Civic VX Lean Burn Questions

[monroe74]

Here's a specific question about your level of knowledge. Connectors C211/C129 are relevant to this project. They are on your car. Do you know where they are? Do you need help finding them?

[Wandering Albatross]

Gary, I'm located in Southern California and I'm more than willing to give you pointers on the conversion.

From what I gather the 49-state VX should pass CA smog if it is in good running condition. The NOx margin for passing will be slimmer but from what I have read you should be alright. If all else fails spend the couple hours to revert the system back to the CA version.

I'm also working on the DIY document and hopefully that will clarify some of the confusion.

I ordered a voltmeter to use as a lean burn monitor on the dash. I was initially going to make a custom one, but concluded that the one on eBay appeared to have the correction fuctionality and small form factor. Right now the ECU is sitting on the floor so I can have access to the pins with a large multimeter. It will be nice to have the project buttoned up!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=010

[suspendedhatch]

My VX was originally sold in Wisconsin and brought to CA by the previous owner. Then I bought it. With 220k miles it passed CA smog well below the max allowed, even for NOx. I didn't even do any maintenance to it.

[monroe74]

suspended: "With 220k miles it passed CA smog well below the max allowed, even for NOx"

Since the sticker on your hood says 49-state, doesn't that mean that the inspection standard would be different? In other words, I thought CA lets you buy a used 49-state car and import it to CA, and then will apply the 49-state standard (this is my understanding, I could be wrong). CA just won't let you 'cheat' this way if the car you're buying is new.

But for someone doing the conversion, the hood sticker indicates that it's a CA car, so CA will expect it to meet CA standards. Or maybe they get this from the VIN, and not from the hood sticker. After all, it's easy enough to swap a hood.

Anyway, I'm not really sure. I just wanted to point out that your situation is different, because your car was originally built as a 49-state car. Which means CA probably does not require this car to meet the CA standard. CA 'tolerates' 49-state cars, provided they are imported used.

[Wandering Albatross]

I believe you are correct. CA cars have cleaner emissions and it should follow the VIN. That is why the CA version of the VX was developed in the first place. An out of state car brought to CA should only be responsible for the original emissions suggested by its VIN.

That said I believe a well maintained converted CA VX will still pass CA emissions but with higher NOx. Thoughts?

[R.I.D.E.]

The emissions regulations are a joke because they are calculated in parts per million, when they should be in grams per mile.

I can drive a 3000 HP behemoth down the streets of LA and its perfectly legal as long as the ppm is below a certain level, when it could be producing 100 times the grams per mile as any Civic VX.

Of course if this regulatory joke was properly addressed most of the gas hogs would be illegal.

If the legislature in CA thinks making the original VX illegal was benefitting their citizens, they simply are too ignorant to be in control of those same regulations.

One simple question, what would be the percentage of total CO emitted by a VX, compared to a Suburban, of the same year.

In fact the equal protection clause in the Constitution should make it illegal for you to drive any vehicle whose GPM emissions are greater than any other citizen. I would think allowing one citizen to poision another was illegal, maybe it just hasn't been addressed.

regards
gary

[monroe74]

"they are calculated in parts per million, when they should be in grams per mile"

I think emissions standards are indeed currently expressed as grams per mile. It was done the way you say in '68-'69. See here:

http://www.bts.gov/publications/nati...ble_04_29.html

[suspendedhatch]

Originally Posted by monroe74

suspended: "With 220k miles it passed CA smog well below the max allowed, even for NOx"

Since the sticker on your hood says 49-state, doesn't that mean that the inspection standard would be different? In other words, I thought CA lets you buy a used 49-state car and import it to CA, and then will apply the 49-state standard (this is my understanding, I could be wrong). CA just won't let you 'cheat' this way if the car you're buying is new.

But for someone doing the conversion, the hood sticker indicates that it's a CA car, so CA will expect it to meet CA standards. Or maybe they get this from the VIN, and not from the hood sticker. After all, it's easy enough to swap a hood.

Anyway, I'm not really sure. I just wanted to point out that your situation is different, because your car was originally built as a 49-state car. Which means CA probably does not require this car to meet the CA standard. CA 'tolerates' 49-state cars, provided they are imported used.

You may be right, and I was thinking the same thing. But the shop I go to didn't appear to notice that it was a federal car. Maybe it's taken care of automatically by the computer or the DMV? Anyway the smog max allowable numbers are much lower on that report than the one I got here in UT. So I have my doubts.

This particular smog shop was a good shop but they never noticed when I had a JDM SOHC ZC swap in my DX. I passed several years in a row and was never sent to a ref.

[Wandering Albatross]

I've put on 600 miles since the conversion and it is working great. The first tank with mixed driving and with limited access to the lean burn monitor I was able to get 53 mpg. It would be nice to be a little closer to the freeway EPA of 56 mpg, but I suspect with a little more practice I'll be able to get more performance.

I was getting around 48 mpg before the conversion so that is an improvement of a little over 10%.

[Wandering Albatross]

I've run through another tank of gas and achieved 58 mpg. The systems seems to still be running well. I just about have the lean burn monitor finalized and hope to install into the dash this weekend.