mnmasotto

My motor is new(fresh rebuild). I currently have a cat bypass pipe which looks similar to a cat. I am confident it could pass the visual, but I am not certain about the actual tail pipe test. The motor is basically stock except for a SW chip. What do you guys think? Has anyone done it?
Thanks Mark
1987 Carrera 3.2

Peter Zimmermann

Don't be surprised if it won't even pass the visual! CA smog inspectors are getting more and more knowledgeable, and many can tell the difference between a cat and test pipe. That said, I would guess that you will only have about a 5% chance of passing out the tailpipe. The cat makes a huge difference in emissions, and if you live in a county that measures NOx (your test will be done on a dyno) you won't have a chance of passing.

UberXY

The cat is in the exhaust stream to reduce emissions. The test sees if emissions are reduced. Therefore...

Steve
84 911

Rick K

For what its worth - I passed emissions sniff test in N. Virginia w/ a catbypass. Although, visual inspection of an 84 911 is a joke, the inspectors wouldn't even know what to look for.

CA is probably much more strict.

Edward

Nope, not in CA you're not. BTDT. Those who say you can fiddle with this or adjust that to get theirs to pass don't live in CA where the regs are more stringent than in other states. W/O that cat, you are simply not going to pass a CA sniffer test. Sorry, Mark.

Edward

theiceman

there is something I don't understand. I thought specs thet were dialed into the test machine were specs provided by the manufacturer on what was acceptable when the car was new. This is why you have to dial in the car before running the test. If this is true why would it be more strict in some areas than others ?
any body have any actual facts on the levels they are looking for ? here in canada we are pretty strict too and when I look at the allowable NOx for my Audi , my van and my wifes Taurus they are all different.

Amber Gramps

I see Renn-cat-a-loan in the future. $50.00 plus shipping gets you a week with a cat then it's back in the box and forwarded to the next rennlister. could be fun.

dvkk

The specs are not set by the manufacturer, they are set by the government authority. EPA in the USA, Transport Canada here.

The specs are given in g/mile (or g/km in Canada). If you compared a flyweight econo car to a pig SUV, the SUV will emit more total polutants than the small car if both blow the same % of CO, ppm of HC. To compensate for this, the weight of the car is factored into the specs. The engine size also has an effect. A smaller more efficient engine will be able to meet strict g/mile standards easier than a big V8, simply because it is consuming less fuel.

Dan Cobb

My 84 just passed CA emissions yesterday.
According to the tech, they have once again changed the rules on what is acceptable and what is not, for both the sniff and the peek-a-boo.

I had one of the gas caps with a flap in the center that allows you to just push the nozzle into the cap without removing it. It is the same cap that was on the car the last time it was tested 2 years ago. It didn't pass because it could not be pressurized. I had to buy a $10 cap in order to pass the test.

In all, I'd say that emissions testing is a great idea, too bad it is legislated by people and full of hogwash. Why are motorcycles and semi trucks exempt? What about boats and other off-road vehicles that are also exempt?
The last time I checked, we shared the air with off-road vehicles. I guess it's really not about cleaning the air we breathe as much as it is about the revenue that it generates for the state.

BTW, they were unable to do the evap test on the 911 because they cannot access the hoses above the rear wheel. So much for making a test that ensures each vehicle is within allowable specs if you can simply skip over tests that are too difficult to do on some cars.
+++

WolfeMacleod

I don't know how it is in California, but this is what they told me in Seattle when I took my 911 in for emissions.

"Car must pass the emissions standards set during the year the car was manufactured."
Otherwise, older cars would never pass today's emissions tests.

Droops83

I doubt a Carrera 3.2 would pass w/out a cat. It is actually possible to get 930s to sneak through w/out cats if you lean it out enough, since the turbocharger itself actually takes care of a lot of the hydrocarbon emissions, but of course it wouldn't pass visual inspection.

The emissions limits are set by the state: '76-77 cars have the most lenient standards (but are still usually the hardest cars to get to pass!), here they can have 220 ppm HCs at idle. As technology and emissions control devices increased (more precise EFI, O2 sensors, 3 way cats), so did the requirements. Newer cars must have less than 100 ppm HCs, and OBDII (generally '96 and up) cars must have no fault codes and have all emissions monitors set as well, so you can fail even if your tailpipe emissions are clean.

In California there are "Basic" and "Enhanced" smog test areas. More densely populated areas like LA and the Bay Area have Enhanced tests where the car is put on a dyno and emissions are tested under load, so NoX becomes a factor. Other areas, such as here in Santa Barbara , are Basic so tests are only donr at 2500 RPM and at idle in neutral (but 25 mins to the south in Ventura, it's enhanced!)

What sucks now is that pre-OBDII cars (generally '85 and older), starting just a few weeks ago, need to have the entire fuel evaporative system pressure-tested, in addition to the usual gas-cap test, since the older cars can't self test the EVAP system like OBDII cars can. The smog tech pressurizes the system to 1 psi at the fuel filler using and adapter gas cap. I had the privilege of trying to get both a '77 924 and a crappy '83 944 to pass last week; both had EVAP leaks that I had to hunt down and fix. I predict many future headaches w/ the many old Porsches and BMWs I work on with rotting hoses and charcoal canisters!

Houpty GT

I have a 1995 Audi A6 quattro and it has one cat for each side of the engine. The cat on the drivers side of these cars tends to break down. I have read about others that have had the cat on the drivers side empty itself out and they still managed to pass emissions. I can not tell you what state it is. You will be surprised how well a properly tuned engine runs. The cat is an extremely effective emission control device though but does not work till it has warmed up. Government emissions are set by the year of the vehicle. The Gestapo State of California has typically imposed stricter regulations than the government mandated ones. The agency in charge of this is CARB. You will often see 49 state versions of a vehicle and than a CA version. These California models basically suck. If a european car cannot be suckified enough to pass emissions in California it will generally not be sold in the USA.

South Carolina eliminated their emmisions testing in the mid 90's. Seems like a good idea to me. Most cars on the road don't seem to have any problems anyway.

I would bet you are probally going to need to get your hands on a cat. You can always borrow one and return it later. Unless your poorly educated, government employeed tester is so high on drugs that he does not have any idea what he is doing and just passes you anyway. Remember, it is California! If it doesn't hurt to try I would say just send it through with out the cat and play stupid if they catch you.

The state of California wants to force older cars off the road or atleast out of the state but they have to try to do it by placing a financial burden on the owner.

Ed Hughes

The 49 state deal doesn't apply to 911's, they were ROW, or US. The t"ry it and hope" suggestion isn't good. I think that once you fail, you'll be flagged forever.

old man neri

I know up here there has been a big push to get rid of 2 cycle boats, man do those things make a mess of the air and water.