gpjli2

This. Thank you.

ADias

Things are often more complicated than they seem. No need to be negative. The OP is in good hands and we shall see what happens.

Rick-A-Shay

May I suggest trying another dealer? Mike Stead or Carlsen? Both are listed "premier" dealers and supposedly have some very good techs. Remember that your warranty is good at ANY Porsche dealer. All the Best!

workhurts

I have gundo and shark ... no issue with emissions in VA.

As for drive cycles, I've run into those with a BMW. Takes a while of driving to get everything ready to go again. They don't want people to just reset everything and expect to pass inspections.

If they claim it's an exhaust thing then I guess you could always revert to stock to pass inspections. That seems like a pain.

gelat0

Does the car have after market exhaust? I would bet thatthe exhaust has been modified or cats bypassed in some way. Should be an easy fix once you get the car up on the rack. If the car has the emissions tag (in engine compartment) the 997 emissions tag is for all 50 states. If the tag is there then you know that the car was made for the USA and should be an easy fix back to stock, if the tag is there then I would bet that the car had the exhaust modified, or catalitic converter changed or bypassed.. Since our emissions standards are higher in California, I would bet the car has something modified since I imagine the tag is there since your car is newer than mine. I am not that far away from you, and used Pacific Smog.. But if the car had it's cats removed or a straight pipe added that could be the simple issue to fix. If it has sport exhaust make sure it is off.. Try putting some good gas in the car with maybe some fuel additive in the tank since there might be a little moisture in the gas tank, since Virgina gets much colder weather than we have, take it on a longer drive maybe to Monterey (porshce event at Laguna Seca Sunday, and I will be there) to get it good and warm which will get those cats red hot, and give the motor a chance to burn up any build up (and moisture) for lots of short trips the car may have had..

gelat0

I agree with this and would take it to a Porsche Dealer since they will know if the exhaust or ECU programming was changed, and they can fix it and give you peace of mind.

Hella-Buggin'

I've tried every dealer in the area and Gunter is the guy you want in terms of the dealership route. His hands are somewhat tied due to the mods but he should be able to figure out what you need to do. An Indy may have more flexibility in what they can do to avoid PCNA's rules for the dealership.

Have you asked Sharkwerks? maybe you're not the first with this problem.

Good Luck and hope it all gets sorted.

MadScience

If I was in this situation, I'd return the car to a stock exhaust configuration and pick up either durametric or at least some OBDII scanner that can tell me the state of the various tests and then run through the drive cycle until it reads ready. If that was not possible, I'd bring it back to the dealer. However I tend to err on the side of resolving things on my own.

I would not go back to a smog station without something telling me that the car was ready.

I'd also be curious what knocked it out of ready state. If there's no code, something must have caused a reset.

I've met the fellow at Fremont and agree that he's probably as good a source as you'll find at a dealership. I'd also consider pinging the exhaust vendor, they aren't terribly far from where your car is now, and should have some experience with CA smog.

vg247

I sincerely appreciate everyone taking the time to read my OP and chiming in especially on your weekend.. seeing the feedback from many RL experts reminds me of the comradery and essence of this forum (especially from my mentor and friends whom I've met and corresponded with on other topics), I am very grateful to all of you.

Pending what information I get back from the dealer, I will take the car for a long drive and put it through the Drive Cycle first and try for a re-test of the smog. Worst case scenario, I am prepared to put back the stock muffler and go from there.


I had just returned from a business trip in the UK a few days prior to taking my car in for the Smog that morning. Didn't think getting a smog for my car would be an issue considering the age/miles -when I drove my car straight to the smog station which is less than 20 miles away, the engine oil just barely got to 190-200 and I was only driving 45-70 between my residence and the smog shop.

When it failed I was really surprised and more concern that there were some other underlying issues with the car (not due to the Sharkwerks bypass exhaust, etc.) hence my haste to take it to the dealer asap as I'm leaving the country for a month come this Wednesday so I was under some time constraint to get the smog done.

If nothing gets solved prior to that, I will have to wait until I come back and fix anything upon my return (registration expires July 15th) so I will have to risk driving with an expired sticker at that time (DMV fees already paid)

Attached is the original Smog inspection report for everyone's reference.

-As I mentioned in the OP, what's strange is on the report it failed due to "Catalyst" Not Ready/Not Complete and on the same report EGR Status states Complete.

