The Mechanic was like, "WTF?"

[rh77]

So, I went in for my State Inspection today for the 'Teg, which I guess involves a look under the hood and toot of the horn. Anyways, I can see from the waiting room the mechanic is really looking at the WAI.

He gets back, and says, "Is there anything screwy with the car you'd like to disclose?" I said, "you must mean that tube running from the exhaust manifold {mech. says, yeah that's what I was getting at}". I explained the fuel economy and leaning out the mixture and he just looked at me like I was some weirdo or something. He should have seen it with the cylinder deactivation wiring. I bet he wondered about the PCV catch device (which is half-full of gunk right now) -- didn't get into that.

Anyways, it passed (no emissions test here, or they would've found the leaky B-pipe). But has anyone taken their car to a professional mechanic with your "experiments" in place? If so, what was the response? If I took it to the Acura dealer, I'm sure everyone would come running over laughing their asses off. So be it!

To borrow from the Jeep poets, "It's a gas thing. You wouldn't understand."

RH77

[Compaq888]

I took off all my stuff for smog and it didn't pass. My timing was at 13 degrees instead of the stock 20. The techs in cali are very anal.

[rh77]

Originally Posted by Compaq888

I took off all my stuff for smog and it didn't pass. My timing was at 13 degrees instead of the stock 20. The techs in cali are very anal.

Yeah, Kansas City doesn't have SMOG checks, but St. Louis does. I moved over from the Kansas side and they don't even have vehicle inspections.

RH77

[Sludgy]

Here in the People's Republic of Massachusetts, we have tailpipe emissions emissions inspections INCLUDING A TEST DRIVE SIMULATION ON A DYNAMOMETER every two years.

This makes tinkering with the primary family vehicle's engine very risky. Any gas savings modification must be reversible, or else you may not be able to get a sticker.

[rh77]

Originally Posted by Sludgy

Here in the People's Republic of Massachusetts, we have tailpipe emissions emissions inspections INCLUDING A TEST DRIVE SIMULATION ON A DYNAMOMETER every two years.

This makes tinkering with the primary family vehicle's engine very risky. Any gas savings modification must be reversible, or else you may not be able to get a sticker.

With as many cars as we have in this town, I'm surprised we don't have it as we have Ozone Alert days in the summer. But it's a double-edged sword. You get fewer emissions, but it really hits the poor folks hard. If you have an old beater that can't pass, you probably can't afford to get it up to spec without dumping money you don't have into it, then what. Expired tags, and a bad cycle starts.

I've been doing a lot of thinking on this subject and that scenario. How does it play out in Cali, Mass, or anywhere that requires it?

RH77

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by Sludgy

Here in the People's Republic of Massachusetts, we have tailpipe emissions emissions inspections INCLUDING A TEST DRIVE SIMULATION ON A DYNAMOMETER every two years.

Every year in Allegheny county PA, but surrounding counties only require a safety inspection. My del Sol passed the emissions no problem, but they would not pass the safety chack because I had a bungee cord instead of a battery strap. The previous owner put an oversized battery in so the strap wouldn't fit. The Procare place offered to sell me a new battery and a new hold down kit and install it for the utterly fantastic price $175. I just drove to Pep Boys, picked up a new $55 battery, picked up my car and installed the battery with the old battery strap at the Mcdonalds across the street. When I came back 10 mins later they were surprised to see me. But they gave me my sticker. Luckily the battery I took out fit into the Outback, which still had it's original 9 YO battery. I was gonna get a new one anyway so I guess everything worked out for the best.

[rh77]

Originally Posted by krousdb

Every year in Allegheny county PA, but surrounding counties only require a safety inspection. My del Sol passed the emissions no problem, but they would not pass the safety chack because I had a bungee cord instead of a battery strap. The previous owner put an oversized battery in so the strap wouldn't fit. The Procare place offered to sell me a new battery and a new hold down kit and install it for the utterly fantastic price $175. I just drove to Pep Boys, picked up a new $55 battery, picked up my car and installed the battery with the old battery strap at the Mcdonalds across the street. When I came back 10 mins later they were surprised to see me. But they gave me my sticker. Luckily the battery I took out fit into the Outback, which still had it's original 9 YO battery. I was gonna get a new one anyway so I guess everything worked out for the best.

Some places sound more strict than others. Honestly, I've had a stricter inspection before an autocross than for licensure. In some parts of the country that allow local shops to inspect vehicles, I've heard of corruption where they demand a $200 fix for a "problem" or $150 bribe. Luckily I found a good local shop here.

RH77

[GasSavers_DaX]

Most of the time you can find someone running an EPA emissions machine that's willing to make a few extra $$ around here and pass for about $125, regardless of how poor your emissions are. I personally try to keep my daily driver up to standard, but when I was running turbo, the only way I could renew my tag was by getting the "ghetto emissions" every year.

[Compaq888]

I was in St. Louis last year. My uncle's car barely passed the emissions. It got all kinds of light on and shakes violently on the freeway. It's a Nissan, I wouldn't expect less.

Nissan's logo shouldn't be "Shift_"

It should be "If it doesn't rattle it's not a nissan."

Matt will agree with me on that.

[JanGeo]

What's wild is that my Geo emissions were better the last time than the time before getting really low and that was before I know of all these additives - was only adding some marvel oil and STP gas treatment to the gas. Course that was with a new AutoZone cat and entire exhost system installed. Gotta love RI for checking though when the trucks go down teh street spooing out tons of carbon and oil - friend with the F150 has the front of his house covered with exhost soot and oils on his fresh paint job.