From what I hear, you Cali people have it rough when it comes to emissions testing. My question - what exactly to they test for? Hydrocarbons? Carbon monoxide emissions? What are the limits and how do they perform the test?

Anyone test with a JDM 4-1, big cat and nothing else?


Pat, who is a curious party

 

Visual test then onto the dyno for the road test. I think it is done at 2500 rpm and then 3500 rpm. They test everything and tolerances are extremely tight.

We even have to watch out for the random roadside smog test. They funnel cars to one lane like a field sobriety test and pick out the cars they think are breaking the law (usually imports) They do a visual, then through it on the portable smog dyno right there on the spot.

If you think thats bad just multiply it by a factor of 10, that’s more realistic. It freaking sucks.

BTW- the fine for altered cat converter in CA. is $2500.00

Chris- who is thinking about moving to Florida where smog checks can kiss my ***.

 

In most "enhanced" (polluted) areas we have 5 gas analysis.
HC
CO
O2
CO2
NOx

Emissions test is performed on a dyno. This dyno will actually weigh the vehicle and load it accordingly. 50% load at 15mph ~ 25% load at 25mph. Supposedly the vehicle will run dirtiest under load but from what i have seen the run cleaner.

This part sucks. Update to smog program is the technician actually hooking up the smog machine to the vehicles OBDII serial data port. During the test the SM will scan for any codes as well as pending codes. It will also check to see if all monitors have run to completion. In english ~ if you have a check engine light on and you just reset the ecu to cancel it the machine will kick you out anyway because all the self diagnosis monitors have not run completely.

Good luck ya'll.

Vago~ who has a smog license.

 

vagoITR: Would you please explain to me how I didn't pass the first/preliminary/just for kicks Smog run with timing set at stock but went on to pass the Real Deal/reported to DMV/"Even if you don't pass you pay" Smog Test with timing turned down or retarded?

My car is a '92 VX that has a bone stock (not even a modded air box or K&N) with only 92,000 miles Odometer.

If you can, would you please give/post some tips on how to prep our cars before we get them smogged here in L.A.?

TIA

 

Not having your printout in front of me makes it kinda hard. If i had to guess i'd say vehicle was not fully warmed up/ NOx levels little high~ backing off timing cooled cyl. temps enough to reduce it.

Things i usually recommmend: Fresh oil change~ oil possibly fuel fouled. Proper tire pressure~ remember dyno. Drive the **** out of it before you test. Minor tune up wouldn't hurt either.

Technically the technician cannot perform any preconditioning but having the car idle at 2500 rpm while the data is being input works wonders.

 

If you have a non CARB header or something they will usually just fail you on the visual reguardless of whether you'll run clean or not. Depends on the shop though, but most of them are ******** about that stuff. I even heard of one person failing the visual because he had an aftermarket shift **** with no gear diagram. What a bunch of $#&@

 

how about aftermarket cat? are they legal in CA?

 

Here's what I know:
1. Removing your cat before 50k is illegal unless it is malfunctioning.
2. I don't know anything else.

 

Damn, that sucks for you Cali boys. I failed inspection here in NJ because of my RAZO shift ****. Technician said no numbers/indicator on ****. I almost **** myself. My only mods are APEXi N1 catback, AEM CAI and short shifter. However, the car ran clean. They are DEUSCH BAGS..

 

4-1 in cali = bad news unless u pay someone off

 

surferx regardless of header most fail the emissions test cause of Nox,higher temp.
dude they can not fail you for your shift ****,duh?
samc yup aftermarket cats are legal.
b2finity removing your cat at any milage is illegal and you'll be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law hehehe j/k first part is true tho

Ralphie who also has a smog license

 

What about the Honda 4-1 with upper heat shield? Looks stock.

 

Unless the cat is damaged, just say you bottomed out and crushed the stock POS cat.




[Modified by Eeepers, 1:20 PM 5/17/2002]

 

Hey guys,

I got a question, what kinds of things can I do to help pass emissions testing? I have a fuel controller, and adjustable cam gears. What kinds of settings would help pass the test? Leaner or richer mixture? Less overlap?

