Schnell Gelb

I am rebuilding my engine and want to make a few intelligent upgrades. Here's one that is often discussed but needs a little updating for new products and new pricing?
I am planning a Secondary Air Injection(SAI) delete that must not cause Smog Test failures in the future. The Smog Testers are getting smarter every year so it is important to be one step ahead of them !
Physically removing the SAI and fitting block-offs is easy with the engine on the bench . The expense and anxiety part is the ROW reflash necessary to avoid malfunction or not-ready codes.
I have no performance upgrade plans just the S.A.I. delete - the 3.2 is plenty powerful enough for my modest driving skills and Los Angeles traffic !
There are several ECU Tuners mentioned in prior threads but their re-flash products seem targeted at customers with multiple ,serious power upgrades/mods.I looked at FVD, Softronic, Ecu Doctors . They are rather spendy for just a simple ROW change.
Is there a less expensive way of getting an ROW reflash for the S.A.I. delete modification ?I would be grateful for any suggestions of where to look for info. A definitive solution to the SAI problems would be of great help to some Forum members from the posts I have read -one guy spent $6000 chasing it down-and still failed !

BigKraut

Great question! I'll be watching the responses to see what others come up with. I wonder if it could be done with a PIWIS.

Schnell Gelb

A knock-off PIWIS with usb and CD is less than $30 . But the support is not there to tell you if it will do the POW reflash.And then there is the ROW file to find.
I checked with Durametric(because I have one) but their tool won't reflash. The communication hardware does not seem to be the issue.The issue is the software to extract the USA file from the DME and obtain+insert a compatible ROW file. I have done such work on other cars and it was just a few hundred $. With so many bright minds here and so many who track cat+delete cars ,surely there is an affordable way to do an ROW replacement without a 'nuclear' product costing way more than an IMS kit?

Macster

You live in one of the worst areas for auto created smog and you want to subvert a system that helps reduce cold start emissions?

I'm sorry but eliminating SAI is not an "intelligent upgrade".

You are right. Smog testers are getting smarter and the odds are one will spot the absence of the SAI system.

Unless the car is for off road use only my advice would be to leave the SAI alone.

It doesn't affect the engine's performance any and its weight penalty is in the noise...

Schnell Gelb

May I respectfully offer a different perspective and a sense of proportion ?
California does not have the worst smog-anymore.To reduce smog & particulates ,banning leaf blowers would be far more effective than SAI.
The SAI operates for 90 seconds -at most-on start up and on rare other occasions. It causes a lot of expense when it malfunctions according to Posts on this site.The ROW including Europe do not use SAI on 2001 cars . According to many of those Posts - SAI a problematic and somewhat redundant smog sub-system by ROW standards. If it was useful ,ROW would have adopted it.
Please note this is not a cat or even a pre-cat delete question. If it was I would agree with the pollution irresponsibility point you make.

I gleaned all the above info by reading posts on this Forum. Did I misunderstand them?

Macster

Having just been down to LA a week or two back its smog is still bad.

The 90 seconds or so at startup is when the car is particularly dirty. The O2 sensors and converters are cold and not functioning thus fueling is not optimum. It is overly rich as cold engines need an overly rich mixture.

The SAI is to add air to the exhaust to burn the excess fuel in the exhaust with the added benefit of helping to get the sensors and converters up to operating temperature quicker.

The sooner the sensors and converters warm up the sooner the DME can switch to closed loop mode and more precisely fuel the engine for much cleaner emissions. This closed loop mode with its more precise fueling also subjects the engine to less wear and tear from the immediate and long term affects of the overly rich running at cold start.

So, by removing the SAI you would have the engine run open loop longer and thus the extra emissions goes on for a longer period of time.

While the SAI if it goes bad can be expensive to repair it doesn't go bad often. Even if it does that a part of the cost of owning a vehicle, just like replacing tires, or brakes, or addressing other problems not necessarily related to consumables, some of which affect air emissions.

