by Chirag Asaravala

We review a lot of wideband air-fuel meters here at FordMuscle because we strongly believe they are the single most beneficial advancement in this hobby in the last decade. Consumer level wideband air-fuel meters have completely changed how, and who, can tune engines. Their recent affordability makes them a tuning tool no serious enthusiast should do without. The challenge, however, has been finding a meter that balances necessary features with ease of use. Because this technology spawned from competition use, many of the manufacturers have struggled with building a meter that is not overly complicate to use.

Last year we tested the Fuel Air Spark Technologies (FAST) wideband meter. We were impressed by its self-contained operation that didn't require a PC, as well as its ability to monitor two air-fuel sensors at once (e.g. both banks on a V8 engine.) We thought this was a great meter for non-computer savvy guys, or guys like me who work with computers for a

The FAST RPM Module (PN 170536) rounds out the FAST wideband air-fuel meter with rpm input and logging, as well as the ability to export log files to your PC using FASTView software.

living, and don't want to do so again when when working on our project car.

However, as we spent more time with the FAST meter, two major drawbacks begin to emerge. First, the unit had no rpm input. While the FAST meter displayed the air-fuel ratios on the screen, and allowed easy ability to log the ratios for later playback, the absence of rpm made it difficult to pinpoint where the air-fuel ratios were rich or lean. You simply had to go off of time, and when you are barreling 400 horsepower at wide-open throttle down a country road, you simply have no recollection of what throttle position or gear you might have been in 8 seconds into the log.

The second shortcoming was the lack of a way to export the log file for analysis on a PC. Now I realize earlier I said I was thankful to not have to use a PC while using the FAST meter. However, it turns out, there is only so much information you can glean from a four inch display. It would be much more useful to see the logged data as a chart, rather than simply a full speed playback.

Well the good news is FAST has addressed both of these issues. They recently released an RPM kit which allows you to pull in a tach feed and display it on the screen along side the air-fuel ratio. FAST has also developed FASTView software, a free download, that allows you to pull the log file off the meter and analyze it in various ways.

Installing the RPM module is pretty easy but you'll need to upgrade the firmware on the FAST meter. FAST provides the necessary cables and instructions to do so in the RPM Module kit. We've outlined the procedure here and also provided a preview of the FASTView logging software.

This is the FAST dual- sensor kit comes that we reviewed last year. Getting the unit working is as simple as welding the two supplied M18x1.5 bungs into your exhaust, installing the sensors and connecting the wiring. The on-screen display walks you though the setup. The shortcomings, at the time, were the lack of RPM logging and software to review the logs.	Most of the "installation" involved with the RPM kit is in upgrading the FAST air/fuel meter with the new firmware for viewing engine rpm - a process called "flashing". Start by inserting the included CD into your PC.
A couple of on-screen prompts will walk you through the process of getting the new FAST firmware and flash software onto your computer. Let it install to its default location to make things simpler. The next step is to get it on to your FAST unit.	The RPM kit comes with a couple of cables to connect your PC to the FAST unit. If your PC has a serial port you're in luck, you can use the serial cable (in hand) and skip the next couple steps. However most laptops don't have serial ports anymore, so you'll need to use the USB to serial converter cable (foreground.)
Before connecting the USB/Serial converter cable to your PC, you'll need to install a driver. Insert the supplied CD and let it do its thing. You'll get a prompt informing you the driver is installed.	Once the driver is installed, plug the USB/Serial converter cable into a free USB port. Don't connect the serial cable and FAST unit at this time.
Assuming you are running a Windows 2000 or XP machine, it will recognize the cable, find the driver you installed, and you'll be good to go. You can confirm the installation through the Device Manager (from Control Panel > System) and look under Ports. You should see "USB to Serial Com Port" and the port number.	We're almost done. Now find "FAST Flasher" in your Start menu and run the program. You'll get a small box like above. Change the selector to reflect the correct com port. If you aren't sure no worries, you can proceed by trial and error.
Finally, connect the serial cable toto the USB converter and to the FAST unit, as shown. Then use the supplied 110V converter to power the unit.	The unit will power up and stop at the first menu screen. There is no need to make a selection or control the unit via the on screen display.
Select "Open File" in the FAST Flasher and it should find the firmware file that you installed back in step 2.	Select FLASH and the firmware will be written to your FAST unit. This process takes a few seconds.