Emissions - Denaturaled Alcohol
 

Basically I failed my emissions in NY because I'm running rich.

From the .80 HC Limit, I got a 1.91 HC Rating.
From the 15.00 CO Limit, I got a 15.89 CO Rating.

Basically I am running a bit to rich for the emissions, so I was reading up and read about Denaturaled Alcohol and adding it with the gasoline in a 1 Gallon Alcohol, 7 Gallon Gasoline ratio.

Does this actually work and are there any side effects?

I used a 10:1 ratio of gas to Alc and passed, I know I idle rich (2 greens LEDS into rich according to Autometer A/F meter).

Also you should find a 7 - friendly smog station.

lol, I don't believe there is such a place here in NY.

What would I have to change to make it run a bit lean in PFC in case I run into the same problem?

I ran a 5/1 ratio and passed.

Yes it works. Alcohol is an oxygenate. When added to gasoline it promotes more complete combustion. Your high HC and CO readings are the products of incomplete combustion which is the result of running rich (excess fuel).

Adding alcohol to your fuel system only for the short period of time required to take the smog test will not hurt your car.

You want to get your car up to operating temperature right before taking the smog test. Drive the car until there is approximately 4-5 gallons of gasoline left in the tank. Add one gallon of denatured alcohol to the tank. Drive directly to the smog station and get your test. Immediately after the smog test fill your tank with gasoline. Done and done!

even if you don't have a main cat and air pump? :)

Ok here is my story for inspections. I thought that I would fail horribly in Delaware. I live in North Carolina and I have had the engine streetported with all the supporting mods so I didn't think that I had a chance. The week before I came home I went and bought some of the NAPA guaranteed to pass stuff and followed its instructions to a T. The one thing that might benifit me in this reguard is that I had to drive the car 500 miles and that burnt off the tank of fuel that the instructions require. I drove straight from NC into the inspection lanes in DE never stopping or turning the car off and passed with barely a trace of either HC or CO. The only thing I almost failed was the sound test at 3000 RPM. If you don't have a cat I can't help you but chances are you already know there isn't much of a chance at passing emissions anyway. I say if the alcohol fails try that NAPA stuff. If that doesn't work just get a mechanic to write you a reciept for I think $400 (don't know if you all have this loop hole up there) and they will pass it without checking. It basically shows that you made an attempt to correct the poor emissions.

Good Luck!

When you don't have a main cat and/or air pump on your car, this can create a couple problems passing the smog test. First, I'd suggest that you check the SMOG test procedures for your state/area.

I'm in California and the smog test here consists of both a visual test and a sniffer (exhaust emissions) test. The visual test is an inspection to make sure that your car has all of the original pollution control devices installed when it was new. So, in California a car without an air pump and main cat would (should) flunk the visual inspection.

The purpose of the air pump and main cat is to oxidize the HC and CO emissions escaping from the combustion process. Whether or not a car without an air pump and main cat could pass the "sniffer" test by using alcohol is a matter of conjecture. It would depend primarily on the amount of your HC and CO emissions and the extent to which you are exceeding the emission standards.

You could run a test to get an answer to this question. In California anyone at any time can get a smog test that does not count towards an "official" certification. It's just a matter of going to the test facility and telling them you want a smog test but it is not for certification. Of course you still have to pay for the test. So, with the car without the air pump and main cat try adding the alcohol as I suggested in my earlier post, get an "unofficial" smog test, and see if you are below the emission limits.

I don't know what happened but, I ran about 13 Gallons of gasoline and 1 Gallon of Denatured Alcohol.

Well, I failed worse then the first time without the alcohol.

Should I try again with only 5 Gallons again? B.t.w, I have a PFC. Is there an easier way to lean out the car?

I mean the car backfired during the dyno run which I knew was bad. =(.

b.t.w, i Got a

HC 2.85 CO 28.67

Compare to my first, it basically doubled with the denatured alcohol.

If I was in your position I would do two things before getting another smog test.

First I would put in all new spark plugs.

Then I would try one gallon of alcohol in 4 gallons of gasoline.

Also, make sure your car is up to temperature before getting the smog test.

I run my car down to 1/4 tank and add in 1 gallon denatured alcohol.

If your car is running like 9:1 air/fuel, I doubt it will be able to fix that! :)

Brian