20 Jan 12

Delphi’s
Technology
Tip of the Rally:
Oxygen
Sensors

For the first time since January 2008, Rallye Monte-Carlo is once again the opening event on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar.

Starting in Citroen’s homeland, France, and making its way through the French Alps down to St. Agnes for the Sunday Power Stage, this gruelling five-day rally is setting the bar for the remainder of this year’s WRC schedule.

Similar to past editions of Rally GB, Monte-Carlo is known for not only the possibility of snow and ice, but as the world’s most famous rally, it is also reputed as having one of the most fervent roadside atmospheres.

Based entirely on asphalt, the ever-present threat of wintry weather means drivers have to be prepared for the possibility of snow and patches of black ice. But even if perfect weather prevails, there are many other issues that can cause problems for the competing cars.

The car starts sputtering...it’s misfiring...and the check engine light comes on. What’s wrong? Most likely, it’s a clogged fuel injector resulting in low fuel pressure. How did the car know that? It was sensed by the vehicle’s oxygen sensor, of course!

As an integral part of the emission control system, the oxygen sensor monitors the engine’s air and fuel ratio for both performance and emissions, ensuring the engine is running as clean and efficient as possible. It ‘senses’ poor engine performance and alerts the vehicle that something is wrong.

In rallying, engine performance is everything - it only takes one sluggish and/or misfiring injector to put a driver far behind their competitors. Because of this, the engineers and technicians preparing cars for the WRC should not take chances when it comes to oxygen sensors - a quality sensor can detect any issues before it potentially costs a driver the rally.

As the Official Automotive Technology Partner of the WRC, Delphi offers an extensive range of planar oxygen sensors tested for durability up to 15,000 miles, and designed and manufactured with the industry’s fastest light-off time to reduce cold-start emissions.

To learn more about Delphi’s original equipment technology and expansive range of vehicle electronics, www.delphi.com/am.