did not pass smog 95 GSX, too high hydrocarbons

[ApexVIII]

does any one have any suggestions on what to fix? the car only has 3" TBE with a cat, and a k&N air filter.

all suggestions are welcome!


thanks!

Edit: when i sea foamed the car, at idle, as soon as smoke came out of the tail pipe it started smoking from the turbo also. i didn't hear any exhaust leaks though



Edit: 1/31/08 fail smog again... the hydro carbons were 163 this time so a little higher. the guy said to try a new o2 snesor.

 

[Avionixx]

I would just do a basic tune up; spark plugs, wires, etc. How does the car run? And how old is the O2 sensor?

 

[ApexVIII]

well the clutch slips, its going in on saturday for a new clutch, but other then that it runs great! i already sea fome'd it, 2 times the other day! ### the first time it smoked for 10min

 

[Avionixx]

If you can get your hands on a logger, check out the O2 sensor readings. If it's not switching or is switching sluggishly, it could be your problem.

 

[ApexVIII]

hmm i dont know anyone that has one.. i am checking the (20k) ohm resistance on my wires, the first one was 5.2ohms, then it was 4.8ohms and the third was 2.8ohms

do i need new wires? they are really thick and say competition on them.

 

[Avionixx]

Resistance of spark plug wires depends on the length of the wire. Alldata says 7k-10k ohms per foot, so it sounds like you're about in that range.

Do you have the exact readings for your hydrocarbons?

 

[ApexVIII]

yea, it is,

Hydrocarbon
idle test was at 137 max is 100
2500 test it was 51 max is 130...

so i passed the 2500 but failed the idle

Idle

%CO2 was 14.3
%O2 was 0.9

2500
%CO2 was 14.7
%O2 was 0.3

Thanks alot! when i seafomed i didn't put in new plugs i think ima go to auto zone and get some!

 

[Avionixx]

You barely failed, so a tune up should get you pretty darn close to passing. Also, before the test make sure you beat on the car really good (lots of high speed freeway driving, etc) so you can get the cat super hot, it helps more than you think.

 

[silverbullett]

I would try the Guaranteed 2 Pass Fuel additive considering how you barely failed. I used it with great results. Worst comes to worst, you can get a new cat but, those are pricey to say the least.

 

[ApexVIII]

hmm, where do you get the fuel additive? should i just buy some octaine booster and dump it in?

my clutch slips so i cant really boost in higher gears yea the car sat infront for like 25 min befor they actually smoged it

 

[Avionixx]

Yep, sitting around for 25 min is enough to get that cat cooled down enough to hurt its efficiency.

 

[91TsiTalon]

hmm, where do you get the fuel additive? should i just buy some octaine booster and dump it in?

my clutch slips so i cant really boost in higher gears yea the car sat infront for like 25 min befor they actually smoged it

You can get the Guaranteed to Pass at Autozone or Kragen, almost all parts stores should have it. Its like $9 and if it doesnt pass they will give you your money back plus double.

Good Luck

-Daniel

 

[silverbullett]

Smog threads are like magnets for Cali DSMers.

 

[ApexVIII]

yea, i got new NGK plugs and the smog pass stuff. so ima try again tomorrow. hopefully i pass!

 

[Artago]

Smog threads are like magnets for Cali DSMers.

... and Canadian DSMer's (Vancouver BC Canada)

 

[Artago]

we dont have smog here

ps. we also have 93 octane...

haahah figured i would be an ass and add that

We got 94 octane.

 

[ApexVIII]

We got 94 octane.

well actually the 76 gas station down the street had 100oct on the pump, its about 6-7ish per gallon .

actually thats not that bad considering i pay 3.40-3.50 for crappy 91 haha

 

[meliketoball]

Give your car a tune up, throw that G2P stuff in, run the car, take that filter off and throw the stock back on and run the car for 20 mins or more to heat the cat up.

My results are about the same as yours. Before when I took the test, my coolant was low, I had a dying alternator, ISC was bad (resetting the ECU is fun..), and the EGR was nasty clogged up.

 

[Semprini]

Ok maybe a dumb question, but hey, how else will I learn


If the hydrocarbons are over on idle, does this mean that it is running too rich or too lean at idle? Or is this not the case at all??


, thanks in advance

 

[bbray]

I also failed earlier this month for my hydro carbons. All mods in profile.

My results:

Idle: 918rpms HC Max: 100 HC AVE: 17 HC Measured: 195 Failed
2500rpms HC Max: 130 HC AVE: 12 HC Measured: 78 Passed

I also failed for a couple of visuals: bov (even though it was recirculated), high flow cat (they ran the numbers), and boost controller. I have already bought stock bov and I have the full stock exhaust and stock boost controller.

I am going to lower my idle and buy new plug and I might also buy that stuff that says it will make you pass. I am also going to lean my idle out a little on my afc. I am just worried because I almost doubled the max HC at idle. I am hoping my stock cat will bring my HC's down a lot.

Any other advice?

 

[bbray]

Ok maybe a dumb question, but hey, how else will I learn


If the hydrocarbons are over on idle, does this mean that it is running too rich or too lean at idle? Or is this not the case at all??


, thanks in advance

From what I have researched, it means that you are running to rich at idle. All the fuel in not being burned.

 

[bbray]

Do you all think changing from my NGK BPR7ES spark plugs to NGK BPR6ES spark plugs will help the fuel burn better and lower my HC's?

Thanks,
Brandon

 

[ApexVIII]

my idle was at 750RPM and i was at 137.

i go back in today at 4:15 so i hope it passes

 

[meliketoball]

Well, a cheap way to pass is to put a low octane fuel in the car. Lower octane fuel have high flash points and thats what causes knock..but, who knows if its alright to use it.

 

[Avionixx]

I also failed earlier this month for my hydro carbons. All mods in profile.

My results:

Idle: 918rpms HC Max: 100 HC AVE: 17 HC Measured: 195 Failed
2500rpms HC Max: 130 HC AVE: 12 HC Measured: 78 Passed

I also failed for a couple of visuals: bov (even though it was recirculated), high flow cat (they ran the numbers), and boost controller. I have already bought stock bov and I have the full stock exhaust and stock boost controller.

I am going to lower my idle and buy new plug and I might also buy that stuff that says it will make you pass. I am also going to lean my idle out a little on my afc. I am just worried because I almost doubled the max HC at idle. I am hoping my stock cat will bring my HC's down a lot.

Any other advice?

I would really invest in a logger. If you knew what your fuel trims were, it would help out a ton. Basically, you want your fuel trims as close to 0 or 100 as possible. Of course if they're not, either your mixture is way off (vacuum leaks, leaky injector, etc) or the O2 sensor has taken a dump. Leaning it out on the AFC may help, but without a logger you have no clue how much its affecting your mixture and finding out you failed by 10 ppm is not a good way to find out.

When I took my car for the test, I was actually a little on the lean side (positive fuel trims) and I passed with flying colors. Of course I also had a spanking new high-flow cat plus a new O2 sensor and it was maybe 95 degrees out and the smog machine went through the cat conditioning process before doing the test.

You might want to look for another station; you'll find that some places are stricter than others, particularly test-only stations because the state inspector visits them a little more often. Of course if your registration says you have to go to a test-only, you're screwed.