My hydrocarbon level was about 450-500ish. Help! Mods are in sig.

I'm sure the smog experts on here can give you more detailed information, but I know high HC is a result of poor combustion.

How are all the ignition components (plugs, wires, etc)? O2 sensor? Timing?

I just checked the timing. Can someone edit my picture with another arrow showing where I should be at? I am not sure if the #'s are correct. Shouldn't it be at 6? The Arrow shows where it is pointing. Is this really 12*?

What are the specs on that cam? What kind of tuning have you done on such a non-stock motor?

Edit: I just looked up the cam specs. It's pretty mild so I'm not sure if your engine combo is radical enough to fail smog by itself. Have you looked at your spark plugs? When was the last time you changed your cap/rotor/plugs/wires? What about your catalytic converter? Still the factory one?

Cat has about 6-10k miles on it. Cap and Plug wires are good. Cam is mild and smog legal, passed with it two years ago. Did the timing look correct? I do have a chip and a FPR.

gonna need to post up more than just the HC readings.

also when you checked timing did you disconnect the est? and timing should be 6* BTDC

Chrome timing tabs are notoriouisly inaccurate as well

Yes I disconnected the Est. I know that my Co2 reading was around 12% also ...

I think my cat may be gone as well. My car has been running pig rich for a few years now.

Jealous are we?

my .. i mean my girlfriends car just failed smog too, im in the process of swapping EGR valves. I did everything else, ditched the stock coil to with an msd blaster. hope thats all i need to do, the cats are fairly new, less then a year old.

Which parts did you... er she fail?

umm everything i think.

Is that part of why they sold it for a good deal Trav? Assuming responsibility for the smog can be costly for the buyer playing guess/check with parts.

How do you know it's running pig rich Bullydawg?
Did your dad have it tuned, or is it an off-shelf-chip?
Minor tweaking in the tune should get you by if all your basic parts are up to par.

I agree. Get a piston stop that goes into the spark plug hole, and figure out where true TDC is on #1. Then mark that with a bright paint pen on the timing mark and the balancer. Then use an adjustable timing light to set your timing.

High #'s on any area are never good. Good luck w/ guessing w/ randon parts replacement.

Its usually not whats wrong, its whats wrong & what caused that part to fail.

If a cat fails, its usually a overly rich condition that causes the failure. so just replacing the cat only "patches" the problem, it doesnt really "fix" the problem.

If it was easy to diagnose it, we wouldn't charge $200 to diagnose it.

I agree 100%, and I think $200 is actually a really good deal... heh.

high HC's. unburnt fuel. are your CO levels high also? are you NOx levels high or low? they all play a factor and help get a general clue to what is the actual problem. For instance, low HC's, low CO's, and high NOx. means a lean condition not enough fuel combustion chambers getting too hot. best bet is to go to a smog test and repair station. because like others said its not worth just throwing parts on.

Can you elaborate on the highlighted one.

Jeremy,
You better explain on how to do this. I don't think you want someone to place a piston stop then turn the crankshaft just like that.

I was just trying to get the "thinking ball" rolling, not offering an instructional guide by any means.

To the original poster: I suggest you find a good tech and pay them to fix your car, it will probably be a cheaper and smarter idea in the long run.

im talking low as in zero's. fuel helps cool down combustion chamber. not enough fuel, equals hot combustion chambers.

So its sounds like you're just $200 bucks away from "really" finding out whats really wrong w/ your car.

BTW, not trying to sound cocky, just trying to cut thru the BS.

But not enough fuel will cause a misfire=no combustion=no NOx

I think there's a tiny unicorn in your exhaust jumping and poking holes, and shitting in your filters.

2 times ago I barley passed smog, like by 1-2 ppm, unburnt hydrocarbons, I thought that was strange but I passed so I did not worry, Got in the car to leave and it had no power, popped the hood in the parking lot, the tech had one of the cheap old school timing lights that you need you pull the spark plug wire, after he checked timing he never plugged it back in. also I have learned since then that they need to check timing AFTER they do a pull, otherwise it smog's in limp-mode, when they pull the brown plug it confuses the ecm for 30 min or so. By the way, this was NOT marcs shop.


