Emission Testing Texas Style
02-28-10, 10:15 PM
#51
I'm considering moving to Texas in the next couple years, I HATE midwest winters and so do my '7 and girlfriend. I have a 1987 TurboII, so by 2012 I wouldn't even be required to pass ANY kind of emissions tests for that car? I read up a bit on a Texas government site detailing their emissions tests. I think it mentioned visual checks for emissions components, but in this thread you said they don't do such checks. I have the Racing Beat REV2 exhaust, which has a presilencer that could possibly be 'called' a cat *wink* upon query, but I have no EGR, no air pump, no ACV, et cetera.
Also, on fuel economy, I drove 5 hours south of here with my gf riding shotgun to buy our dog and I got 25mpg cruising about 70-75mph the whole time. However, that is the highest I've ever seen it, we must have had a bit of a tailwind. Normally (which is very mixed highway/in town driving) I see 16-18mpg lol, but I'm not too worried, I don't drive like the cataract grandmas and texting teens... let's just say I'm surprised my turbo hasn't disintegrated.
Also, on fuel economy, I drove 5 hours south of here with my gf riding shotgun to buy our dog and I got 25mpg cruising about 70-75mph the whole time. However, that is the highest I've ever seen it, we must have had a bit of a tailwind. Normally (which is very mixed highway/in town driving) I see 16-18mpg lol, but I'm not too worried, I don't drive like the cataract grandmas and texting teens... let's just say I'm surprised my turbo hasn't disintegrated.
03-01-10, 05:03 PM
#55
Texas is big enough for the both of us-just don't move here and try to remake it in the image of, well, somewhere else. I am an immigrant myself, but I have created a couple of Texans.
25 years old and you are emission exempt...or at least your car will be.
Also, though there is technically a visual inspection, it is primarily a safety inspection-
You have to have a functioning muffler. No one cares if it is OEM or even OEM-like;
Your exhaust must be leak free. No one cares if it is the exact same config as OEM;
You have to have a working catalytic converter to pass the sniffer test. No one cares if it is OEM-the proof is in the function.
They care about safety and passing the tailpipe sniffer. Function over form.
25 years old and you are emission exempt...or at least your car will be.
Also, though there is technically a visual inspection, it is primarily a safety inspection-
You have to have a functioning muffler. No one cares if it is OEM or even OEM-like;
Your exhaust must be leak free. No one cares if it is the exact same config as OEM;
You have to have a working catalytic converter to pass the sniffer test. No one cares if it is OEM-the proof is in the function.
They care about safety and passing the tailpipe sniffer. Function over form.
03-01-10, 06:43 PM
#59
We have some pretty fine universities down here, so whattya waitin' fer? Those Midwest winters are getting colder and colder.
What Hailers said.
I verified all emission system functions except cat. It didn't pass. 'Cheated' with alcohol. It didn't pass.
I fixed the car. The cat was broken. Then it passed.
Fix the car, pass the test. This applies to stock and minimally modded cars. Big turbos, port jobs and fuel mods are on their own.
I verified all emission system functions except cat. It didn't pass. 'Cheated' with alcohol. It didn't pass.
I fixed the car. The cat was broken. Then it passed.
Fix the car, pass the test. This applies to stock and minimally modded cars. Big turbos, port jobs and fuel mods are on their own.
03-01-10, 06:57 PM
#60
But to stay on topic, sort of... wilder setups would probably just require careful tuning and bigger cats...
03-06-10, 01:24 PM
#62
Glad I found this thread (search function: w00t!)
I just tested my '90 coupe, and it blew 238 and 312 on the HC (Tarrant County, TX, same as Jack.)
According to the tech, and the chart referenced elsewhere in this thread, the cat's OK, since NOx is low (205 and 256) - I just need a tune-up. However, both the oil and the plugs are only 4000 miles old. The car has a muffler-shop exhaust on it with a generic cheap-o cat of unknown age, so I'm thinking its time for a new cat-con.
Looking at the 93500 series from Magnaflow. The recommended replacement is 93514, which is 2" in and out. I need to go check the exhaust diameter, but all the 9351x converters are the same price: $97 bucks shipped on eBay, or $122 at O'Reilly's. I've got 2 weeks to re-test, so it may be worth the extra $30 if O'Reilly's can get it in a few days.
Thanks for the report on your experience!
I just tested my '90 coupe, and it blew 238 and 312 on the HC (Tarrant County, TX, same as Jack.)
According to the tech, and the chart referenced elsewhere in this thread, the cat's OK, since NOx is low (205 and 256) - I just need a tune-up. However, both the oil and the plugs are only 4000 miles old. The car has a muffler-shop exhaust on it with a generic cheap-o cat of unknown age, so I'm thinking its time for a new cat-con.
