2G Talon TSI CAN'T PASS E-TEST - From Southern Ontario

[long_tsi]

Hey guys,

First and foremost, DSM noob here. Take this into account before continuing.

I recently bought a '98 talon TSI awd, low KM engine, 16G turbo, apexi 3" exhaust and Ingen intake. Other than that its stock. I'm having major problems passing the e-test!

I'm from just North of Toronto, Ontario and I have failed the e-test twice now. I'm over on all levels.

Here are the first and second levels from the F*CKING drive clean tests:

@2500 rpm:
HC - 176/150 ppm
CO - 6.41/0.7 % (WAY OVER)

@ idle:
HC - 263/150 ppm
CO - 5.30/0.7 % (WAY OVER)

So I did the following:

Filled up the tank with 94 Octane (I know now that this probably wasn't the smartest idea. High test gas burns cooler than 87 octane apparently?)

Drained the oil including the turbo lines, replaced it with full synthetic oil and a high flow K&N filter.

Removed the existing catalytic converter and replaced it with a new magnaflow 3" cat.

I also found a vacuum line off, which I reattached and clamped.

Here are my results from the second e-test:

@2500 rpm:
HC - 170/150 ppm
CO - 5.85/0.7 % (WAY OVER)

@ idle:
HC - 251/150 ppm
CO - 5.82/0.7 % (WAY OVER)


My question is this:

Why the hell are my CO levels 7-8 times the legal limit? Does this indicate a rich or lean burn?


I also ran a fuel pressure test, which showed a peak pressure of 45 psi with 40psi staying in the lines after engine shut off. Ran an OBDII scan tool and found no codes. The boost (if the gauge is working properly) does not ever break 13 psi, nor does it drop below 20 psi of vacuum while downshifting.

The Stewart Warner lightshow gauge shows that the engine is constantly running in the lean region, and only goes as far as the mid stochiometric region after you get back on the gas after coasting along in gear. It then quickly drops back down to the lean region. I know how accurate these gauges are and I know that it can't be trusted either way, but I still thought I should mention this.

I'm ready to take out fire and theft insurance on this thing and hire a buddy.

Please shoot any ideas to me that you can! I'd really like to know if these symptoms are an indication of a lean or rich burn. Thanks!

 

[Jdog]

Clean up your throttle body and intake manifold as well, that will atleast help somewhat.

 

[long_tsi]

I just borrowed a buddies wideband O2 sensor and I am running at 12:1 AF. Yes, that's right. 12:1. And it still idles and starts beautifully, without fouling plugs. Is there any way I can fool the MAF into thinking I'm getting less air than I actually am so as to lean out the mixture? Or is there anything else I can do to linearly increase the AF ratio so I can get it atleast to the 14:1 region?