If a basic tune up does not fix it, plugs wires, exec. Get it diagnosed, I always change out all the consumables before smog anyway, My neighbor and I spent $600 fixing and replacing stuff 2 years ago on his truck, finally gave up and took his truck in, it was a missing vacuum line we never saw. $3 part, oh well.

so then any car running lean is misfiring? no. I have had cars running good, but are also running lean. But hey im just a shop owner so what do i know.

Its going in again on Friday and it will pass.

aaron i reccomend you either get a custom chip burnt, or a really big cat if all your secondary igntion is good and compression is good, just make sure theres no major faults like defective mass air flow, defective fuel injectors ect. but the easiest and cheapest in the long run to pass would just be get the biggest magnaflow cat on there possible. your car is peformance its going to run little rich always. but marc is right about one thing it will be a bandaid so expect a cat every time you need to pass

try if you have dual exhaust for your headers 2 or 1 of these 95015 or 95016 pr 95019 depending on what size your piping is


and this is a car club not an advertisement for a shop send a pm if you want him to pay for a diagnostic.

I'm going to punch my cat. I do have a custom prom also. I have all the stuff how to do it, I am going to teach myself how to fine tune it though.

I know some people and it will be cheaper to have them take care of it if you know what I mean. Like I said, it is going in tomorrow and it will pass.

its good to have friends in low plces where the wiskey flows and the beer chases

I'll sell you an "H" for your "wiskey". hahaha. Sorry for the non productive post. Move along.....set the heat...wire speed...WELD.

I smell something.....fishy.? Sounds like a probe/sniffer will be stuck in a different exhaust pipe.

I wonder how well an Integra passes smog.

If they do fail the emission portion, they usually fail for NOx.

Hey at least i am practicing. LOL.. had your helmet on this week? I am down to 500psi in my tank, I got a ton of scraps from my friend that owns a sheetmetal shop, stop by and grab some, And i am geting prety good

So has the car passed yet? If youre close by, I'll diag it for $170.

well, I know my timing needs to come down 6*. How much of a difference would that make? The cat only has 10k Miles on it. Enough for it to be bad already?

If your timing is off more than 2' it is a auto fail. Something is wrong with you car, i run mine at 10-11, runs great that way, just reajust before smog.

If you still want marcs stealth ram, i will swap your super ram for it.

haha, no thanks. If only the values weren't so different. I may sell my superram and pick up a stealth ram, but I doubt it. I have the "ability" to pass smog with all my mods.

your pic responce.

Mine is sitting on same spot. Covered.. Haven't really have a good chance to practice. 500 psi???? Better check the leak I forgot to tell you about... j/k. Ooops sorry for the HIJACK.

found it, replaced the regulator... hahaha... one of us needs to learn to weld, who is going to fab up your eh.. lol...

Help... I've been thread jacked. Go back to your thread. Oh yeah, I am a decent welder. Mig, Arc, Oxy, and starting at TIG.

well get yer *** over here and help a brother out, And your thread was boring anyway

Pay for my gas and maybe I will.

Hes got enough problems, he doesnt need a Stealth Ram to add to his probs
If you show up w/ a Steath Ram, you wont have to worry about timing.
BTW its not 2 degrees, & fail its 3, & you fail.

Sorry thought it was 2, I am a gross polluter because the previous owner of my car (my dad) failed twice with the timing being off. Smog II for me only. Yay me, and if he has the "hookup" I figer it doesn't mater what intake he has. With the reputation of the super ram, it is probably a massive vac leak. I am really tempted to buy your stealth ram and just swap intakes before I smog.

I will pitch in 10$ and i always have a fridge full of beer But if you get a DUI, smog will be the least of your problems.

I'm only 18... No drinking. Epic Fail.

there is pepsi in that frdge, that is for you

That is right... Me You.