30-0310 X-Series Inline Wideband UEGO AFR Sensor Controller

I installed the aem 30-310 in my 2006 cobalt ss with a stage 3 kit from a well known company. I have the long tube downpipe option with an extra bung installed (by the same company) so that I could add a WB sensor. Things I learned: 1) AEM documentation and tech support make it clear the WB sensor install orientation needs to be at a minimum of 10deg above horizon... or 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock. My bung is installed with a horizontal to negative inclination. Not good for long term use (as I discovered - see below). 2) The rs-232 output will give AFR readings only (numerically, this will be something like 14.65 at idle for unleaded gas with no ethanol). To get lambda, you need to divide by 14.65 in your scanner software. So, when setting up the sensor in HPtuners, expect to see a numerical value around 14.xx EVEN if you select lambda in HPtuners. The rs-232 simply puts out AFR values. 3) The rs-232 output description in the included manual describes how the numerical output can be lambda IF the "display mode" is changed. AEM tech support said this was a copy/paste error since the AEM 30-0310 doesn't operate with a gauge. 4) When wiring up the rs-232 adapter, make sure you use pins 2 and 5. I initially wired up to pins #1 and #4 because I was thrown off by the graphical depiction of the rs-232 serial output in the manual. The manual shows the graphical orientation of the pins as it goes into the computer/laptop. I thought it was showing the orientation of the harness/pigtail I created (that comes from the sensor). Oops. 5) I bought an rs-232/USB 2 adapter from Sabrent on amazon. In the end, somehow it worked without installing any extra drivers. It should turn up as "Prolific usb to serial comm port" under "ports" in device manager. Sabrent tech support indicated that windows 10 is no longer actively supporting rs-232 - and is being treated as a carry-over legacy feature for now. All that to say - this is 2021 - and using rs-232 is pretty old-school. 6) After about 1 week of use, the WB stopped working. I removed it and it was pretty caked up with soot. I washed/sprayed it with brake cleaner and re-installed it. It started working again. When I contacted AEM, they indicated that it was not chemically cleanable and that I was fortunate that my brake cleaner idea worked. They suggested bushing it off with a cloth. That wouldn't work for me since it was fully clogged with soot. 7) There is a company on amazon that sells the WB sensor replacement (aem 30-2004) - and they claim that the sensor needs a warmup period to help extend the life of the sensor and prevent soot build-up. AEM tech support would not support such a claim and said that a warmup is not required. In the end, the product is of high quality. But for me it will not have long term reliability due to my poor bung install (which is not the fault of AEM).

My old LC2 controller was murdering sensors left and right. I have only killed one sensor with this controller and that was from me not thinking about it and bouncing the car off the launch limiter when the exhaust was still cold. (Engine was warm still, but -10F makes the exhaust cool off quicker than I thought.)

Great product, calibration process very simple and very accurate!

This is an idiot proof device. I have been using it on several tuning cars, and it never failed. No bad readings, always fast and accurate.

I don't normally give bad reviews, but this controller has been a nightmare. I started tuning an ECM using it, and chased my tale for 3 days before realizing the controller was giving a bad reading, which caused me to have to completely start over on the tune and adjusted the voltage settings for the wideband in HP. On the very next vehicle, the readings were off yet again. All of this was verified by comparing the AFR readings to my dyno wideband, which is an AEM 4 channel. AEM states their controllers don't need free air calibration. If I did not have another wideband for comparison, I would never have known that the readings were wrong, except for the fact that the vehicles were running like crap because of the correction tables created, using this wideband.

item as described. happy!