Emissions inspections - CA and others

California has some pretty aggregious laws when it comes to emissions testing. Take a '76 308 for instance. A '76 308 had no cats, two air pumps, and a set of retarded points for idle. This setup was designed to yield less than 500 hydrocarbons, which it can do without with some fiddling and of course killing performance. California testing at the time was right around that standard. Current California standards require a '76 model year car to pass with less than 120 hydrocarbons, so about 4 times less. This can be done with a healthy engine and proper tuning, but it's a !@#!%!

In Nevada, they require testing every year but the standards are a bit easier. '73-'77 cars need to pass with under 500 hydrocarbons while '78-'82 cars need to pass with less than 300. The standard obviously gets more strict as they progress to more modern equipment. The only thing that is rough with Nevada is the idle test. The idle and timing really needs to be spot-on to get it to pass. Last time I did the NV test I got by under 100 hydrocarbons at idle and around 80 at the 2500rpm hold test. At least in California they use rolling road which can really lean out the mixture with the throttle plate open a bit more under load.

-john

 

IL test only OBDII cars.

 

In California all cars with a year of manufacture of 1975 or earlier are smog emissions exempt. This includes all Euro versions as well.

 

In Ca pre 75 cars are not tested. Historic plated cars do not require biannual testing.

Test standards are drawn from a hat by a bureaucrat and have no basis in reality or the standards the cars were designed to pass when new. That isn't legal but the law has never stopped a piece of legislation or regulation. As a result many cars are difficult to pass legally here. This is all based on politcal whim and political expediency and no one should ever assume, make automotive decisions, or modifications, based on the belief that these rules are set in stone.

Ca is not the only one. There are other states with emission laws nearly as capricious.

 

Wisconsin just changed its laws. Any car OVER 10 years old isn't tested .

I have no idea how that became the criteria...but thats what it is. Nirvana .

Part of the rational was that "very few cars over 10 years old are on the road for any significant mileage." The other criteria? They ran out of money in the budget to "test every car."

 

We have no emission laws here.

Thank god

 

I spent some time one winter in Detroit and was amazed at the number of cars that were rusting away because of using salt on the streets. Maybe the cars don't last more than 10 years.

Rob

 

I was going to say... I lived in Cleveland and Chicago, and we had 11 year old cars in museums so we could remember "the classics".

 

In WA state there's no visual inspection however there is a sniff test for all cars (historic plates exempted however) in urban areas. Some of the more rural counties don't emissions test. I don't know for sure but it seems to me that the sniff test passing threshold depends on the year of the car ie. older cars can pollute more, but again, not positive on that point. Cars with historic plates are exempt from testing and pay no license fees (rolling 30 year old requirement for historic plates). I'll be registering my '82 gtsi for historic plates in 2012 (assuming the law doesn't change!).

 

Quite right on this. I had mine tested three times before I got collector plates. No more yearly fee. : ) Then they changed the laws. Would not need to pass smog test any more anyway.

 

I just looked at the CA DMV rules & regs for getting historic plates. Said the car needs to be 25 yrs. or older, and the car may only be "driven in historical exhibitions, parades or historic club activities".

So, as long as the local club wants to drive with me to lunch a couple times a week... we're good, no?

 

I have really loved seeing the posts on this subject. The specs are posted on each automobile as to the emissions equipment needed to pass smog. I just failed mine and am trying to figure out a way to make sure I don't spend unnecessary bucks on cat converters that don't need replacing. I started a thread about not starting hot in this forum and everyone has been fantastic but to my knowledge, no car has had stricter emissions imposed on it than the original specs that the care was designed for. At that time, we had two types. 49 state and California emissions. Since then, they have put mandatory additives in gasoline (which is why we pay a higher price for gas) but the standards remain the same. Tomorrow I go to re-test the car and will quiz the tech about standards. We are not Einsteins. A car doesn't make less emissions better as it gets older or wears out.
I'm not feeling that California love out there.

 

Tail pipe numbers are not posted on most cars. The law on that changed while carbed cars where still in production. The state does not require more equipment on any car but they have changed tail pipe standards in the middle of the game. Additionally no car was required to pass standards on a chassis dyno prior to a few years ago. In 1976 they never heard of such a thing. You have to do it now. On some cars it makes it easier to pass but on others the inverse is true.
308 carbed cars are required to pass a considerably lower spec than when new. Also all carbed 308s have the same spec to pass whether they have cats or not.

 

I think it is just cute as can be that older cars that pullute are given a pass and brand new cars that actually (depending on where they are running ) clean the air when turned on are required to be checked.

 

So true. What are we missing here? I don't get it. It is to my advantage though. I just wish this would have come about years ago. I would have been able to sell my cars for alot more $$$. Ever try to get a Jag V12 with no cats or any smog stuff to pass. NO way. Gave that one away. Could not register it anywhere in WI.

 

Well, I would like to know what has changed that could make the car cleaner than what was required of the manufacturer. If we all have to re-engineer our cars, I guess we'll only be driving them in parades with historical plates and limited mileage per year. Not my idea of living, for sure.

 

Brian,
1978 GTS carb. I had another car of mine getting smog, and i looked through the smog book at the emissions shop that lists what smog equipment the car came with. it said teh car should have come with cats. is that true? i thought the 78's came with cats.

 

ya. US '78 and '79 cars had cats, detuned cams, and air pumps.

 

On the subject of California smog and historic license plates, I called the California DMV to ask about the historic plates, and I was told that even with historic plates, if the car was newer than 1975, it would still have to be smogged. There didn't seem to be much advantage to historic plates, except possibly slightly lower registration costs and limited occasions to drive

 

From what I know of California, it has tons of custom auto shops. How do they get away with some of the cars they create?

Things like putting a LS1 engine in a 1980's Ford. Do you have to license it as a "kit car" or something? Does it still have to pass emissions standards? For what car then, the Corvette it came out of or the Ford it went into?

And California won't allow a supercharged 308 to be licensed on it's roads. Oh no, put that air pump back on.

It's so confusing.

Cheers,
Neil

 

Not to be to contrarian but if they hold me to tighter standards than the "tailpipe numbers" on my windshield (I didn't know they were there till you brought it up, I appreciate that), we'll have to find out the leagality of "making" a car unpassable or unreasonably tough to pass the test. I know it's not arguable with a state agency but when you got the time, it's good to test the system. That's how i learn, anyway.
BTW I was only talking about the label in the engine compartment diagramming the needed smog "parts" but in seeing your post, I started looking and found this label.
The dyno is simply a better way of testing the emissions in a real world situation. Yah, more expense for the business' but we got to keep up with the times.
All learning is good; even if it's about a bad thing.
I might be a dinosaur but I don't see myself turning to oil yet.http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1072093&stc=1&d=1263492240

First time I've uploaded. Hope it comes out. Pic is of tailpipe specs
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Hey, I'm sure it can be done. After talking to the people here, I truly think anything is possible. What i know from my friends, the car is either registered as the year of the chassis year and that years smog laws are enforceable or they list it as experimental and a custom registration (like a kit car).I haven't heard back from a buddy but this is California. for every rule they make, there is a "work-around" for it. Naturally, it's a pain in the rear but if it was easy we'd have our sisters out there doing it (sorry about the sexist attitude; my sister constantly outdrives me on the golf course and then says "Does your sister golf?") She's also a lawyer which helps with the legality issues I bring up (but it's a pain in the rear for her too). Sorry for the log posts. I will be less berbose in the future if possible.
It's so confusing.

 

that is what i believe as well, but the book i was looking at with the smog tech clearly showed the 78 gts has not having the cat box checked as required equipment...