microcontroller, response times are over 8x quicker than it’s predecessor. The Spartan 2 was already an industry favourite wideband controller and a terrific one at that, but now there is a new kid on the block with some great improvements across the board and takes what was already a very cost effective wideband controller to a whole new level.

Along with the release of the Spartan 3 Lite wideband controller we now have various 02 sensor options to choose from when ordering these widebands, the base price includes one of our JRP LSU 4.9 02 sensors, or you have the option to select the Bosch LSU 4.9 or the 14Point7 LSU ADV sensor for an extra cost. This gives customers a choice on which 02 sensor they would like to run, our JRP 4.9 is a terrific 02 sensor and keeps the costs down, or if you prefer a bigger brand name on your 02 sensor, we have the genuine Bosch 4.9’s, and if you want the very best in 02 sensor technology we also offer 14Point7’s LSU ADV sensors. We go into detail below about what the difference is between these three sensors so you can make an educated decision on which sensor is right for you.

If you are sick of high priced wideband products that fail to live up to the hype, with either high failure rates on the controllers / gauges, or have been going through sensors like they are going out of fashion, well you are not alone and so are we. This is why we are proud official resellers of 14point7, who in our opinion make some of the very best wideband products on the market today, and they manage to do it while keeping the cost of their products at amazing prices. When buying the Spartan 3 Lite wideband controller you can rest assured that you are getting one of the best wideband products on the market, utilising the most up to date hardware and firmware designs to give you a tough, reliable and extremely fast responding wideband product. We have a bunch of info below on what makes the Spartan 3 Lite such an amazing little wideband, and if you have any questions on if this is the right choice for you, feel free to contact our sales guys for assistance.

Gauge Options & Packages Available

This wideband controller package does not come with a display gauge, this is the package you would buy if you were planning on buying our 14in1 Multi Gauge systems to use them as the display gauge, or for people that just want to connect a wideband controller to their aftermarket ECU. Not everyone is looking for a wideband that comes with a gauge, and is why we also sell these wideband controllers without the gauge as an option. If buying this wideband controller to connect to our 14in1 Multi gauge systems, once connected you can select between displaying a 10 to 20 AFR readout on the screen, and you also have the option of switching the 14in1 multi gauge to display Lambda in the range of 0.68 to 1.36.

We also have range of standalone wideband gauge kits available to purchase if you are just looking for a wideband package that comes with a display gauge. We have single channel wideband kits which use our 52mm Edge LCD gauges, and also dual channel kits which use our dual 52mm LED wideband gauges.

So regardless of what your use is for a wideband product, be it a gauge or not, we have you covered. Below you will find links to our 14in1 Multi Gauge which can be used as a display with this package, and also links to our standalone wideband gauge packages which come with the gauges as part of the kit.
 

JRP LSU 4.9 02 Sensor

The first 02 sensor option we have to choose from is our JRP 4.9 LSU 02 sensor, these are the sensor that come with the kits as standard at no extra cost to the base price. Since we started JRP to a large degree we have been in the sensors business, our multi gauge systems rely on the sensors being accurate, reliable & durable, so we have a great deal of experience in this area. After years of selling 14point7’s wideband products we decided to produce & supply our own high quality 4.9 02 sensors that could live up to the Bosch 4.9’s, offering an alternative to the Bosch sensors at a reduced cost. Everyone has a budget, so we can now offer customers a 02 sensor at a reduced cost knowing they are in line with the quality, accuracy & durability of the Bosch 4.9.

The development of these sensors consisted of us having 14point7 run lab gas tests on the sensors for accuracy, sending samples to Dyno shops to get a thrashing, where they were run in parallel with high end dyno widebands to check for accuracy & durability, along with being used as their primary sensor for tuning customers cars. Then real world testing where we have had them installed into daily driven performance vehicles for the past 2-years, and the results of all these tests was that our JRP LSU 4.9 sensors are a lower cost equivalent to the Bosch 4.9’s in every respect.

Bosch LSU 4.9 02 Sensor

The second 02 sensor offering customers can choose when ordering the Spartan 3 Lite wideband from us is the good old Bosch LSU 4.9 17025 02 sensor. The Bosch 4.9 02 sensors have been the industry standard for widebands for some time now, replacing their original 4.2 design, being Bosch you know they are quality. We specifically import these sensors from the USA to here in Australia for these kits, you can be assured they are genuine Bosch wideband oxygen sensors bought from Bosch motorsport in the USA. These are the sensors we used as our standard to achieve when designing & producing our JRP 4.9 LSU sensors, so if you are wanting a big brand name 02 sensor to go along with your wideband and don’t mind paying a little more, we have these as an option for when buying your Spartan 3 wideband controller from us.

14Point7 LSU ADV 02 Sensor

The third 02 sensor offering we have is the 14point7 ADV LSU, these are aimed at higher end applications where customers want the very best available. 14point7 manufactures these ADV sensors and use genuine Bosch ADV 02 sensor internals to create a cost effective but extremely robust and blisteringly quick wideband oxygen sensor. This is top of the line oxygen sensor technology and has had some significant improvements to its design compared to the 4.9 02 sensors. They first redesigned the sensing element, the ADV sensors now use a Linear design for the element instead of Radial used on the standard 4.9 sensors, this has some distinct advantages when it comes to response rates, life expectancy and overall toughness of the sensors. The heater design has also been improved for reduced power demand, the sensors are now also less prone to thermal shock which is a major killer of 02 sensors thanks to the redesign of the sensor element. If you want the toughest, fastest responding & most durable 02 sensors for your application, the ADV sensors are the best choice.

