FLAWLS1T/A

iTrader: (1)

I have been doing some around here for a while and im trying to learn as much as i can about building a LS2 408 from ground up.

By biggest problem is trying to pass Cali Emissions "sniffer" test.

No, there is not an easy way around this but it looks like my choice of cam will determine how much of a poluter this engine is going to be...

Now i know with most ls1's in Cali, you can put in a TR224 with a 114 Lobe seperation and still pass, but any more then that you are pushing it. ( Some guys have ran a 224 with 112LSA, and still passed with a good tune.)

Point made, Im trying to get as much HP by building a 408 ground-up with L92 heads, by still passing California Emission Requirments. Im looking for somebody with good knowledge in this area to help me build my new motor... It would be nice to build a farily inexpensive HP monster that still would be California street legal.

Any help on this is more then helpful...

So far, i ran across this link... ( yeah i'll mkae the motor look stock )

http://159.145.15.175/stdPAge.asp?Me...s-Jan_1994.htm

WhiteStripes

iTrader: (1)

Mna, Cali is Teh Smog ***** for sho! Feel sorry for you man. So, this is just a stupid suggestion, but the sniffer test is the one that checks your exhaust gasses, so could you feasibly run, either super high powered cats that are supposed to clean a ton of air, or maybe 2 sets? Not really sure if that would work, but I just thought I'd play captain obvious.

thehammer69

iTrader: (2)

Shoot for a cam that puts your overlap @ .050" at around negative six. Sometimes you may be able to sneak by with a tiny bit more overlap.

Hammer

Steve Bryant

iTrader: (1)

Does anyone know specifically what the California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission test criteria are? Definitely the overlap of the cam (controlled by the lobe separation angle), ensuring that the car is running at stoichometric mixture, correct timing and a set of properly functioning catalytic converters are important. However, without knowing what the sniffer is sniffing for and the levels involved, I don't know how you could plan your mods to the pass the test.

A pair of great heads or an aftermarket intake won't flunk you. From what I've heard, many long tube headers are an automatic flunk (although I don't understand this).

Steve

santiago

iTrader: (28)

find a smog hook up

FLAWLS1T/A

iTrader: (1)

you DO bring up a good point Steve, it would be nice to know the specifications of the test....

I think that people can get away with a new set of heads and intake, becasue they look stock, and dont produce any excessive emission problems, Long Tubes are a (Visual) check.

Richard@WCCH

iTrader: (3)

I've seen cars fail the ca emissions test with 218º cams and cars pass with 230º+ cams. Your results will rely heavily on the tune and condition of your CATS. Your permitted to have two incomplete tests on your onboard monitor status and invariably one of them will be the catalyst test. The LT's will in some cases get over looked but if your car was originally equipped with EGR your going to have to need to have that system working. Wide lobe centers as mentioned above will help.

Good luck,

Richard

FLAWLS1T/A

iTrader: (1)

anybody else?

ringram

Get an approved supercharger/turbo and be done with it.

FLAWLS1T/A

iTrader: (1)

lol thanks.....

RainMan2006

when you get it tested beat the car a bit just before you go to the test, cats are alot more efficient when they get hot, the other big determining factor would be the tune so make sure to get a guy thats really familiar with the tests, I'm not sure if its possible or not but if it is having the same person tune and inspect it seems like a good idea.

Bring the Noise

Just a couple of thoughts.

1. Set the injector pulse start point at the exhaust valve closing and stop point to right before the intake valve closing.
This way you don't feed raw fuel into the exhaust line (start point). This will also keep raw fuel from setting on the top of the intake valve during the combustion cycle (stop point).
Setting the injector pulse can be done with HPTuners. I not sure about other tuning programs.
Yes, you will need to do some calculations to figure out injector pulse start and stop points for the cam you choose to run after the cam is installed and degreed in the motor.

2. Have the tune leaned out through the idle to load rpm range (around a 13.50 to 13:75 A/F from 800rpm to around 4K). Revert the tune back to a 13 A/F across the board once you are done with the emissions testing.

3. Just feed in a mix of E85 and 93 octaine (1 gal E85 to 3 gal of 93)....

Note: I've never tested any of those so use at your own risk.

Ferocity02

iTrader: (60)

I'm a guru when it comes to smog in California, been through it MANY times...

There are three main parts to the test: Visual inspection, Computer inspection, "Sniffer" test. However, depending on your ZIP code, the testing and limits vary. There are basic areas and enhanced areas, some in between and some don't require smog at all. I test in an enhanced area, where they put your car on rollers and test at different speeds under load.