In contrast:

-The readings at BR Racing show EGR Not Ready, along with what the Porsche dealer told me (I was not shown their report at the dealership)

Btw, I found the following post over at 6Speed, Post #2:
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/g...ted-equal.html

"Took it next door to my friends at Fletcher Jones Porsche, Gunter a pcar master and gentleman explained that these do not have EGR and that triggers the not ready issue, there is a sequence. I had them do once over before the CPO was up and the smog, passed no problems."

-interesting, as it sounds like the same dealer took care of the same problem I am having, etc.



Hope everyone is having a great weekend, again many thanks and I will keep everyone posted

douvillier

A 09 w/ a VVT/DFI engine does not have an EGR. So plug in a cheap Global OBDII Scan Tool and check that the Readiness Monitors say either run/pass/complete or n/a. If you have that w/ no DTC's then your good to go. You still have an illegal exhaust system by California standards, and if it comes time to sell it will cut down on the number of potential buyers.

dasdman

I have Fister side mufflers on mine and just passed smog a month ago with no issues. Hard to imagine the mods you have causing the kind of issues you are seeing. But with all of the computers in cars today I guess I am not all that surprised either. Hopefully just putting the rear muffler back on will be the answer.

ltcjmramos

Haven't had to smog my GTS (w/SW center muffler delete) yet, but had successfully smogged my 6GT3 with Cargraphic mufflers previously. As well, had smogged without problem a '93 RX-7 that had exhaust mods (pre-cat delete, free-flow mufflers), but with main cat in. No problem. But at each smog test, I drove the pee out of it before taking it in for a scheduled appointment so it would not be sitting around cooling off. HOT, HOT, HOT is prescribed!

vg247

Good to hear from ya Joe, hope all is well! Thanks!

Having not knowing better, it may have been just that, where I literally drove straight to the smog shop for the smog...perhaps I should have driven it some before doing so.

After all said and done, let's see what my dealer comes up with tomorrow....

Tcc1999

I wrote this a while ago, things may have changed but you'll get the gist.

Cars, and I suppose trucks, are supposed to be 50 state compliant for emissions. This makes sense if you consider that it would place an undue burden on a car maker to produce cars with different emissions, not to mention an administrative nightmare for dealers in different states who swap cars and out for of state buyers/transactions. Generally automakers, at least in the U.S. Market, have their cars meet the most stringent standards imposed by any state (Air Resource Board in CA). So, the idea of a 50 State Rule may be effectively true but not in fact a requirement (yet).

Los Angeles has received special dispensation from the EPA to promulgate emission standards that are stricter than the "50 state" compliance rule. As with any government regulations, states may adopt a standard that is stricter than the national requirement but insofar as emissions are concerned, as mentioned above, this puts an undue (well, maybe not undue) burden on automobile manufacturers to ensure that their cars meet the requirements of all markets. Los Angeles emission standards have been adopted by, obviously, California and 13 other states and D.C. so new cars sold in these states must meet the requisite standards which are more stringent that the 37 other states that have not signed on to the stricter rules.
(The states that require new cars to meet California standards, AFAIK, are Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and D.C. If you buy a car from one of the states not on the list and desire to register it in one that is then, Caveat Emptor on it meeting emissions requirements (that would mean a condition of sale, in writing, being it pass emissions in the state it will be registered). In practice, however, emissions generally meet the most stringent requirements ostensibly because the the thirteen states listed above are very large auto markets - and think of the complications and cost in production if you had to produce cars specifically for different area in the U.S. with different emission standards.)

So, while automakers may and do produce cars that meet the California standards they are not compelled to. The EPA is planning for, I believe, by the 2016 model year and beyond that emissions standards for all states to be uniform. In an interesting bit of politics, it seems that it is the European CAFE standards (which we have effectively signed on to) that are the driving force. These are probably more stringent than anything the EPA can get promulgated so we are, in effect, allowing Europe to dictate U.S. emission regulations and maintaining political cover by being able to say, "Hey, don't blame us, it's Europe that is dictating the emissions rules that govern your cars."

FWIW, and speaking only for myself as a resident of California, sorry for our uber-stringent standards imposed on the rest of you! Look at the bright side though - you get at least 93 Octane and pay a fair amount less for it.

Golden_era997

Feeling grateful for the lack of emissions restrictions in south florida!