i was looking on magnacharger or whipples site the other day and they had 50 state emissions legal kits in one category and other kits in annother category...
how would a supercharger make a car have worse emissions? they are both screw type blowers but i doubt that makes any difference.
so is there something about a blower that would do this or is it just a marketing ploy?

 

It has nothing to do with "emissions." California requires that ANY aftermarket part received what is called an EO number in order to be legal for use on pollution controlled vehicles. In order to get this certification manufacturers have to put EACH part/kit they sell through this extensive testing with the California Air Resources Board to ensure that it is smog legal. This testing is expensive.

Also, any aftermarket parts have to retain ALL stock factory emissions reduction equipment. And some kits get rid of some of this stuff (Im not sure on the whipple or magnacharger kits), which is why sometimes certain kits won't have an exemption.

 

Technically, you are going to be putting more emissions out your pipe if you are in the throttle. More air and fuel, even assuming the same burn rate vs unspent is going to generate more out the back. But the biggest deal about CARB is money - no questions asked. My D-1SC blows clean by CA standards, but it doesn't have CARB approval. When you pass sniff, but can't pass visual, you can rest assured the almight dollar is playing a role!

Mike M

 

do they actually pop your hood during emissions testing? i thought they just put that pipe over your tailpipe and read what came out

 

california is really really strict on their emissions testing. Some counties even put your car on a dyno.

 

I live in San Francisco Bay area (Alameda county). They are CRAZY strict. They pop the hood of Ford Festivas here - seriously. As of Oct 1, all cars go on a dyno. No more just reading emissions at idle. Most shops here won't smog your car EVEN IF you have all the CARB paperwork with you. If you've modded it, they don't want anything to do with it. As one guy told me, "Why would I bother when I have a line of other customers paying me $80, and I don't have to call all around the USA making sure your CARB certificates are current and legit."

It was never easy passing CA smog. And it got lots tougher six weeks ago. I own property in Missouri, so I will probably end up running a MO plate next time around.

Mike M

 

Whipple and Magnacharger have bypass valves that are open during cruising conditions. The only way it will register boost (i.e. more emissions) is if when testing they get either kit past 70% throttle -then the bypass valve closes to put in boost into the engine.
I think that is why those two kits are in a seperate category than other blowers.

 

Ryan, Whipple and Magnacharger (Eaton) differ because of the impeller design and layout - not because of bypass valve. Centrifugal blowers like ATI, Vortech, and Powerdyne all use bypass (surge) valves too. They all do the same thing - bleed boosted air away from the car when you aren't at WOT.

Mike M

 

did not know the centrifugals had a blow off too...my bad

 

That's what makes this deadly whistling sound at idle >>

3Mg file (Broadband friendly)

http://www.californiamasseys.com/formula_ati_temp.mpg

Mike M

 

The bypass valve on the Magnacharger actually allows air to go around the blower and be sucked in, as it would in N/A operation. This puts less load on the supercharger, basically allowing it to freewheel and have a little drag as possible during cruise. There is no "blow off" function on this kind of supercharger, that is for centrifugal and turbos.

As for emissions, as it was said earlier, the only increase is from the increased flow through the system. All the computer controls continue to keep things running clean.

I really don't think the CARB stuff is about money, it is about creeping bureaucracy. You give an agency a mandate to clear the air (an impossible task in some areas) and they will intrude into every aspect of your life in an effort to do so. Banning wood burning fireplaces , cracking down on gas powered lawn mowers , etc. Eventually they will require all Californians to wear special catalytic converter diapers to prevent methane gas from getting into the air . I guess it is what governments like to do... regulate

 

[QUOTE=David Cairns] Eventually they will require all Californians to wear special catalytic converter diapers to prevent methane gas from getting into the air . I guess it is what governments like to do... regulate [/QUOTE
the damn truuuth

 

Those diapers are actually pretty comfortable, and they come in real handy when you are stuck in freeway traffic and need to take care of business!

Mike M

 

Seriously the smog ***** (AKA CARB) kill all the fun in modding a car out here in CA. Then you got those crazy environmental groups that go out and do things like spray Hummers with spray paint and burn down a warehouse full of them (wait don't both of those acts make things worse for the air?) only in CA can people do this and still be considered normal. Can't they just leave the muscle car community alone and go chase the rice rockets. I mean they already blow apart every classic muscle car known to man in the movies (charger in fast & ferious, camaro and challenger in part two of that dumb movie, camaro in Remember the Titans, etc) but when was the last time you saw the movie industry blow apart an accord like we don't have enough of them floating around. Sorry just had to get that off my chest.