is it possible to pass a smog test w/o emissions lowering components such as a smog pump and A.I.R... i took them out after they started to burn out.

i want to put in a high flow converter and run all new pipes in my car. would a catalytic converter be enough to pass the smog? (no need to worry about a visual test)

EDIT: well actually all the metal eroded away, after a long drive, i found a hole had burned through some of the metal piping. inside it was all clogged up and the metal became fragile. this was about 15 months ago. now i need pass the smog.would a catalytic converter be enough to pass the smog?

 

Its possible to pass without the air pump operating. All the air pump does is add oxygen to the cat for unburned fuel to burn with. Just make sure your tune is on the lean side. I would also use a factory style cat instead of high flow. The factory style is more effiecient.

 

first of all. thanks for responding to my question, much appreciated.

really? factory style, huh? i was thinking a high flow because of what i read on one of the stickies here in the exhaust forum. i was hoping to get the CarSound one and run the all new piping. my car is completely out of tune right now so i was thinking of doing things in this order...

but first i'll explain my current engine setup...
i have a 1982 z28 daytona 500 pace car replica, 305 5.0 carbed with a th-200 tranny. tranny was rebuilt 5-20-05. smog parts were removed after burning out in summer '04 (they didnt work anyways). stock intake and carb were replaced with a edelbrock performer and a holley 500cfm (i believe), accel coil.

for some reason my car was never timed or tune correctly the whole 2 years ive had it, it burns really rich sometimes and the idle is really high. sometimes it jumps into high rpms without warning while not in gear. and when i turn it off the carb sputters and turns the engine over even after the key is out. somtimes it last longer than others. i just really dont have the time to sit down and find out whats goin on with it since im not really a very gifted mechanic quite yet. im banking that a professional would be able to manipulate the timing or carb (probably both in my case) to where it runs like a normal car. sometimes my cars hangs around 1500 rpms just to function correctly in idle. i dunno its just a pain.

so that leaves me to what i have planned below...


1. take to mechanic or carb shop to get it properly tuned. the fluids, plugs and wires are all new and topped off (or will be).

2. take it to the muffler shop (one im very familiar with). buy the new cat converter and run all new pipes. i dont need to purchase a muffler because i already have a seldom used flowmaster (w/tips) sitting around in the garage.

3. take it to the smog check station (one im also very familiar with, at least i hope). the guy there really helped me out when i first tried to pass smog with this car back in '03. even with the smog components still in there the car failed the first time.

anyone have any suggestions? or just anything to say or add, its greatly appreciated.

 

I am not really answering you but maybe someone else could ping in. What about dual cats?

 

i dunno if i'll have the dual dollars for dual cats if u know what im saying? how much do converters run nowadays anyways? and how would i go about running the dual cats, wouldn't remove the need for the factory 'y' pipe that connects the exhaust right after they leave the manifolds, under the engine? and wouldnt that mean a higher price from the muffler shop? i realize the term, "all new pipes" is sorta misleading...

 

I don't see why a high flow cat would be less effecient than a factory style cat. In fact, I would think that the high flow cat would be MORE effecient, considering it was designed with almost a decade's worth of technology behind it. Plus, why would the EPA and other organizations allow a high flow cat to be smog-legal if it didn't do as good of a job of reducing emissions than the factory parts? Doesn't add up if you ask me.

I have no factual evidence of this, however. It is just my speculation.

EDIT: DaGreatKobe, I think you will be able to pass the test easily as long as your car is running in good tune. I've seen numerous stories on the board of people removing the smog equipment and still passing emissions with flying colors.

Dual cats is an unnecessary hassle in my opinion. 20 years ago, this was GM's way of improving horsepower on the high performance engines. Considering how far cars and car parts have come in the last 20 years, it's pretty redundant to have to cats that go back into a single pipe when it only flows marginally better in the best case scenario. A single 3" exhaust will flow more than enough for your 305.

Your plan sounds pretty good now. The only thing I would do different is taking it somewhere to get it tuned. I would do it myself, that's half the fun of owning a car.