 

lean the $h*t out on the controller... less fuel=less pollution

 

vagoITR & OutLawR: When people are paid off to pass a smog illegal car, what exactly is done?

I'm not implying that you guys do this. I'm just curious as to how all that works.

vagoITR: Would you please explain why is it helpful to have the car idling at 2,500 rpm for the smog test?

TIA

 

IF you have a jdm 4-1 and a carsound, shouldn't it pass smog? on the Carsound box it says it is CARB legal... etc etc etc...

hmm.. i am growing increasingly hesitant to install my 4-1

just to throw it out there.. besides comptech, and the dc, are there any other 2.5" collector headers that are CARB certified?(well that still kinda means you have to use the 2.5" carsound)


[Modified by disordeR, 1:06 PM 5/18/2002]

 

you pay and usually they don't even use your own car,I don't know if many of you know this but if your car is 5 years or newer you dont need smog check unless your selling it or get busted and need to see a referee,as long your car is fully warmed-up you'll be ok,best advise to pass the smog check would be to put it back to stock so save all your parts fellas.

 

Read my Sig for my Mods. I have a thread in the Integra board about this, and i want to ask it in here to. I absolutely HAVE to pass smog or my pops is gonna sell my GS-R! and he aint jokin either!! So no matter what I'll have to pass. Everything I have is CARB exempt and has the plaque so it should pass visuals right? What about emission? Any tips? The Skunk2 cams are Stage 1 so I would think it would pass right? PLMK!!

 

b18bvtec4drteg: less fuel= less pollution. Its not quite that simple. Too lean will cause detonation/misfire which will increase HC and O2 levels. Not to mention increase cylinder temps and send NOx levels through the roof.

ESCALVANTE:

Couple of reasons for 2,500 rpm. If a vehicle is allowed to sit at idle for too long the catalytic converter (CC) will cool down and become less efficient. Also, with the engine running, the exhaust pipe underneath the gas tank is now acting as a heater causing the gas to evaporate at a higher rate. The charcoal canister captures the vapors and stores them. When the vehicle is at cruise the vapors are purged to the intake. So now imagine this. Cold CC and now vapors being purged.
Not the best combo to have as far as emissions are concerned. Running the vehicle at 2,500 will help keep the CC good and hot as well as get the O2 sensors switching at a faster rate. This in turn helps the vehicle fine tune its fuel trim and run the cleanest.

disordeR:

JDM 4-1 is not legal. no way no how. I'm guessing it won't retain enough heat energy to keep the cat good and hot. Can't beat the factory cast manifold for that. It would be considered an off-road part.

b18c1dc2R:

I'm not very informed about skunk2 cams. So i don't know if they are carb legal or not. Better call and make sure or ask for some sort of documentation. You say you have except stickers for everything but as far as i know cam gears, v-afc, cams...no way, no how, forget it. Our cars have no egr so honda uses valve timing (overlap) to recirculate exhaust gas. Cam gears and cams for that matter will modify its original operation. Same goes for v-afc. Operator has the ability to change fuel settings as well as cross over of vtec from stock. You are basically undermining what the factory has set to reduce emissions. My suggestion for you is to put it all back to stock for your inspection. At least there won't be any doubt about it passing or not and you get to keep your car. If you hide everything well you can possibly pass the visual but your emissions output would be nothing short of a gamble. Feeling lucky?

 

skunk2 cams are now carb legal. they emailed me a few months ago saying they were

 

So stock ownz? This is just one more reason that I don't want to mod my car.

 

godamn. this is like the best news i've heard this week!!

 

Skunk2 stage 1's are CARB legal not stage 2 & 3
I went to emissions about a week ago here in AZ and passed easy. I put my cam gears to 0 and took timing and fuel out and I put in a stock P28 insted of my Mugen chiped PR3. Also I turned VTEC of with my VAFC and I left my VAFC fully tunned for my set up which is
b20 vtec
skunk2 stage 1's
Wysco 11.0to1.0
egale rods
jdm 4-1 and cat
thers more but you get the idea

 

You turned your Vtec off with your VAFC? I never knew you could do that.

Ok... let me take this a step at a time.

1. Set Cam Gears back to 0
2. Initialize my settings on the VAFC
3. What else should I do?