rickjaffe

I moved to california and I'm going to have to do a smog inspection. I have an 87 S4 stock except for the RMB (which I love, especially the low end growl at idle). No
02 sensor issues as far as I know, but I have a small oil leak in the engine area, not visible but I get a whiff of oil after running the car awhile, sometimes. Had one leak fixed but it came back or got
will either the RMB or the engine oil leak or the combination cause a problem for the smog test?

thanks,

rick jaffe

UncleMaz

Shouldn't be an issue. Cat back is fair game. Where is your oil leak?

cali4sun

I agree neither of those items should cause any issues with a smog test.

dr bob

Shouldn't. The testing is at the end of the tailpipe, with the sample tube where oil smoke shouldn't confuse the reading any. The RMB shouldn't raise any eyebrows if it's not leaking. A lot depends on the tester and his attitude that day.

If you have any concerns about passing, let the tester know in advance that you'd like to terminate the test before completion if he/she sees the car isn't going to pass. My car was marginal/fail on NOx for a while until the intake was cleaned and injectors replaced, and a good working relationship with the tester let me suggest that we redo the test in second gear only where it passed. I usually bring donuts, NEVER try to negotiate a lower test fee, and usually offer to buy lunch if it's anywhere near lunchtime. I go the same guy enough that he remembers me and the car from our bi-annual visits.

Watch-outs: The last time I was tested (18 months ago) there was still no adapter that let them test the fuel cap. The seal for the cap is on the tank nozzle so there's not a lot to test at the cap, but the protocol still included the cap test. He mentioned at that time that the state is working to develop a protocol that includes pressurizing the whole fuel system to verify that the vapor recovery system is intact. I half-joked with him about the size of the fireball if the system did happen to leak a fuel spray mist with compressed air, and wondered who would write insurance for such a foolish stunt. Took a few seconds for that to sink in. Anyway, that may be part of the testing by now. I'll know in August.

joejoe

Did my '81 in March and there was no pressurizing of tank. The '81 has the SS catback from 928intl (and is loud) but never had a problem with the test. The '86.5 has rmb and no trouble either.

SteveG

My '93 came from LA w/RMB, factory cats; I can only assume it wasn't altered after its last inspection out there, but the owner was not a DIYer in any way, so I'm pretty sure he did not want any issues w/inspections.

chrisjbell

I'm getting my '80 ready to pass smog in CA as well so I'd be interested in hearing about your results / experience with the test.

Mine is an out of state car and someone had deleted the cat at one point so I just bought a brand spankin' new one from 928 International off eBay. (They have a small quantity of the real Porsche cat for the earlier cars, about 300 bucks... a no brainer for someone in my situation.) Turns out that the '80 doesn't have a smog pump (woot!) so I'm off the hook there. Waiting for Witchhunters to re-open to get my injectors cleaned and checked and in the meantime replacing all my top end rubber (vacuum and fuel).

I happen to know a couple of guys that work for the company that administers the BAR program that gathers the data from the smog check places and pulls it together for the state. If there are any specific questions about the data they put together I can probably find out how it is collected. (No, they don't put their own VINs in a special "always pass" category, although they joke about it all the time.)

I do know that they're working on enhancements that will allow them to plug the test systems directly into the OBDII port on the vehicle to check stuff like ECUs and engine programming. Won't apply to the earlier cars, of course, but something to keep in mind.

Good luck on your test!

philesk

RMB on my 90GT. Not a problem. No gas cap test on my 82 done last month....

Rob Edwards

RMB on my 90GT when purchased and smogged in 2006, no problems. I did at least one smog on the GT with the Motorsports SLC X-pipe and 100 cpi Random cats and passed without incident. Last smog was in June 2012, I have never had the gas cap tested, neither place I go to has an adapter that fits the 928 cap.

vanster

My 80 only failed once and that was before I added a cat. It almost passed!
I have MSDS headers and even the first time with a cat, I had an exhaust leak between the header flanges and the block and it passed.
I have yet to find an inspection station that has looked under the car. I use 7Day in Berkeley. I like Dr Bob's idea about buying lunch but I have never seen the same guy twice. However they do keep records of your visits. I would go to
were you take your other cars.

danglerb

3 years ago I pulled into the three lane takes anybodies coupon place I liked, and the service guy had just shown up to work on the lane 3 system, so lane 2 and 3 were closed. Nothing else to do the boss and two idle smog techs joined the guy looking over my car and it failed visual because they couldn't read the EO number on the bottom of the cats. Bad roll of the dice, ended up buying new cats from the "Calif only" Magnaflow catalog (this for a 91 Mustang).

My US 83 is due for smog in June.

Speedtoys

This pays off well.

Ive been taking cars to the same two turkish brothers that rent a stall at a gas station for 15yrs, probly 30 different cars in total. Its a case of coke and all smiles when I roll in. Probly the only thing I cant swing past em now, is the supercharger.

jeff spahn

When does a car get exempted from smog testing in CA? We don't have it here but it really sounds like they don't want cars to pass that are really clean but don't fit in some predesignated slot.

Speedtoys

Smog inspections are required unless your vehicle is:

Hybrid
1975 year model or older
Diesel powered
Electric
Natural gas powered and has a Gross Vehicle Weight rating of 14,001 lbs. or more.
Motorcycle
Trailer

When changing ownership:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures...cts/ffvr32.htm

General smog FAQ:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/smog.htm

James Bailey

What used to be a rolling 25 year old exemption was "frozen" so the answer now is NEVER !!