Q45 O2 Sensors - NTK/NGK vs. OEM

[Q451990]

I'm looking for O2 sensors and am considering three options:

1-Bite the bullet and pay $103 each for OEM2-Go cheap and get the NGK/NTK from http://www.sparkplugs.com $49.85 each.3-In between and get Bosch from another online vendor $71.39 each.

Here's my question. For those of you who have purchased the NGK/NTK from http://www.sparkplugs.com, did they look identical to the ones you removed?

Looking at the OEMs I removed they say "JECS LIC. BOSCH" which would make me think that Nissan sources the part from Bosch. Joe looked at a new one and agrees that it's probably Bosch. (Doesn't say JECS anymore...) Also, Bosch shows different sensors for 90,91,and 92/93. Infiniti has superceded all 90-93 the OEM part number that crosses to Bosch's 92/93 combination.

As if all of that isn't confusing enough, the right Bosch sensor seems difficult to find, and vendors are substituting NGK/NTK sensors for that side... when I asked Bosch about this, the rep. said that in many cases NGK/NTK sources the part for Bosch and the Bosch sensor may really be a re-boxed NTK.

I'm beginning to think that all parts are made in one factory and then re-labeled simply to confuse me.

I guess it boils down to this. If the NGK/NTK Sensors from http://www.sparkplugs.com look and function like the OEM, they're probably the same and I'll buy them. If they look different, I'll go with OEM or Bosch. Any suggestions?

Heath

[Q451990]

As an interesting side note - the right sensor seized in the "nut" that screws into the exhaust manifold. The nut and sensor both came out after breaking it free. I was able to get the sensor out of the nut, but it stripped the threads. Luckliy the "nut" is only about $6 from Joe and the threads in the manifold appear to be fine. Is this common?

Heath

[DAEDALUS]

If you can wait till the weekend, I'll photo them side-by-side for ya. I think I still have my old factory units, and I have a couple new NGK units sitting around. Without doing a detailed inspection, I think they looked pretty much identical, except for the harness length and attach clip.

[Q45tech]

There are two Bosch Companies, [the German one] and the Japanese one.

Normally in US we see the German products in aftermarket and the Japanese products on Japanese cars. Interchangable sometimes.

Learned this while trying to cross correlate the oem 370 cc injector.......sent one to Bosch [USA] they said maybe the other Bosch made it! It wasn't their part numbers similar design.

All this confusion happened when Germany and Japan were allies prior to WW2........the Japanese licensed certain patents and use German names for promotion and paid royalty but independent companies.

Confused.

O2 are O2 generally [the number of wires tells the type] except for cable length and connectors. The aftemarket may not last as long as oem which are designed to last 100k or better.

They all switch on off at 14.7 AF.

Newer cars 2002 use an entire new type [more wide band/more wires] [able to look at mixture from idle to almost WOT] and cost $300 to $400 each.

Can't wait for Z/G/M/Q owners who modify exhaust to destroy/desensitize $1000 worth of O2 sensors.

[fxjackso]

Several similar threads in the past, but I've heard no complaints from anyone who has switched to NGK/NTK, including me about 10,000 miles ago. The right/left distinction is the length of the harness, but the replacement had plenty of length.

And, Heath, I had the same thing happen with one of the sensors bringing the "nut" out along with it. I separated them and it went right back in.

[Q451990]

The aftemarket may not last as long as oem which are designed to last 100k or better.

That may answer my question there. I don't want to do this again for a while. And with all Joe does for this group, I almost feel guilty going elsewhere to save a few $$. Kind of weird I guess, but it'll give me some peace of mind knowing that they're the ones that Infiniti thinks should be there...

I'll play with the ones on the truck and see what happens there. I can get a Denso front for $43 at http://www.sparkplugs.com and I actually have a gas mileage issue on the truck. Gets about the same mileage as the Q with a 2.4L 4 cylinder and manual transmission... and it's not nearly as fun to drive!

Heath

[Q451990]

Just placed the order with Joe. Does anyone know the difference between the factory sensors used on the 90Q vs 93Q? It turns out that they have different Infiniti part numbers. I decided to go with the 93 sensors since I'm running a 93 ECU, but if there's a reason not to do this, I can still turn it around - they won't ship 'til next Wednesday.

Heath

[90Q45blue]

I have been using the NGK/NTK O2 sensors and have had no problems. Definitely an improvement considering my old ones were original with 200k+ on them.

Nick