0.01 Lambda Accuracy

Apart from build quality, durability and a reasonable cost for the product, accuracy of a wideband controller is paramount, you want to have confidence that the AFR readout you are seeing on the gauge is a true representation of what is going on in your exhaust stream.  14point7 takes extreme pride in the accuracy of their Spartan wideband controllers, and because of the high-quality components used and their extensive factory calibration process each unit goes under, this little unit boasts a 0.01 Lambda or 0.15 AFR accuracy out of the box. 14point7 have been in the wideband game for well over a decade, and when buying and using the Spartan 3 Lite wideband controller you can rest assure that what you see on your gauge is really what is going on with your motors fuelling.

WIDEBAND ANALOG OUTPUT

The Spartan 3 Lite has a high performance wideband 0-5v linear voltage output to send its wideband signal out to gauges, ecu’s etc. This output is what sends the air fuel ratio or Lambda data out to your interfacing devices. This is one of the most critical aspects of a wideband controller, as this output carry’s the voltage that is going to translate to what the gauge sees and reports as being your air fuel ratio or Lambda values. 14Point7 have stepped up the game on this part of the wideband controller, this output is now handled by an internal 12-bit DAC which is part of the ARM Cortex 4 microcontroller with a tolerance of 0.1% to voltage reference. This high performance analog output is further made incredibly stable & accurate by the dual power design & noise filtering properties of the latest Spartan 3 Lite hardware.

NARROWBAND OUTPUT

In some cases customers installing a wideband controller in their vehicle would like to install the wideband 02 sensor in place of the vehicles factory Narrowband 02 sensor to save having to run two sensors at the same time, or having a second 02 sensor bung installed into their exhaust. To be able to do this without affecting how the factory ECU operates and fuels the vehicle, the signal that was being sent back to the ECU from this factory Narrowband oxygen sensor needs to be replicated.  The Spartan 3 Lite comes with a second analog output which can be used for a simulated 0-1v narrowband signal that can be run back to your vehicles ECU to simulate the same signal the factory 02 sensor would normally provide. This will ensure your vehicle runs as it should after replacing the factory Narrowband 02 sensor with the wideband 02 sensor that comes with this kit.

Monitors 02 Sensor Temp

Another handy feature of the Spartan 3 Lite wideband controller is that it can measure and report 02 sensor temperature, some of you might not know why this can be helpful, so we will explain. It is important when placing your oxygen sensor in your exhaust to not only angle the sensor correctly, but also to place it where the sensor is not exposed to too much or too little heat, getting either of these incorrect can lead to premature failing of the 02 sensor. The Spartan 3 Lite comes with a little LED on the wideband controller itself which will blink slowly if the sensor is too cold, or blink fast if the sensor is too hot or stay solid if 02 sensor temp is optimal. One of the main causes of premature sensor failure is related to improper placement or treatment of the sensors, with this added little feature you can be confident your sensor is running at its optimal running temperature.

ARM Cortex Inside

The Spartan 3 range of wideband controllers have had a major update in the microcontroller side of things, all units in the range are now equipped with a ST Microelectronics ARM Cortex M4. The Microcontroller used on wideband products are important as they are responsible for handling the very time critical computations required for fast response times, analog to digital conversions, features like CAN Bus, being able to flash update the firmware on units, and to a large degree overall how the wideband will perform in the real world. The ARM Cortex M4 is an extremely impressive microcontroller on paper and 14point7 have made use of this powerful little unit to be the heart and soul of the Spartan 3 range of wideband controllers. When buying any of the Spartan 3 range for your application you can rest assured you are getting a unit with an extremely powerful little microcontroller working behind the scenes to bring you one of the fastest, most accurate and durable wideband products on the market today.

Dual Power + Noise Filtering

Another high-end feature that you will find on the Spartan 3 range of wideband controllers is 14point7 has separated both the power & ground circuits for the wideband controller electronics and the 02 sensor heater. There is a dedicated power source required for both the wideband controller electronics & for the oxygen sensor heater. So, with the Spartan 3’s there are two +12v power feeds and 2x grounds required when installing. There is a couple of good reasons for this design choice, the major one and was also present on the Spartan 2’s in the form of a dedicated ground for the 02 sensor heater is having the second ground has proven to stabilize and reduce overall noise on the outputs which is where your wideband signal comes from when connecting to gauges giving a much more stable and accurate reading coming out of the controller to your interfacing device, such as gauges, ECU’s etc. You will find in high end wideband controllers they also run a dual ground setup like the Spartan 3 has and for a good reason. Most other wideband controllers like Innovate, AEM etc do not do this or if they do it is on models at much higher prices, so this is just another reason why the Spartan 3 is a cut above the rest in this price range.

Another good reason for adding the second power source instead of just another ground is now the wideband controller electronics is protected by a 250ma fused circuit, where the 02 sensor heater is protected with a 5A fused circuit. As you can see there is a major difference between the electronics draw and the heater draw. Having the two separated and only allowing a max 250ma draw before a fuse pops on the electronics side is going to go a long way to protecting the wideband circuitry.