bountyhunter Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 (edited) I guess saying all those Hail Mary's worked because my 1992 Saturn just passed california's ridiculous smog test designed to sweep all the old cars into the junk yard. Bottom line, they implemented mandatory treadmill testing on all the old cars to limits they were never intended to pass.... and they keep lowering the limits. Last time I had to dump about $800 worth of parts and work into it (including a very expensive oversized cat converter) and it ended up passing the 67 PPM limit for HC by a whopping 2 PPM...... I scored a 65 PPM with the brand new cat, so I knew it would fail this time. This time I "cheated": I used E-85 to blend up the gas in my tank to about E30 which lowers the HC output and I passed the HC test with a reading of 39 PPM!!!!!!!!! And then I went straight to the gas station and filled up with regular to dilute out the toxic alcohol which I hope hasn't damaged my seals. Anyway, my great running old beater car gets another two years before it's appointment with California's Grim Reaper. Score one for the good guys. Edited February 15, 2013 by bountyhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEJACKO Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Last year i had to pay for a smog test on my deisel truck that has no smog equip. Ca. Is a total joke and i need to move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Moved to Orygun...no smog test and $77 for 2 yrs of registration-whether it's a 72 nova or a 13 ferrari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob D Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Nice! I've never thought about E85 being useful for that, but it makes sense. We don't even have safety inspections here anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technetium-99m Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Nice! I've never thought about E85 being useful for that, but it makes sense. We don't even have safety inspections here anymore. One of the great things about Oklahoma! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedog Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Ohio. 85 Chevy C10. 350. 4 barrel. No cat. Still on road...and I'll move if they try and take it. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 So glad I don't live in California any more. Yay, Oregon. No jobs, right, but no smog tests, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind bat Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) Wow, all of the states around here have ditched the dyno and sniff tests for pre-obd2 cars. There aren't enough of them on the road to justify the expense of maintaining a and post obd2 test systems. Anywhere else on the planet your car would be grandfathered in at the originally approved CA emissions levels. Okay, I'm going to do a mini-rant. Hot rod and gun culture came out of California. Some how over the course of a few decades they have basically tried to regulate both cultures into non-existence. I bet things won't change until the environmentalists decide Pot smoke is too big of a pollutant and surf boards are bad for the fish. And don't get me started on Prop 8 P.S. "Welcome to New Hampshire, Bienvenue . Live Free or Die!" I smile every time I see that sign. P.P.S. You probably didn't due any more damage to your car than running a couple of bottles of dry gas (isopropyl alcohol). That's something Mom used to do back in the '80s to get the old dodge dart to pass the sniff test. Good to know it still works. Edited February 16, 2013 by blind bat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) Okay, I'm going to do a mini-rant. Hot rod and gun culture came out of California. Some how over the course of a few decades they have basically tried to regulate both cultures into non-existence. I bet things won't change until the environmentalists decide Pot smoke is too big of a pollutant and surf boards are bad for the fish. And don't get me started on Prop 8. Unfortunately, democracy works both for good and evil. If 50.1% of the people in a state are morons, moronic laws soon follow.What really burns me up about the smog laws is that counties are allowed to enact any limits they want. A car that fails the unfair limits in Nor cal would easily pass in most other counties within kali. About 4 years ago the limits for me dropped about 40% and that's when none of the old cars could pass any more. Edited February 16, 2013 by bountyhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 That is awesome! The hardest thing now is getting the OBDC to reset and then go through all the cycles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenmonster Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Well done, I love beating the system! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruyere Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Great job! You're a better man than me. I was living in Mass, but moved to New Hampshire to free myself of the "rules". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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