I curently live in CA but I have never had to pass emissions due to the fact that I dont register my vehicles here. My question is what do they look for in the visual part of the emissions test?

 

What I've heard (haven't smogged mine yet, due in October though), they look for things like these:

Factory air cleaner (this includes that Thermac setup, the tubing going from the air cleaner down to the exhaust maniifold)
Factory exhaust manifold, or smog legal headers
EGR valve (.i.e a lot of intake manifolds won't cut it)
Smog pump has to be there, of course

I think it also depends on how thorough the guy really is, should I say depending on how .. extreme .. he really wants to be.

Certain other things have to be factory, such as timing, factory setting is 0, most of us run it a few degrees advanced.

 

Why do they even car what is on your car if you pass emissions?

 

Thank you, I probably wont pass without perswation.
I wish they didnt care thats one of the reasons California sux.

 

$$$$$

That says it all....

 

They look at a lot of stuff. All the smog equipment has to be there and hooked up. EGR, smog air pump, charcoal cannister, cat, PCV, anything on the intake, etc. They check the ignition timing to make sure it's at factory spec. They check the gas cap to make sure it holds pressure. The SES light has to work. Once you pass visual, they start the chassis dyno test. They test at 15 and 25 mph. If you have an automatic tranny, they test in drive. If you have a stick, I think they keep it in second gear. at 25 mph in second, the engine is turning over 2500 rpm, so that is a sure fire way to make sure the EGR is working. They will test you for NOx, CO and HC.

In order to pass the test, you will need to make sure your engine is up to full operating temperature (the hotter the better). Also you need to drive around before the test long enough to get the cat hot and lit off. Again, the hotter the better. If your cat is cold I can just about guarantee you'll fail.

Alcohol in the gas helps you pass. Make sure the engine is running well and firing on all cylinders. Make sure the air cleaner is not too dirty, and have good gas in the tank.

I passed inspection with the TB water bypass mod in place, they never noticed.

 

I just put a new cat on today, i was failing for NO, now i passed with flying colors, each shop is different, the one i got to is like 60$ but the guy is very knowledgeable, but he's pretty cool

 

Oh damn, I dread smog here in Cali. . .What . . . I have to do mine in a few weeks, registration is due up, and I bought the car back in May, so the DMV required that it be done. Got a new exhaust system, from the cat back, and changed some plugs and filters. Problem is, I got a couple exhaust manifold bolts missing or broken off. . . guess I'm still screwed huh?

 

Because there is a lot more to certifying a car model/engine than they can test for on each and every car.

 

Here in CA, it is not as bad as you might think. Generally, if you fail the sniffer for high HC or CO you're not running right anyway. NOx is a different story.

In my experience it is best to keep it low key. If the inspector pops the hood and sees evidence of tampering he will probably stick to the book. If you can keep it looking pretty close to stock he will most likely skim through it. Bear in mind too that most emission devices have very little impact on how a street vehicle runs at WOT, so why remove them?

As for having a few exhaust bolts missing, if this is generating an exhaust leak you will fail as the sniffer will boot out for too much O2 in the sample. If an exhaust leak is not present you will probably be all right.

Just my $0.02.

 

Ah, thanks for clearing that up. . . I'll be heading in, in about 2 weeks. The shop I'm going to is closed this weekend. A small mom & pop shop literally, husband and wife run it. . . hopefully it'll pass. At present don't think there is a leak.

 

ha that sucks move to buffalo they just give you a sticker

 

Deweywolf, it all depends on where you take the car. Some shops are more picky than others so ask around. Performance parts stickers all over the engine compartment is a red flag for inspectors as are parts that do not appear stock. I learned that with smog legal headers, I failed because I did not have the Calif. CARB exemption sticker with me or on the car. If you have any illegal parts don`t take your car in until you replace them. If you have CARB parts, make sure you take the stickers with you or have them attached to the car. Also, look for a shop that will "pretest" your car for you, some will some won`t. If you pretest and fail, you can do the repairs and re-smog later. If you are hooked up to the DMV computer and fail, you are labeled a gross polluter and have major headaches almost forever after.

 

I have that also but they won't care because that's not an emissions part. Having the coolant go through the TB helps keep the blades from freezing in really cold areas. Not having it there has zero impact on emissions.