California emissions and the 993
02-11-2012, 06:38 PM
#16
Instructor
Join Date: Jun 2011
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Unlikely it will pass without a cat. I have a test pipe on my s2000 and it wouldnt pass smog. I literally put back the cat today and it passed with super low values. The difference is drastic. It's pretty obvious cause the fumes from the exhaust literally stunk (my own sniff test) when I had the test pipe on. With the cat on, I can barely smell anything.
02-22-2012, 01:18 PM
#17
Rennlist Member
Welcome to LA!
If you need to set your readiness flags before you get your car smogged, you should definitely check out this thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...est-drive.html
The basic gist of the "BMW drive cycle" is this:
- Start engine, let idle for approx. 2 min, 10 secs.
- Accelerate to 20-30 MPH, Maintain steady speed for approx 3 min, 15 secs.
- Accelerate to 40-60 MPH, Maintain steady speed for approx 15 mins.
- Decelerate and come to a stop. Then:
- Idle in Neutral for 5 mins. (manual trans.)
- Idle in Drive for 5 mins. (Tiptronic trans.)
During the drive cycle, do not exceed 3,000 rpm or 60 mph. However, just to be safe, I don't rev above 2700 or go over 55. That widens the margin of error if you start to zone out.
In my experience, you have to do this twice to set all of the flags if none have been previously set. YMMV.
I think I've come up with the best route in LA to get the job done. I posted this in the aforementioned thread, but I'll paste it here for you. I just did it again this past weekend and got it done first time around on each stage.:
First of all, if you mess up on part of it, you don't have to go back to the beginning. For instance, trying to find a place you can go 20-30 MPH in LA is tough. I got about 2:50 in a few times until I finally was able to go the whole 3:15. The same went for the 40-60 MPH section (on the first run at least). I attempted a few times before I was able to get through the whole 15 minutes.
For the 20-30 MPH stage, I used Vista Del Mar (the beach road west of LAX) going north from Imperial to Culver (indicated in red). There isn't much traffic and people don't really care if you're only going 25. Stay to the right and you're golden. If you continue onto Culver (indicated in blue) you can hop on the 90 fwy east to do the 40-60 MPH section (indicated in green). Take the 90 to the 405 south. By the time I got to Western I was done with the 15 minutes of 40-60 MPH. Mind you, this was about 7:00am on Saturday morning, but I did the same thing on Thursday afternoon and was done with the 15 minute stretch by the Long Beach Airport. Hopefully this will help some of you Angelenos who are trying to set the codes!
If you need to set your readiness flags before you get your car smogged, you should definitely check out this thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...est-drive.html
The basic gist of the "BMW drive cycle" is this:
- Start engine, let idle for approx. 2 min, 10 secs.
- Accelerate to 20-30 MPH, Maintain steady speed for approx 3 min, 15 secs.
- Accelerate to 40-60 MPH, Maintain steady speed for approx 15 mins.
- Decelerate and come to a stop. Then:
- Idle in Neutral for 5 mins. (manual trans.)
- Idle in Drive for 5 mins. (Tiptronic trans.)
During the drive cycle, do not exceed 3,000 rpm or 60 mph. However, just to be safe, I don't rev above 2700 or go over 55. That widens the margin of error if you start to zone out.
In my experience, you have to do this twice to set all of the flags if none have been previously set. YMMV.
I think I've come up with the best route in LA to get the job done. I posted this in the aforementioned thread, but I'll paste it here for you. I just did it again this past weekend and got it done first time around on each stage.:
First of all, if you mess up on part of it, you don't have to go back to the beginning. For instance, trying to find a place you can go 20-30 MPH in LA is tough. I got about 2:50 in a few times until I finally was able to go the whole 3:15. The same went for the 40-60 MPH section (on the first run at least). I attempted a few times before I was able to get through the whole 15 minutes.
For the 20-30 MPH stage, I used Vista Del Mar (the beach road west of LAX) going north from Imperial to Culver (indicated in red). There isn't much traffic and people don't really care if you're only going 25. Stay to the right and you're golden. If you continue onto Culver (indicated in blue) you can hop on the 90 fwy east to do the 40-60 MPH section (indicated in green). Take the 90 to the 405 south. By the time I got to Western I was done with the 15 minutes of 40-60 MPH. Mind you, this was about 7:00am on Saturday morning, but I did the same thing on Thursday afternoon and was done with the 15 minute stretch by the Long Beach Airport. Hopefully this will help some of you Angelenos who are trying to set the codes!
Better still - does anyone have a similar route in Long Beach?
Car passed emissions, but failed OBD 2 because the battery had been changed. Took it to the referee station at Golden West College who proceeded to fail it for the same reason. He said I could take it to a Test & Repair facility and spend $450. If that failed to fix it, I could bring it back and he'll give me a ONE-TIME ONLY waiver.
It's obviously time to learn how to do this myself...
02-22-2012, 01:39 PM
#18
Nordschleife Master
Leander,
the most difficult part of the drive cycle is finding a place to do the 40-60mph part. Most of our freeways are either moving at 70-75 or stopped.
I usually do the drive cycle early in the morning so I can just sit over on the far right and stay out of everyone's way.
the 405 on a Saturday 7AM should be pretty clear. Depending where you are in Long Beach, you might also try the St. Thomas Bridge then connect to the 110 North, you shouldn't hit any traffic on the section of the 110 south of PCH or even up to Sepulveda.
the most difficult part of the drive cycle is finding a place to do the 40-60mph part. Most of our freeways are either moving at 70-75 or stopped.
I usually do the drive cycle early in the morning so I can just sit over on the far right and stay out of everyone's way.
the 405 on a Saturday 7AM should be pretty clear. Depending where you are in Long Beach, you might also try the St. Thomas Bridge then connect to the 110 North, you shouldn't hit any traffic on the section of the 110 south of PCH or even up to Sepulveda.
