Jonathan_ED3

92 CX. 94 b18b, no cat. 93 octane. it just BARELY won't pass the emissions..runs pretty clean for no cat! the HC's are supposed to be down around 220 or something, and it's at like 235-240. i gotta get this thing passed before the 30th...i poured in this 'garaunteed to pass' crap in the gas tank...think it'll do any good? what else could i do to help out some? i don't have enough money/time to get a cat on it anyone got any helpful tips? (besides bribary)

blykins

put the stock ECU back in, i was 8 times the legal limit and i passed w/ flying colors by swapping out ECU's.

Jonathan_ED3

bah....i don't have the stock ecu ahh...that really worked? anyone wanna loan me one????

blykins

A junkyard would have one maybe. What did u do w/ your stock one?

Jonathan_ED3

well..i bought the car swapped already. the current safety/emissions sticker is good till march 03, but i didn't buy the car in MY county...i bought it 100 miles away...and when i tried to switch the title they told me i needed an inspection in MY county...how gay. what ECU would i want to try to buy from a junkyard?? i don't understand why a stock ECU would run better than a stock USDM LS ecu?

blykins

my bad, i figured you were running a chipped ECU, well you can retard the timing some that will help out also.

mps9506

Is it even possible to pass emissions without a cat???
Just wondering. Only reason I would imagine the stock ecu could possible help is it has a lot less agressive fuel map than the ls because it is designed for a diff't engine. That's what I would think anyhow. If you could find a b pipe from a civic in a junkyard with a good cat maybe it would knock you down enough points....
But you got me wondering know with my super clean running engine if it would pass with no cat...

HXMan

Don't be so damn lazy, and just throw a cat on there for testing. While you are at it get a highflow cat, and just leave it on there all the time.

Jonathan_ED3

well i know it's possible to pass (strictly emissions...dunno about 'visual' check). My '92 Si had was 2.25 piping from the exhaust manifold back and it passed FLAWLESSLY...i was really impressed. but my new '92 with the b18b isn't running as clean for some reason.

now as far as the cat goes, i don't have enough money right now to buy a cat..muchless a high dollar highflow cat!
someone told me getting new sparkplugs might help a little. true?

HXMan

I just failed emissions the other day too...I have a CEL that I had to figure out how to fix. It was a PITA!!!

Try going to a junk yard, and finding a cat there. I doubt different sparkplugs will help.

Jonathan_ED3

what in the world is this "CEL" i keep seeing? is that some abbreviation for throwing a code?

do you think a used cat junkyard cat would be better than no cat?

HXMan

CEL=check engine light.

I had a cel 65. Basicly I had no secondary o2 sensor. I had to rewire the thing.

Any cat(as long as it isn't clogged), will be better then no cat.

Jonathan_ED3

are there any specific cats that are more restrictive than others? IE. cx vs ex or si?

PROJECThX

If your HCs are too high a few things you can do to lower them is:
1. Get a cat (i know you dont have money but that will most likely fix it)
2. Use that Guaranteed to pass stuff (that lowered my HCs like 20 points)... however it is not "guaranteed" unless the stock cat is in.
3. Try getting new plugs or wires (if you have platinum plugs change the to manufacturers recommended ones.
4. Ive heard retarding the timing 2 degrees will help (but i cant verify that).
5. Another reason cars dont pass is because of bad O2 sensors (i doubt this is the problem but just letting you know).

I just recently was able to pass smog after 3 attempts. Putting my stock cat in fixed the problem. Hope this helps.

JaeOne3345

high HC's r from a bad cat..for a fact