Looking at the 93500 series from Magnaflow. The recommended replacement is 93514, which is 2" in and out. I need to go check the exhaust diameter, but all the 9351x converters are the same price: $97 bucks shipped on eBay, or $122 at O'Reilly's. I've got 2 weeks to re-test, so it may be worth the extra $30 if O'Reilly's can get it in a few days.
Thanks for the report on your experience!
03-07-10, 08:21 AM
#69
Glad I found this thread (search function: w00t!)
I just tested my '90 coupe, and it blew 238 and 312 on the HC (Tarrant County, TX, same as Jack.)
According to the tech, and the chart referenced elsewhere in this thread, the cat's OK, since NOx is low (205 and 256) - I just need a tune-up. However, both the oil and the plugs are only 4000 miles old. The car has a muffler-shop exhaust on it with a generic cheap-o cat of unknown age, so I'm thinking its time for a new cat-con.
Looking at the 93500 series from Magnaflow. The recommended replacement is 93514, which is 2" in and out. I need to go check the exhaust diameter, but all the 9351x converters are the same price: $97 bucks shipped on eBay, or $122 at O'Reilly's. I've got 2 weeks to re-test, so it may be worth the extra $30 if O'Reilly's can get it in a few days.
Thanks for the report on your experience!
I just tested my '90 coupe, and it blew 238 and 312 on the HC (Tarrant County, TX, same as Jack.)
According to the tech, and the chart referenced elsewhere in this thread, the cat's OK, since NOx is low (205 and 256) - I just need a tune-up. However, both the oil and the plugs are only 4000 miles old. The car has a muffler-shop exhaust on it with a generic cheap-o cat of unknown age, so I'm thinking its time for a new cat-con.
Looking at the 93500 series from Magnaflow. The recommended replacement is 93514, which is 2" in and out. I need to go check the exhaust diameter, but all the 9351x converters are the same price: $97 bucks shipped on eBay, or $122 at O'Reilly's. I've got 2 weeks to re-test, so it may be worth the extra $30 if O'Reilly's can get it in a few days.
Thanks for the report on your experience!
Good Luck getting smogged!
03-07-10, 10:03 AM
#70
Well, great, now I don't know what to do. I don't have a lot of money to be throwing around on this, and the damned thing is over a month out of inspection as it is - I left it at my parent's for a couple months while I borrowed Dad's spare truck for a project, and it expired, unbeknownst to me, while sitting.
Crap. Well, plugs and oil are rarely a bad idea, fairly easy, and the O2 is cheap and easy, too.
Crap. Well, plugs and oil are rarely a bad idea, fairly easy, and the O2 is cheap and easy, too.
03-07-10, 11:47 AM
#71
HAILERS
Join Date: May 2001
Location: FORT WORTH, TEXAS,USA
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How ' bout this......Ever remove the ACV and put on a blockoff plate and then leave it like that for say a year? Then put the ACV back on along with the airpump so said person can pass emissions. OH GEE, why is my idle not the same with the ACV on vs the ACV off and blocked off???????????? OH! Hailes says there is a place on the ACV that can pass air into the intake primary runners on deceleration. Hailers tells said person to remove the ACV and put RTV into that port on the mating side of the ACV so this won't happen.
So the RTV gets put on the ACV and all should be well with the idle when the ACV is again put on the engine. WRONG! Idle is still funny with ACV vs blockoff plate.
So Hailers scratches his butt for a couple of yrs wondering about this. Then while watching tv, it suddenly comes to him as to why the idle is funny. Its because one of the rotors on it's intake stroke gets exhaust air included with that intake stroke. So.....knowing that the ACV feeds air to the exhaust ports......that explains the difference in idle b/t the car having the ACV inplace with airpump vs no ACV and a blockoff plate instead.
betcha no one followed the above. Kinda sorta makes sense to me. Not a whole lot to do with this thread though.
So the RTV gets put on the ACV and all should be well with the idle when the ACV is again put on the engine. WRONG! Idle is still funny with ACV vs blockoff plate.
So Hailers scratches his butt for a couple of yrs wondering about this. Then while watching tv, it suddenly comes to him as to why the idle is funny. Its because one of the rotors on it's intake stroke gets exhaust air included with that intake stroke. So.....knowing that the ACV feeds air to the exhaust ports......that explains the difference in idle b/t the car having the ACV inplace with airpump vs no ACV and a blockoff plate instead.
betcha no one followed the above. Kinda sorta makes sense to me. Not a whole lot to do with this thread though.
03-08-10, 08:39 PM
#73
Well, hey, how about that?
I changed the oil, put in new plugs, and a new O2, and guess what happened?
It blew even higher HCs. Higher NOx, too. Awesome - that's $75 I didn't need to spend (plugs where kinda worn, though.)
Ordering Magnaflow 93516 cat-con now.
I changed the oil, put in new plugs, and a new O2, and guess what happened?
It blew even higher HCs. Higher NOx, too. Awesome - that's $75 I didn't need to spend (plugs where kinda worn, though.)
Ordering Magnaflow 93516 cat-con now.