 

yea i thought high flow meant that it would be more efficient since its allowing more exhaust to flow through with the same type of performance as a factory cat.

as it was also my speculation, via what ive read about the CarSound cat in this same 'exhaust' forum.

 

Now that I remember there was a test in a magazine or somewhere that a guy used a magnoflow high flow on a 383 stroker with no emmision equipment and passed the sniffer way below the max.

 

is thats true? with one cat right? anyone have anything else to add? all information is desperately needed and surely appreciated...

 

Standards for sniffer vary from place to place. In LA, though, you can bet on the most strict standards to be found anywhere.

In addition, they will do a visual inspection to verify you have all of the required factory or CARB-approved replacement equipment on your car and it appears to be operative. For this reason, you will fail before you even get to the sniffer.

Get the stuff installed and operating while you can still drive the car.

 

problem is... i cant drive the car... the visual inspection wont be a problem. im about 90% sure about it. plus the first time i smogged my car none of the smog parts were actually operational. lines were burned through and the catlytic converter was burned out, im certain they were all the original parts which made them about 22 years old. 220,000 miles of exhaust and heat. it just couldnt hold up anymore. i have a 2 day moving permit on tuesday and wednesday 15th & 16th, next week. everything needs to be done in this time frame... reason why all this info is so valid. ASAP...

 

yea but i dont have the time to tune it myself. and im not an advanced mechanic at all. ive never gotten the timing right on my car since ive had it. even after changing distributor completely and putting in the holley carb. rpms still run too high and im still running rich i believe. the car drinks gas when i know it can be efficient if tuned correctly, im young and all but dont have the time to sit down and figure out whats wrong or how to solve the problem... my guess is my vaccum hoses are somehow run incorrectly and my carb is opened too much. but ive tried a lot of things already and always get the same problem.

 

I'm 19, being young is no excuse!

If you think it's a vacuum line, just look up on the bottom of your hood and their should be a vacuum line routing diagram. Use it to find out how the vacuum lines are supposed to be routed, then follow each line (checking for cracks, they can cause leaks as well) until you have every line where it should be according to the diagram.

Changing out spark plugs and wires is easy, especially if you have already gone through the trouble of replacing the distributor.

Sorry, can't help you tune the Holley. There are lots of books out there with the info you need, and there's even a board on the forum dedicated to carbureted issues.

I'm really not seeing any reason you could not fix this yourself. Good luck.

 

why cant i fix it myself?

10 hour shift at work...
come home, its either sleep or work on the house. i told you im not an advanced mechanic at all. i know how to do things but ive never done them before, always helped. i told u ive had the car for 2 years and have never been able to tune it correctly, myself. the stock diagram on my car is gone (the car is 23 years old, i wouldnt expect it to be there anyway) and when it was... its for the stock setup anyways. the vacum lines in the holley are in different places. my job is hella strenous so im worn most of the time, espcially on days off. i already said the plugs and wires are brand new..

its the carb and the timing. two things i can never get riht on this car and i really dont have the time...

but ill read up on it anyways since my car money now has to go towards the mortgage

 

Ok this is a different question but can you pass emisions with out an egr?

 

If you're going to ask a different question, please start a new thread... But technically yes you can still pass the sniffer, but you wont pass the visual test if you remove the EGR stuff.

To Kobe, welcome to California! Check out our local thirdgen club on the SoCal forum on this site, and at the SoCal Thirdgenners link in my sig.
Yes you can try to find someone to pay and pass you, but technically, you will need to replace your smog equipment that failed to be legal in CA. If I can have 400 HP, run 12's, and still pass CA smog better than stock, so can you.

 

here's my girl... she's hurting... yea its an '87 iroc z upgrade on an '82 z28 pace car replica chasis ( stock.323 posi rear end). for the cost of just 1 post per day you can help her improve and prolong her life..

 

I had to replace the cat on my car because it was bad. I had an exhaust shop put on a highflow cat on. The next year when I went to get emissions tested I failed. Car was completly tuned and running fine. After 5 failures I had to go to a EPA referee who told me the CAT was the problem and to replace it with a factory OEM Cat. I did and it passed. Go figure.

 

the reason why she wont pass smog...



plus the catlytic converter is all burned out.