My car isn't on the road at the moment but in the spring when I get it out it will need to pass an emissions test. Because the 13B never came with my car I fall under special rules. These being:

1. Vehicle cannot legally operate if there are visible emissions for more than 15 seconds in any five-minute period.

2. For Drive Clean testing, the vehicle must meet or exceed what were the emissions standards of the original motor when all original emission control equipment was functioning.

3. All emissions control equipment must be attached and functioning. Equipment refers to what came with the replacement motor or be equivalent to what would have come with that motor.

1 and 2 are easy. 3 is where I am having trouble. The engine in my car has S4 N/A rotors, FD housings and TII irons. Since this engine never came in a vehicle and everything else on the engine is custom there were no original "emissions control equipment".

I'm thinking about claiming this as a 1974 engine or something to get away with having little emissions equipment. My questions is; what is the least emissions controlled 13B in existence? My car only has a catalytic converter on it. Or do you think a new generation cat is "equivalent " to anything found on 13Bs?

 

Mount a cat and airpump, and you're pretty much set..

 

Say its an old Carbed model and you stuck a new intake on it.

 

I really don't want to install an air pump. Besides there is nothing for it to connect to.


That was the plan. I was just wondering if there was a particular rotary powered car that was produced with no emissions equipment or just a cat.



I'm probably overeating and I bet I'll pass visual just by saying it's from an obscure old Mazda that had nothing but I was just wondering if there was an easy answer.

 

I doubt that the inspectors will know anything about rotary engines. You can barf in the engine compartment, and they wouldn't know what belongs or not.

Don't they attach the tailpipe to an emissions tester and see what it does under load on a rolling road? Our tests in California are beyond the visual. They even test to see if the gas cap holds pressure.

Were cats even installed on cars in 1974?
What car do you have btw?

 

In Onratio they changed the e test regs so now OBD-II cars get a plug in test and 1988-1998 cars get a 2 speed no load test, idle and 2500rpm I think. 1987 and older get no test. All I need is to be under 200 ppm hydro carbon and 1% by volume carbon monoxide. They do not test for NOx anymore.

Car is a Miata.

 

it can be done but it take lots of $$$$. Need a 6port to 12-A adapter, stock 12-A carb and manifold including rats nest, smog pump and stock exhaust. Then wire them up to fit whatever car you have. Once smog inspection is done, its time to play.

 

You might want to test out the methanol trick.
I posted this a long time ago. Search under "Smog test trick", here is a link:

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...g-trick-13933/

Hydrocarbons are made by the boatload on a rotary due to oil injection and the shape of its combustion chamber. But I read somewhere that NOx is lower due to the same reason. The tough part about Cats is that they work most efficiently when air-fuel is mixed just right. Too lean and they can burn out. Too rich will foul it up. Part of the smog control on a car will actually enrich the exhaust with unburnt fuel to prevent the Cat from getting too hot. Early cars with Cats didn't have O2 sensors, so it would appear that the engineers set the controls to operate assuming perfect conditions.

We should develop and sell a 'clean' burning gas, sell it by the quart/liter for $75, advertise it as a "green" fuel. Lots of disclaimers... But you know what people would actually do with it.

 

That sounds like way too much money and work. I was hoping earlier 13B cars didn't have a pump at all. Just a cat like my car does.

I'm not terribly concerned about getting under the limits. I have a standalone and can lean out the mixture for the test to get under HC and CO. NOx will go through the roof but they are not measuring that.

All I'm worried about is someone saying "that engine doesn't have all the emissions equipment that it came with. You fail the visual."

 

Iirc, the earliest 13B is from the 73 rx4 and even that one had an air pump, air control valve, and thermal reactor (later changed to cat's). They also came with PCV systems and gas evap systems, but those would be easy to install so it looks functional.

The rules are the same here regarding the visual check. They don't have to actually do anything, they just need to be plausibly attached to the engine. You can't exactly bolt an ACV to your roof and say it's cleaning up the exhaust.

I pulled the emissions info from the factory service manuals for rotary vehicles here.
Foxed.ca - Mazda RX-7 Manuals

Hopefully they'll be some use to you too.

 

I never thought to look at the FSM, Thanks.

Assuming those are North American specific manuals the North American models all came with emissions crap. Wonder what the international stuff came with.

 

That's a loophole if I ever saw one.

So that means I can take a 2013 Prius and mash in there a 1965 427 cu inch monster motor that came with nothing more than a PCV valve and if would be ok with the government?

I think these laws are usually written so that either the year of the chassis or year of the engine, whichever is newer.

My '65 MG Midget is smog exempt, but if they ever found out I had an '84 rotary motor, then I'd have to get it tested every 2 years like everyone else. Stupid thing is, is that this setup is cleaner than the original engine which was made to run on leaded gas.

How about posting a wanted ad on the marketplace area of the forum? Ask for unwanted emissions equipment for free. Just offer to pay for the shipping. You can even see if a local salvage yard in your area may have some items. My local salvage would probably sell me the whole lot of $20. Check your local ads for someone that's parting out an RX7.

Get a rats nest and make it look like it's hooked up.
If you have a header, cover it up with a heat shield.
Make sure to remove the emissions diagram from underneath the hood.

International models? How are you going to explain to them that you imported your engine from Zimbabwe?

 

In Ontario it's different. If the model year of the vehicle is 1987 or older then there is no smog testing regardless of what engine is in it. Just make sure you have the "original equipment" attached or you can get a hefty fine from the ministry. Example; my dad has a Shelby Cobra kit car. We built it in 2006, it's registered as a 1965, motor is from a 1990 5.0, no cats, no emissions equipment what so ever.

If I had done the engine swap before 1999 then I only would have to meet 1980 emissions standards.

Because my car is pre '99 model year and my engine swap took place post '99 then I end up needing to meet vehicle model year emissions standards but with engine emissions equipment.

Of course this only apply if your car has "hot rod" status. Meaning has a non stock engine. If you just slap on a turbo you don't get any of these breaks.

Sweet, sweet bureaucracy.

The intriguing part of the rules is "or be equivalent to what would have come with that motor." I think I could possibly make a case that a new cat is equivalent to a pump and reactor setup.

I think I'll have to inquire with some mechanics as to what they would pass.

I don't want to explain anything to anyone. Just some documentation saying that somewhere sometime this engine came with no or little emissions equipment.

 

The air pump came long before the cat. The 10A had an air pump. Mazda didn't have a cat until the early 80s. Basically, without an air pump you're screwed if you want to legitimately pass. The HC and CO come from the misfiring and requisite rich mixtures inherent to these engines. Only an air pump + aftertreatment (thermal reactor or cat) can solve that at low load, low rpm operation.

 

Lpg

 

Just a simple bung welded to the exhaust will do, or use a TII cat..
Seems like the easiest way to do it

 

Good news. everyone!

Mechanic says the only things needed to pass the drive clean test are a catalytic converter and a properly sealed fuel filler cap.

He did warn me about the Ministry of Transport though. Just because I have the minimum required components to pass the test doesn't mean I am fully legal in their eyes. They still have to power to ticket me. It's sort of a grey area, I guess.