Lorenfb

"In 5-10 min of driving with the alptop plugged in,"

Don't think so! If so, then you did 99.9% of the driving effort before he was involved.

nine9six

Hmmm, and here all this time I thought you fellas were discussing a band-aid, or clever way to pass a failed high HC emissions test; and not a "solution" to emitting high HC's.

An OBDII vehicle that is running correctly, in a proper state of tune and maintenence, will not emit high HC's

Cupcar

It is doing taxes, my cars emit less in a year than the 2 cycle weed blowers my gardeners are using right now will just during today. Another California mystery.

OverBoosted28

Exactly! I always say, look at all of the drivers (CA DMV lawfully license) that have no business ever being behind the wheel of a 3000+ pound weapon. This state is a mess.

Cupcar

Not to mention things like Harley Davidson bozos with no muffler get a pass, noise laws permissively unenforced in their case, even if they are traveling in roaming packs of noise nuisance.

Maybe we need to start a 993 lobby effort to have government selectively not enforce smog laws in our case as mufflers are in theirs complements of SEMA, Harley Davidson, and other lobbyists?

OverBoosted28

There needs to be a (common sense) exemption for cars driven under a certain amount of annual miles. If I drive maybe 2500-3000 miles per year, regardless of what my car produces, it has less of an impact than the average car that exceeds 10,000-12,000 miles annually. Maybe even a "smog tax". Charge me an extra 100 bucks a year to be exempt. It'd be worth it to not have to deal with the state. Here in the central valley, the amount of particulate matter caused by agriculture alone, far exceeds pollutants that a lot of cars emit. Double standards. Ya can't win :-(

Rick-A-Shay

Hey! Not To Worry! The state will give you $1k+ if you take your gross polluter off the road and turn it in to them……

race911

You ask that as a resident of this state.........

(There ARE relatively easy ways to game the system. All of my street cars are emissions stock, so I don't need to worry about it. But there are ways.)

OverBoosted28

That was in jest, it's actually uncommon sense and courtesy nowadays.

Mr.Woolery

Issues like this always resurrect my idea of making it possible to purchase smog exemptions for individual cars, kind of like buying carbon credits. If the state were to do that:
-It would fill state coffers with money from exemption fees
-It would reduce or eliminate state costs to monitor and enforce inspection station compliance
-It would reduce or eliminate police cost to enforce CARB compliance
-It would eliminate the black market "hookup" system of smog check cheaters, taking money that would otherwise go to criminals and putting it into state coffers instead
-It would stimulate the CA car economy as enthusiasts gain new channels for legally modifying their cars
-It would increase tax revenue to the state from the stimulated aftermarket economy

I don't know about you, but I would be totally willing to pay $100-$200 per year to make a car smog exempt and open the door to modifications at the individual level (instead of relying on the heavy, kafkaesque & expensive bureaucracy of the CARB EO system).

I'd even support a tiered system, in which you could pay a certain amount to make your car exempt from visual inspection (but not sniffer), or from ODBII inspection (but not sniffer), or full price for a full exemption (including sniffer)

Cupcar

Way, way too rational for our lobby controlled government.

What initially was an attempt to control smog now is a big industry.

Smog check is a business model and these guys keep it so http://www.ascca.com/

B-Line

I used to deal with this problem all the time. I've been living in California with my 993 since 2002!
Used to referee smog it but that was a giant pain in the also. Here is the best solution.

1) BUY AN OBDII reader at pep boys, they are not expensive. When you run the BMW checklist, it will let you know when your car is ready to go for regular smog check.

2) Run the BMW checklist when the car is DEAD COLD Let the car sit overnight. I usually try to do the checklist at 4am or so when the roads are wide open.

Occasionally it takes me 2 attempts. Sometimes I get on the first try.

This has worked for me for nearly the last 10 years. I used to go to the referee station all the time before that.

OverBoosted28

Yep, it's way to smart, efficient and sensible. Won't work for our government, if that's what they'll call themselves. I got another few names for them.

Cupcar

Laws were once debated on principle in the USA, now they are simply auctioned to the highest lobbyist bidder.