dr bob

The 'gas cap test' on the 928 doesn't exist. The seal for the cap lives in the filler neck.

The Great and Socialist Republik of Kalifornia is planning to test the integrity of the whole vapor system in their next round of improvements. The test includes pressurizing the fuel tank. Wonder what part of 'stupid' they missed on the exam. Should be good for a few fires as part of the learning curve.

SeanR

You've got to be joking, right?

TheClairvoyant

Are technicians who work for Kalifornia motor vehicles as highly skilled as their New Jersey counterparts?

Are they well versed on all the systems of the 928?

dr bob

Sean and Tom: No to both questions.

The state is concerned with fugitive emissions, so the first place to look is the integrity of the tank cap (easy to replace per the state), then the vapor system. That includes the cannister and all the fittings including the somewhat-fragile Y in the front. Presumably the test will be with engine off so the vapor valve will be closed.

I know that at least in Texas, there was no vapor recovery system at the filler nozzles at the stations. NJ has no self-serve so I'm not sure if they do or not. That means that a tank-full of saturated vapor is exhausted to atmosphere every fill-up. With closed-loop vapor recovery at fill-up, it turns out that I spew more HC with one filling of the one-quart tank on my brushcutter than I do all year filling and driving the 928.

The quality of the testers varies greatly. Local place has a recent immigrant owner. Nice guy but he's using it as a cash generator to get himself through college. Place I take the 928 is a former 928 owner and interesting-car enthusiast, so we spend most of the test time talking about cars. It's a full-price test-only shop, but the car always passes. Guy there is aware of the cap issue, and has a substitute cap that he screws on to the machine so it can test something and pass it. Meanwhile, it's been 40+ years since I lived in NJ, and at that time the annual test was at a state-run place where they looked at wiper blades and tires, lights and headlight aim. Not a TUV inspection by any means. But more than they do here now. All we look at is smog compliance.

It will be interesting to see if all Cali test stations will be required to have a 928 filler-neck adapter for the new test. We may have to buy a 'community' piece just to make sure we can get tested. I'm also interested to see what the test parameters really are. Pump to 2 or 3 inches water column and see if it holds for XX seconds is my guess, similar to the way natural gas piping in the home is tested. Should be a hoot on a hot day, when vapor pressure of the fuel in the tank is slightly higher. And go to get tested with an almost-empty tank so any leakage is a smaller percentage of the vapor space in the system.


Lots to think about!

Tom in Austin

That's fascinating. Vapor recovery at the pumps in Texas is only in EPA-non attainment metros like Houston and Dallas. I wouldn't mind seeing those here, when I travel to Dallas (or CA) I enjoy being able to get gas without breathing in the fumes.

Arguably, the vapor management system of cars is a logical place to try to corral some errant hydrocarbons. All modern cars have them, and it's not an area anyone would think to alter or eliminate for a performance gain. Notwithstanding the feasibility of the testing procedures, I don't see on practical grounds who would object to maintaining their vapor system.

That's a whole different thing that the notion of requiring that every part be as the car was delivered by the manufacturer. If you put on newer, high-flow cats and an X-pipe you may actually reduce emissions. Modifications should only be subject to actual measurement of the regulated pollutants (HC, NOX, etc.). Trying to verify factory part numbers and other visual study of people's cars is absurd if you can pass an objective test.

SeanR

I can understand the gubmint wanting cars to be in good shape when it comes to this system. Hell, our ever so reliable Y pipe at the passenger fender is the largest release of hydrocarbons for our cars. My problem with the entire process is not for the environment, it's to pay for a bureaucracy and just another source of income for our state/feds.

For the last 40 years the PRK (Peoples Republic of Kalifornia) has been the lead on what the rest of the USA will have to go through when it comes to Emission/Environmental policy. I so wish that would change.

soontobered84

Wow! I gotta stock up on fuel tanks for 928's. I can just imagine how many plastic 30 yo fuel tank will rupture when some yoyo overpressurizes them. Fuel tanks will be at a premium, I tell ya. Wait till I corner the market. You just thought cam gears were expensive.

Landseer

What "prop" will they pass to shield themselves from radiation?

Brad W

I knew you were a *****

SanDiego928

So funny. I love this place.

dr bob

I'm more than willing to let te Republic of Texas leapfrog Kali in this competition. Are you sure that's what you really want?

Driving across west Texas, it's common to see wellhead gas flares burning. The grasshopper pumps are close together, and entrained gasses from a few wells are sometimes manifolded and flared together. Flying into Midland in the evening, it looks like a birthday cake on the ground, especialy when there's a little ground fog to turn each flare into what appears to be an orange beach ball at night. The results of this include acid rain further east, along with more obvious pollution issues like smog in the larger metro areas. Driving through som of those areas, you can really smell the difference between the stench of the raw gas vs the places where there are flares.

My guess is that Texas will take a long long time to come to grips with errant emissions. It should probably start at the wellhead, continue through processing/refining, and on through the pump at the gas station. In Texas anyway, fugitive HC from leaking car gas caps doesn't make a blip on the radar screen.

So no need to start hoading 928 tanks quite yet...

finally!

Another thing about the Midland/Odessa area is you can generally smell it before you would ever see the flares! And DO NOT drink the water there, it is disgusting to the point of being a brownish muck! Did a lot of business there in the late 80'/early 90's while living in Lubbock...

Manfred

On the other hand, sometimes you just get surprised. A few months back I did the drive thru at Starbucks. The girl handing me my coffee looked about 16. She says to me," nice car, you don't see too many of those in such good shape.". I'm thinking to myself, she thinks this is a 924/944. I thanked her and then she says, it's a 928, right? I just about fell out of the car. My smile must have gone from ear to ear in an instant. I told her she was right and told her I was absolutely amazed that she knew what kinda car it was--can't remember her exact reply but I think she just said that she always like them (yeah, ever since she was two???). Anyway, if I was 16 I'd have asked her on a date!

neilh

Back to the OP's point -
We will see what a Porsche dealership thinks!
4 or 5 of us are showing up, with our cars, at Pioneer Porsche on Miramar in San Diego for Showoff Saturday from 9am to 11am.
Looking forward to seeing where they will make us park!
Anyone here in the area is welcome to join us, we will be rolling it at 9AM sharp.

pcar928fan

Good work getting a group together Neil!

Today I had lunch at P.F. Changs and they have a great little porch area and from there you can see the handicap spot I was parked in. It was EURO85 and I swear a half a dozen folks gave the car WAY MORE than a second look and one guy walked around it a BUNCH of times! He even looked in the windows and everything. He was an older guy who was driving a Boxster!

These cars (when nice) have SERIOUS CRED!