Just checked my post from 2010 on the previous page, and it blew 79 high- and 100 low-speed then with the same cat new, so unless something else has changed, I cooked the cat, I think.
Drat. Another $200 to get that and get it installed. And then the protracted hassle of getting the RPMs to read right on the test machine again.

 

Today as expected I failed emissions spectacularly!

I will post up the results later.

Here is the good news: Autozone says I have a *lifetime* warranty on that cat.

In honor of the good guy at Autozone-here is a gratuitous plug for that company.

 

Jeez, that's a nice looking car, Jack.

 

Thank you for that. The secret to having a fantastically beautiful car on the internet is choosing the correct resolution in the picture.

Seriously, I put the 17" wheels from my Mazda6 on for the day. They really looked good to me.

On the results-it is easy to see the high HC. The lowish Nox is normal for a rotary, but this cat is NOT working.

Note the high Oxygen. This is available Oxygen to oxidize the HC, but the cat cannot do it.

I can't wait to see the inside of the cat.

 

If O2 is the telltale, then mine's definitely cooked.
I had 1.9 and 2.0 O2 on both tests. Whole bunches of oxygen, no catalyzing.
Ordered a new cat today. It's only gotta work three more times...
I got the same Magnaflow as I have now, wondering if I should have gotten something else, given that the Mag only lasted two years, albeit with toasted plugs (my fault for not changing them.)

And those Mazda6 wheels do look pretty sweet on the vert. Any fitment issues?

 

They cannot stay on the car. They are a poor fit=probably dangerous too.

Yeah, they are +60 offset. OEM is +40. That means they are inset 20 mm from stock. They needed a 20mm spacer to be in the same location as the stock wheels.
The front wouldn't fit without rubbing-So I used a 15mm spacer. ( I have extended ARP studs on the front and a 5mm spacer for my stock TII wheels with 225/50/16 tires to clear the strut.)
The back will fit, but they are pretty inset.

I think that the 2001-2005 Mustang Bullet wheels would look good. 17x8 +35

I also think that 2004 Acura TL wheels would look good. 17x8 +45

 

Dang, same problem we have with FD/RX-8 wheels. Not insurmountable, but not a direct fit.

A little too retro for my taste, but I grew up around musclecars, so that's what I see those on. My own '70 Cutlass has 17x8 American Racing Torq-thrust IIs on it, which reinterpret the same wheels the Bullits do as well.
I've seen an FC with the non-chrome/unpolished version of those on it, and it looked decent. Fit OK, too. I like the FR500 and Saleen replicas, though they tend to stick out a little due to the stock Mustang offsets.

Not bad. There seem to be a fair number of OEM wheels around that look decent and fit our cars. I have a set of 17x7 wheels from, of all things, a Buick Lucern tha look pretty good, and fit just about right. Need to spring for a set of tires for them, but I think I'll wait until the new-ish tires on my vert wheels wear out.



Photochop:


I've also been looking at G35 wheels, both the coupe and the sedan. Several 17" and 18" wheels there that look verra niice.

Mind you, all of this is a moot point if I can't smog the thing.

 

I've had the grey Bullit wheels on for a few years now and think they look quite spiffy on a FC.
17" is a sweet spot for tire options, much better than 16" and 17/45/235 gives a good ride, nice visual meat and doesn't overwhelm manual steering.
Very easy to clean, too.

 

PIc!

 

Prior to the Bullit's I had some GT's but they didn't fit quite as well...

 

There was talk of the Manitoba Government contracting with auto service stations to perform emissions tests on cars and trucks
I hope it's not true, but don't throw that air pump away.
I put a new Midas custom exhaust system on my 88 vert, all the ceramic stuff was broken up into rubble when we checked the cats.

 

I think that the BBS original vert wheels look good. I had a set of 4 spoke wide wheels on the car when I bought it, I traded them to a racing enthusiast who was glad to have them and I was glad to get rid of them, too boy-racer for me
Mike

 

I like the BBS vert wheels, I just wish they were 16" or 17" and maybe 7" wide.

On the emissions front, the Magnaflow cat is on it's way. When it gets here, I'll have to have it welded in, then hopefully I'll be back to where I was two years ago.

 

This was what I thought too....

 

Yes, it is after your vehicles 24'th birthday.

 

Yup, that's why I said my car only has to pass three more times, including this year. It's a '90, so exempt in 2015. '87s and older are already exempt.

 

I passed with the new cat but just barely. Time for new plugs.

 

I have never had an emissions test when getting an inspection and live in a smaller town. How come ya'll don't just drive to a town outside the bigger cities for an inspection when you don't think you will pass?

 

I believe you have to get it inspected in the same county it is registered. Not all counties have mandatory testing.

 

I don't know that that is right. My wife works in Cherokee county and her car was registered in another county. Sometimes when her inspection is due she will get it done across the street from where she works and has never been turned away.

 

Well, if both the counties are non-emissions counties, I'm sure that they don't care, but when the registered county is an emissions county, yeah, they care. The computer won't let them issue a sticker for a car that's registered in Tarrant, Dallas, etc. counties outside of those counties.
Also, they expanded the emissions testing area to include the counties surrounding the original big-city emissions county. I used to keep my '79 registered at my folks' in Parker County, next county over from Tarrant (Ft. Worth) county, but now Parker is an emissions county. You'd have to go a fair distance to get to the next county, even if it was legal...

 

Nuts, failed again. Just barely. Actually squeaked by on the high-speed.
New plugs, new cat, and air pump and ACV appear to be working. Still lots of O2 left over.
O2 sensor, maybe? I guess I'll have to take a day and go through the whole emissions diagnostic. Bleh. I think I may throw an O2 at it plus a few more miles on the new cat, then pump in 5 gallons of E85 and retest. Silly thing runs great.
On the plus side, I used Jack's air duster AC recharge and have a nicely colder AC. On a car I can't drive legally.

 

Well that's pretty cool!

 

I just noticed that my Nox went up for some reason.
Man, I have no idea what's going on with this thing.

Edit: and yeah, the AC is nice. At noon here lately the Envirosafe couldn't keep up. I got 60 degrees in side he car after I charged it with Difouroethane, on a 102 degree day. Not freezing, but it'll do.

 

You shouldn't have any O2 left over. The cat should use it all up. Excess HC and O2 should react, using up all the O2 and more of the HC's.

Your NOx is pretty high for a rotary, too, doesn't make any sense.

Is it possible that the cat was cold and did not properly light off?

Is it possible that the gas was really old?

Cats are directional. Is it *possible* that the cat is installed backwards?