Car failed smog,Im hating Ca a little each day!

[Z51JEFF]

Car failed NOX at 702 PPM when the max was 502 PPM.Cars a 1991 with 18,000 miles.Other than a Haibeck chip and a KnN filter car is stock.I know this isnt the Tech section but need as much advise as possible here,Thanks to all.

[mike100]

I made my performance chip bone stock up to 2200 rpm. That way I don't have to switch them out. but anyways, see my post in technical.

The one thing i did want to talk about was that somebody at CF claims that CA has a historic/collectible vehicle plate you can buy if the car is 25 years old and meets some other criteria. The main thing with that program is that you only smog on title transfer and not bi-annually. Still have a couple of years to go and one more renewal, but I want to look into this.

[mike100]

well I looked into it- the special plate restriction is only good for car shows, parades, and 'special historical events' relevant to the antique auto. It might be hard to explain driving to work.

My next idea is buying a $60k cabin in an un-enhanced area of the county and registering there. that's $$$, but a solution none-the-less.

[ittlfly]

FYI....there are several counties in Calif that do not require smog checks...you might check into that and get your cabin there? :dancing

[RHanselman]

I wonder what the diff is between CA and NV? My turbo car always passes here in NV and it's 374 cubes with a performance tune...

[mike100]

I wonder what the diff is between CA and NV? My turbo car always passes here in NV and it's 374 cubes with a performance tune...

the actual sniffer levels are probably stricter, but the main problem in this state is the strict visual inspection. Its a bigger sin to fail visual than to run dirty. You can always get low income waivers or other assistance or deferred repairs if you pass visual, but if you got too much unapproved aftermarket stuff going on, they will blacklist you and you will end up with no way to register your car until you fix it.

[tpr60]

If your Z failed the idle test, have the tech manually hold the idle speed to just under the 1100 rpm max that will help bring the ppm down and still be within Ca smog laws.

[GOLDCYLON]

I wonder what the diff is between CA and NV? My turbo car always passes here in NV and it's 374 cubes with a performance tune...


Is the car tested on a treadmill or is it just the sniffer test?

[STEWVETTE]

That's strange that your car didn't pass. I just had my smog done yesterday here in ca. and passed. 1991, 47k miles, Haibeck chip, k&n,and cat back exhaust.

[Z51JEFF]

After trying everything mentioned,stock chip, CRC Guaranteed to Pass,5 gallons of E85 mixed with 5 gallons of Chevron 91 octane,getting the Cats as hot as I possibly could the car still failed a 2nd time.The Nox level came down to 638 but still well above the 502 MAX allowed by the State.Ive got an appointment with a smog referee next week,have no idea what thats going to be like.There is definitely something wrong with this car,Im seeing numbers on average of 300 PPM Nox on cars pushing 100,000 miles and my car with 18,000 is pushing this much.Dont make any sense to me.All I can do at this point is replace the oxygen sensors and call it a day.Ive also sent an email to the Sema Action Network stating my problem,got an email back they are looking into this.2 years ago my car passed and now with the lowered standards its dead in the water.I honestly cant see how the State can lower the standards to the point cars wont pass,something doesn't seem right.

[LGAFF]

Energy Shortage
Budget Issues
Illegal aliens getting free healthcare
Trucks from Mexico coming over in unsafe condition
Hans Meyer

Doesn't CA have bigger issues to deal with....


Sure it cost us our credibility and financial stability in Ill but thank god for governors like Rod Blagojevich for waiving emissions on older cars:)

[mike100]

The CA BAR has an $800,000,000 a year budget. Make them broke and all this hippy saving the planet one car at a time BS will stop. These cars will be off the road in their own natural cycle. It is wrong to accelerate it- It will mostly hurt the working class who needs old cars as that's all they got.

As far as NOx- well... I'm pretty sure running a hot chip degrades cats. burning oil is another. I don't know what kind of life my car led previously, but the the best my car will do is 490-500. Good enough for the next inspection, but I might be in the same boat trying to make exempted headers.

A lot of states let 800-1000 ppm Nox- so it isn't like the catalyst is completely dead, but without egr or cam overlap, the 11:1 compression is just too tough to work around on these cars.

If you would like I could burn you a chip with 1 or two degrees less timing on the low end to try to game the test.

[Z51JEFF]

If you would like I could burn you a chip with 1 or two degrees less timing on the low end to try to game the test.

Thanks for the offer Mike and everybody else that had suggestions.Ive got an appointment next week to see the referee,we will see what happens.Im in the process of replacing the O2 sensors,thats about all I can change.Several people have told me that Ca had a different,tighter regulations than the rest of the country when these cars were built.Arent the Federal Regulations modeled after Ca regs meaning cars are all the same in every state?

[pantera1683]

Jeff,

Before your next appointment you may want to try filling your tank with regular and adding a gallon of denatured alcohol. Run your tank empty making sure you go on several long high rpm runs to clean out your secondaries too. Fill it back up the same way and take your test, you should pass easily.

One more thing, don't leave the alcohol in your tank very long.

[ittlfly]

Thanks for the offer Mike and everybody else that had suggestions.Ive got an appointment next week to see the referee,we will see what happens.Im in the process of replacing the O2 sensors,thats about all I can change.Several people have told me that Ca had a different,tighter regulations than the rest of the country when these cars were built.Arent the Federal Regulations modeled after Ca regs meaning cars are all the same in every state?

A state may 'tighten up' a Federal Regulation but may not ' loosen' one. In other words, any state can impose stricter requirments on any Federal reg but cannot make a law that is less restrictive than a Federal standard. That is why the laws are different from state to state. ie: LT headers. Calif is just leading the way and the rest of the country is playing catch up including the Feds. Now doesn't that just make you proud to live here? :censored:

[Kevin]

my zr-1 hasn't been smogged in the 12 years I've owned it