02-22-2012, 02:37 PM
#19
Rennlist Member
Leander,
the most difficult part of the drive cycle is finding a place to do the 40-60mph part. Most of our freeways are either moving at 70-75 or stopped.
I usually do the drive cycle early in the morning so I can just sit over on the far right and stay out of everyone's way.
the 405 on a Saturday 7AM should be pretty clear. Depending where you are in Long Beach, you might also try the St. Thomas Bridge then connect to the 110 North, you shouldn't hit any traffic on the section of the 110 south of PCH or even up to Sepulveda.
the most difficult part of the drive cycle is finding a place to do the 40-60mph part. Most of our freeways are either moving at 70-75 or stopped.
I usually do the drive cycle early in the morning so I can just sit over on the far right and stay out of everyone's way.
the 405 on a Saturday 7AM should be pretty clear. Depending where you are in Long Beach, you might also try the St. Thomas Bridge then connect to the 110 North, you shouldn't hit any traffic on the section of the 110 south of PCH or even up to Sepulveda.
So one question I have is: is it okay to do the start/idle test and then drive normally until I find somewhere suitable for the subsequent tests?
02-22-2012, 02:56 PM
#20
Rennlist Member
Thanks Kika. I actually tried doing this on Sunday afternoon, using the 22 East. While staying below 60mph was just possible, It was definitely nerve-wracking and don't look forward to doing it again. However, the hardest part was the 20-30mph. What with all the lights and stop signs near where I live, it was impossible to maintain a steady speed for the specified time. I didn't have a scanner, but will have one before I attempt to do this again.
So one question I have is: is it okay to do the start/idle test and then drive normally until I find somewhere suitable for the subsequent tests?
So one question I have is: is it okay to do the start/idle test and then drive normally until I find somewhere suitable for the subsequent tests?
Definitely get the scanner as it will help you determine if you even need to do the drive cycle. If worse comes to worse and you can't get it done in LB, then just come up here and do my route, you'll definitely be done by the time you make it home! Good luck!!!
02-22-2012, 03:26 PM
#21
Nordschleife Master
Rufus once had to go to a "test-only" station. The reason why just on that one occasion remains a mystery; its been regular smog stations since. My theory is that someone called that 800 smog line with my license number because they didn't like me or my driving style.
02-22-2012, 04:07 PM
#23
Race Director
I've always been sent to "smog only" stations and they have always done a visual inspection. I think the smog only guys are afraid of getting their licenses pulled by Cal EPA spies if they fail to do the visual. Especially when you are first bringing a car into CA from out of state (which I've done) I would assume they will give it the full inspection and make sure all the original smog stuff is on it.
As others note, make sure the car is hot when you bring it in.
As others note, make sure the car is hot when you bring it in.
Last edited by Dr. No; 02-22-2012 at 04:08 PM. Reason: add point
02-22-2012, 04:54 PM
#24
Car passed emissions, but failed OBD 2 because the battery had been changed. Took it to the referee station at Golden West College who proceeded to fail it for the same reason. He said I could take it to a Test & Repair facility and spend $450. If that failed to fix it, I could bring it back and he'll give me a ONE-TIME ONLY waiver.
02-22-2012, 05:09 PM
#25
Nordschleife Master
I've always been sent to "smog only" stations and they have always done a visual inspection. I think the smog only guys are afraid of getting their licenses pulled by Cal EPA spies if they fail to do the visual. Especially when you are first bringing a car into CA from out of state (which I've done) I would assume they will give it the full inspection and make sure all the original smog stuff is on it.
As others note, make sure the car is hot when you bring it in.
As others note, make sure the car is hot when you bring it in.
02-22-2012, 05:23 PM
#26
Rennlist Member
If it's not the battery change, how would I determine the cause? Will the scanner give a clue?
02-23-2012, 12:01 AM
#27
Rennlist Member
It's the only thing that's really changed since the last test. The battery was changed about a year ago, but I haven't driven the car much since then - probably not enough to reset all the codes via normal driving.
If it's not the battery change, how would I determine the cause? Will the scanner give a clue?
If it's not the battery change, how would I determine the cause? Will the scanner give a clue?
02-23-2012, 01:41 AM
#29
Rennlist Member
Instead of doing that, recalling reading that, in similar circumstances, several Rennlist members had taken their cars to the BAR referee, paid the $8.50 certificate fee, and were sent happily on their way, I decided to do the same. Only to find that the rules must have changed some time in the near past. The referee did a whole bunch of tests and came back to tell me what I already knew - the codes had not reset. The only advice he had was that I needed to pay a repair center a bunch of money, then return and get a waiver. At least I didn't have to pay the $8.50...
Just for the hell of it, I called the local dealer. Their estimate to reset the codes is $465 plus tax, and it would take 2 days.
All this for a car that easily passed emissions and does not have the CEL on. Its only crime was to have had a new battery put in (by the dealer) a little while ago.
02-23-2012, 02:58 AM
#30
My 2 cents. These Cats do a great service to the people trying to share the air that we all breath. Going Catless should not be an option at this point. We know better and should act on that. Let's face it, we are the privileged driving around at 12 mpg around town and the track. Do we really need to be THAT more obnoxious and emit more noxious gasses? KIKA has a REAL solid point. We have certain technology for VERY REAL reasons. This is a matter of public health and respect. Let's enjoy our privilege with a certain amount of respect for others health and well being. We Porsche weenies have a bad enough rep. already.
Just sayin'.
Just sayin'.
Last edited by owen meany; 02-23-2012 at 02:59 AM. Reason: grammar