I failed my last emissions test w/ 320 HC (220 is the legal limit here) and 12.99 CO (1.2 is the limit). My air pump doesn't always work. I don't know whats wrong with it. It works ok when the car is warming up, but after that it wont work. Those numbers are from my car w/ out the air pump working. I have the stock precat , main cat, and cat back on. My car is already running rich because I have a remapped ecu for my downpipe, midpipe, and catback. The stock exhaust is just making it insanely rich. Will running 3 bottles of denatured alcohol make it pass? Or should I not waste my time? A procedure in slight detail will help!
Thanks
Kevin

 

help...i know you people have had this problem before

 

chk the intake hoses on your pump.

You should be lean for the test, no rich. You are not burning enough of the fuel. When was the last time you had changed the spark plugs?

 

It's my understanding you can put a gallon of denatured alcohol in 5 gallons of gas and pass every time.

I haven't tried this yet, but am planning on doing it when the time comes.

 

It's running rich from having smaller piping as opposed to the other piping(aftermarket) I knew it was running rich before, i just changed the spark plugs and wires about a month ago. It ran rich at idle when i did have the dp+mp+cb, but perfect everywhere else. So if it ran rich then its definately going to with this piping. the alcohol should make it get leaner readings. I just talked to my uncle who used to build cars and he is going to give me some methanol. he was telling me the same thing about 5:1 with gas and alcohol. I guess I'll just do taht on monday...seems like nobody is having problems passing with that so i'll give it a try. As for the intake hoses, there are none. I bought the car and it didn't have an air pump, so i had to get that and cats too. It didn't have an air box, just 2 k&n filters on the turbo inlet pipes. Thanks for the help guys.

 

LOL, You dont trust me?!?!?

 

Where does one find denatured alcohol? I've tried 5 times to pass and have yet to do so

 

HAHA! I love denatured alcohol!! I finally passed emissions here. I guess 6th times the charm.... I did several things between this test and the last but I think the alcohol did the trick..

Thanks for the post!

 

Raise your idle to 1800-2200rpm for the test, that will make it clean up a little.

 

what did you do exactly? how much alcohol and how much gasoline?

 

I was running just about on empty so I went to Home Depot and purchased a gallon of the alcohol (in the paint section) I then proceeded to a gas station and poured the entire gallon in, then added ~3gal of gas, figuring that I had about 2 left. I was aiming for the 5/1 ratio that has been suggested here.

I will say that when I first started it up it wouldn't hold idle. I was running really strangely, so I cranked the idle up and drove over to the emissions place. About a block from the place I got out and re-adjusted the idle back down. Proceeded to test and passed, but barely.

I shut the car off to go in and pay and when I came out it took a bit to get it restarted (and stay started) I stopped a few more times in route to a gas station and each time it had trouble restarting. I Finally got to a gas station, topped off, no more starting troubles.

Within 24 hours I'd removed the factory exhaust and my electric air pump/somg setup and replaced my RE Amemiya exhaust. Ahh, how nice it sounds...

 

I've heard people use everything from alcohol to kerosene. Dunno what effect that will have to your TII.

Personally, I drive it until my tank is 1/4. Then I dump a bit of octane booster, and drive it to the emissions test garage.

If that doesn't work, you could always throw on a newer/new cat for the test.

-F

 

passed!!!!! but not with methanol. I had my mechanic take a look at it. He played with the emissions system for a little bit, he said some stuff was messed up with my car, I guess it was like that already when I got it not that long ago, but its fixed now. Using 93 octane I passed with 4, thats right 4! Hydrocarbons out of a limit of 220, and absolutely no CO. Almost passed as a zero emissions vehicle! Maybe some of us just need our **** tuned! Now I also don't have a lumpy idle at all even after removing the air pump. I had a 3k hesitation with all the stock stuff on there, but they fixed that real quick too. They hooked my **** up and I couldn't be happier.
It's worth the labor cost. later guys

 

Hey Die_For_MX,

Just out of curiosity, how much HP are you generating?

/F/

 

with the full stock exhaust at the wheels, not much. But with the full aftermarket exhaust and the boost at 12 it gets anywhere im guessing from 290-310 at the wheels. Just a guess-timate. I haven't had it dynoed yet, and I haven't really had the car that long(bought in august, but garaged because I was away at school). Can't go up any further on the boost until i get an intercooler and a boost controller(previous owner took both gauges out of the a piller pod, took the safc, and the boost controller, but left all the harnesses there). Sounds about right...not sure, whoops mostly anything around here.
later man
kev