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Same thing, different measure Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Wed, 17 Apr 2002 11:22:13 In Reply to: What is a Lambda test? And what States are using them?, Anders, Wed, 17 Apr 2002 10:46:01 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
The 'ideal' air fuel mixture is on the order of 14.7:1, also called the Stochiometric ratio. (OK, use THAT in common conversation). But I believe that the stochiometric ratio is affected by a lot of factors, so they use yet another measure, called Lambda for the Greek letter L. The ideal stochiometric ratio for a given tmperature, pressure, and phase of the moon is a Lambda of 1 (equal to 14.7 parts air, 1 part fuel). A lambda higher than 1 is lean, less than 1 is rich.
I'll bet the testers in Mr. Davis' neighborhood are still measuring CO, HC, and NOx, just like the rest of the world. They're probably also coming up with a COMPUTED Lambda value. I'm sure this has some advantage to someone, but I'll be darned if I know why. Since the Feds base their requirements on CO, HC, and NOx, it'll be measured there somewhere. I say Computed lambda, because many cars these days have lean-burn engines, and run with lambda values as high as 1.4, and are considered quite clean. The higher lambda value produces more NOx, but the three-way catalytic converter is there to handle it.
There. More useless information to crowd out the important stuff, like where you left your car keys.
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