Visual: This one is pretty basic, they just look over the engine bay and under the car and look for anything damaged or aftermarket. They look for cats of course and make sure they are in the proper location. They will also look for the emission control devices such as AIR and EGR. They know this by the underhood sticker. If you are feeling sly and remove it, their computer will tell them what you are supposed to have. They will also look for other engine related aftermarket parts and request CARB numbers for any you have. An inspector can ignore the visual and many of us know.

Computer: This one is a little more complicated and I don't know the entirety of it. They plug your PCM into their computer and scan your PCM. If you have an SES light you automatically fail. I think codes pending delete also will raise their eyebrows. As Richard said, you get two free "Not Ready" codes. A not ready code usually arises when you delete a function of the PCM, such as the EGR, AIR, CAGS, or rear O2 sensors. The PCM can be properly tuned so these "Not Ready" codes don't show up. If you pass this, then you do the sniffer. The inspector cannot ignore this step as it's 100% computer operated.

Sniffer: Here's the fun one. All they do is shove an O2 sensor on crack down your exhaust pipe and measure the contents of certain chemicals in PPM or %, so having dual exhaust doesn't help, so don't ask. If you don't have cats, you pretty much won't pass. However, I've heard stories of catless cars passing. They test for five main things, CO2(%), O2(%), HC(hydro-carbons, PPM), CO(carbon monoxide, %), and NO(nitrogen monoxide, PPM). Only the last three can you be failed for if you exceed the max limit. This step is also computer automated and can be difficult to get by. For enhanced areas, they test the car at 15mph and 25mph on dyno-like rollers. My results are below:


My car stock:
15mph:
HC: Max: 49, Ave: 9, Meas: 7
CO: Max: 0.47, Ave: 0.02, Meas: 0.01
NO: Max: 409, Ave: 57, Meas 245

25mph:
HC: Max: 33, Ave: 7, Meas: 5
CO: Max: 0.44, Ave: 0.03, Meas: 0.00
NO: Max: 696, Ave: 50, Meas 26


My car w/ TR224/114, tuned, 31% alcohol, Carsound cats, LT's, 2 years later:
15mph:
HC: Max: 51, Ave: 9, Meas: 41
CO: Max: 0.48, Ave: 0.02, Meas: 0.01
NO: Max: 419, Ave: 57, Meas 215

25mph:
HC: Max: 35, Ave: 7, Meas: 27
CO: Max: 0.46, Ave: 0.03, Meas: 0.03
NO: Max: 706, Ave: 50, Meas 249


Looking at these results, our cars actually are cleaner than the average stock. However, throw in a cam and you start dumping hydro-carbons. The cam actually lowered the emissions of NO at 15mpg which may be a glitch or something. I also find it funny how CA is trying to cut down on smog, yet they raised the max limit for all three tests between these two years.

Now, if you want a FAST car in CA while still being able to pass smog without "assistance", there isn't much too it. Either go with a P1SC supercharger, or large cubes, which can't be seen in any of the tests. Choose a reasonable cam. Overlap of the cam is the primary generator of emissions. Overlap is determined by both duration and LSA. A 224 would be a reasonable CA cam in a 408. The more cubes "use up" more of the cam, so you could even run a larger cam and still pass.

My best advice is to not always rely on someone to help you with smog. If you want your car to pass smog legally, then build it right, know the system, and you will have no issues at all.

FLAWLS1T/A

iTrader: (1)

thanks... thats a great post

hightechredneck

iTrader: (1)

Any idea what programers, tuners, shops, etc. can take of the "Not Ready" codes?

Ferocity02

iTrader: (60)

Any legitimate tuner who knows what he's doing can do this. If he says it can't be done, then look for a different tuner. The easy way to do it is to turn off the the trouble codes that would arise of deleting the function, I think that's how they do it. However, the computer still knows the function is "not ready" and this will show up in the smog test. There is another way to turn off the function's "trigger", so that when you do turn off the function, it doesn't produce a "not ready". I am not very knowledgeable in tuning so others may be able to shed more light on this.

92GTA

You simply disable the flag for that code. Example, knock sensor. Even if you modifiy all of your knock retard tables and triggers so when it detects knock it does nothing, the flag is still there for it to check if the sensor is operating. If you uncheck that flag then it won't come back as not working if you were to unplug or remove the sensor. As long as any given sensor is plugged in and giving a correct ohm reading to the ECM all is good, you can still disable all of it's effects in the parameter tables and it's totally undetectable that you did that. It's when you unplug sensors and **** that you need to remove the flag so it doesn't throw a code for not getting a reading.

Either way, there are ways around most anything.

gun5l1ng3r

I too, also live in an enhanced area.

When they put my car on the rollers, the ASR was still on and the car's computer didn't like that. The car jumped and scared the **** out of me.

I was PISSED at the smog inspector!