That the EU didn't require SAI in 2001 models has no bearing on what you are seeking to do. SAI is clearly required for 2001 cars in the USA and removing the system is in violation of the emissions rules and regulations.

If you were in isolation I wouldn't care what you did because only you would be the one to suffer any ill effects from your action.

However, of course, you are not in isolation and what you do contributes to others being affected.

Schnell Gelb

This is not a referendum on Smog Laws. It is a reflash question.
I understand your passion but kindly request you don't hijack a simple post suggesting an update on product availability/features.

mikefocke

Would the converters last longer if the unburned fuel didn't enter them at startup in the increased amount?

Schnell Gelb

ROW does not monitor pre-cats so there would be no code. The catalyst risk is one I would be pleased to report on after the ROW mod .Now back to the refllash question.....
So far, ECU Doctors seem to have the best offering but I was hoping to find a Forum member with experience of the issue.

stilov

I got my row flash done thru rac performance in Dallas tx area. I believe they got the file from porsche.

Cost me about 200. I looked at a "whole tune" which were 600ish plus but was told they really don't do a whole lot on a bolt ons boxster.

I did mostly because I got sai codes and I run no cat headers.

Schnell Gelb

Stilov,
Thank you for suggesting a contact .I note that RAC get good reviews.I presume your car passes the 'sniffer' and the OBD part of the Smog Test .
I guess I should have posted this question with the 996 guys because they are more aware of this issue.
The $200 may seem expensive for a few minutes of a reflash but it saves a lot more- swaping parts while chasing SAI codes gets expensive and frustrating.

stilov

I don't actually have to go thru a sniffer, just the obd2 plug in test for emissions. Not 100 percent positive as I haven't tried yet but all seem to think that yes it will pass.

I'll know next month I think. .

Dan951Man

The PIWIS tester CAN do this.
I did it to my car when I put straight pipes on my boxster for a track event. When beating a car on the track I don't want to just ignore a CEL because I "know" the fault. If something is quickly failing and throwing off the air fuel ratio or cam timing I want to know as soon as possible with the CEL... Not possible if it's already on for cat/o2/SAI faults.
Speaking of cam timing, did you know the ROW tune doesn't watch the bank 2 cam timing? They don't get a sensor for bank 2. Why? Is that lighter and better? Personally, with my old adjusters and chain guides, I want to think I could potentially save myself additional repair costs by watching both banks. If your building a motor, perhaps it has less value?
I'm just saying, just cause they did it over here and left it out over there- doesn't mean it's BS equipment. For the record, their laws over there have caught up... And SAI is required now. In fact, these days with the panamera and cayenne engines, US emissions decided they can burn clean enough without the SAI. Meanwhile, the ROW cars still have SAI systems.
Lastly, and honestly the biggest factor in my biased opinion, I've heard the ROW tune makes about 5 LESS horsepower on the same engine. I could swear I felt it before I even researched it- but I chalked it up to being my fuel trims still adapting.
I would really like to know if the OBDII scan in the California emissions test passes with a ROW tune. It needs to see a certain amount of the ready status tests passed, I don't know if the European standard has the same software. This is the most useful question in the thread, "for science!".

Schnell Gelb

Dan,
You are correct , the issue is more "will it pass smog" than how to do the ROW flash.
I have good contacts in the SMog Test business who would do a very strict pre-test and tell me if it will fail before they flag it for a Referee - only test. That way if it is a clear FAIL ,I could just refit the stupid kit and live with it.
The big risk is getting sent to the Referee. I had that happen once because of a mistake by a Smog Test tech -nothing wrong with the car.It was both expensive ,and time consuming.Never again. That said I would willing be a guinea pig to test an ROW Flash on the California Smog Test . Even if it passed, there is always the risk that the rules will change and new programs might detect it. Somehow I think AQMD have more lucrative targets than trying to tease out the nuances of different Boxster programs from over 10 years ago? 7 litre SUV's are a more likely focus?
Anyone use these guys for the ROW reflash?
http://www.ecudoctors.com/porsche-bo...g-flash-2.html