C4 California Emissions - what is this?

[96CEVette]

Does anyone know what the California Emissions entails for the C4 LT4? What is different in terms of the mechanicals and impact on horsepower compared to the other states. Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[boomdriver]

Does anyone know what the California Emissions entails for the C4 LT4? What is different in terms of the mechanicals and impact on horsepower compared to the other states. Thanks for any thoughts.

its nothing special. The car had better have what it was made with, and it all had better work. If it don;t you fail and get tagged permantly on that vehicle as a "gross polluter" if you fail to comply and that tag will not go away. It means that if your car gets fixed you;re on your way, BUT, if you have to use a waiver, you are up against the state time frame for repairs and retesting. As long as you did'nt remove all the equipment and they DO check details, you'll usually pass. The OBD-II cars are easier IMHO to pass since its the onboard computer thats giving the report and not a state computer thats not calibrated as it should be. I've had techs tell me the stories of how cars fail more later in the day because the equipment is getting out of spec and the filters in the test equipment are getting dirty. They maintain when they have time, not when needed. I do know that finding a "gold-seal" test station in Ca is some assurance of a quality facility.



hows all this hurt power? not much. Emissions equip is an old schoolers version of witchcraft. Truth is that Half the emissions parts help your engine, allow it to run at a higher advance and leaner without knocking to death, run clean and get you more miles per gallon, and the old school guys will still say that smog control is voo-doo or its evil and should be taken off and plugged up...
don;t do it. The engine was designed to operate just fine, make good power and get good milege with all that "evil" smog crap under the hood. You can even make it go faster with all that stuff.

Ca smog test is nothing to fear, just learn whats required and get it in shape and avoid failures that might attract the "gross polluter" label on your file. Smog was every 2 yrs or whenever a car gets sold or title transfer.

Az smog was tougher standards, and Tex is ridiculas. Ca air was so bad 30 yrs ago that you could not see across the street on the avg day. Flying into Ontario was flying into a brown soup... Not anymore. Even with more cars, thier is less brown air than there ever has been. Its worth the effort to clean up car exhaust in Ca so people can actually see where they live....

 

[Hib Halverson]

Does anyone know what the California Emissions entails for the C4 LT4? What is different in terms of the mechanicals and impact on horsepower compared to the other states. Thanks for any thoughts.

With 96 LT4s, there is no difference in hardware between engines with California emissions and those without. There is no difference in performance, either. While in some years there have been slight differences in emissions equipment, but for 96 on that engine, there were no differences there. There may have been slight differences in calibration, but I'm not sure on that.

 

[86PACER]

The car had better have what it was made with, and it all had better work. If it don;t you fail and get tagged permantly on that vehicle as a "gross polluter" if you fail to comply and that tag will not go away. It means that if your car gets fixed you;re on your way, BUT, if you have to use a waiver, you are up against the state time frame for repairs and retesting.

You get tagged as a "Gross Polluter" only when your readings are way above the max allow limit by usually about 2-3 times. Gross Polluter status has nothing to do with a visual inspection and everything to do with your actually tailpipe readings. Every car has different allowable limits so there is no set number. There is a certain "wiggle" room between just failing above the limits and failing miserably as a "gross polluter" and requiring a Gold Shield station to pass. Once you fail miserably (way above the max limit) you can only retest and pass at a "Gold Shield" station for that particular smog. Here in Santa Barbara County before you would be permanently tagged and required to continue to smog only at "Gold Shield" stations from there on every 1 year instead of every 2 years even after you repaired the car and passed for as long as you owned it.

But now in Santa Barbara County at least once you repair and pass a Gross Polluter you can continue to smog at any non Gold Shield station of your choice biannually as you normally did before with no increase in fees.


For example. If your MAX HC was 120 and you come in at 150 you're not tagged as a Gross Polluter you simply just fail. Now if you came in at say 300 HC or higher then you're definately getting tagged as a Gross Polluter. The exact range of tolerance isn't given but based on the Gross Polluter vehicles I've seen and repaired to go on and pass it's about 2-3 times the max allowable limit

Here is when my non-vette daily driver failed as a "Gross Polluter" late last year. This was the first and only time it every failed in my 12 year ownership.
This is the SAME VEHICLE before and after my own repairs.:




Not bad for a car with 294K miles on the original motor. Clean as a whistle. So obviously I've been there and done that. Not only did I fix my own car above but I've repaired other people's Gross Polluters with similarly excessive readings just as successfully. Everything else I mentioned as far as smog rules I got directly from the Gold Shield station in which I passed the above vehicle at the time my passing certificate and keys where handed back to me.

 

[boomdriver]

You get tagged as a "Gross Polluter" only when your readings are way above the max allow limit by usually about 2-3 times. Gross Polluter status has nothing to do with a visual inspection and everything to do with your actually tailpipe readings. Every car has different allowable limits so there is no set number. There is a certain "wiggle" room between just failing above the limits and failing miserably as a "gross polluter" and requiring a Gold Shield station to pass. Once you fail miserably (way above the max limit) you can only retest and pass at a "Gold Shield" station for that particular smog. Here in Santa Barbara County before you would be permanently tagged and required to continue to smog only at "Gold Shield" stations from there on every 1 year instead of every 2 years even after you repaired the car and passed for as long as you owned it.

But now in Santa Barbara County at least once you repair and pass a Gross Polluter you can continue to smog at any non Gold Shield station of your choice biannually as you normally did before with no increase in fees.


For example. If your MAX HC was 120 and you come in at 150 you're not tagged as a Gross Polluter you simply just fail. Now if you came in at say 300 HC or higher then you're definately getting tagged as a Gross Polluter. The exact range of tolerance isn't given but based on the Gross Polluter vehicles I've seen and repaired to go on and pass it's about 2-3 times the max allowable limit

Here is when my non-vette daily driver failed as a "Gross Polluter" late last year. This was the first and only time it every failed in my 12 year ownership.
This is the SAME VEHICLE before and after my own repairs.:




Not bad for a car with 294K miles on the original motor. Clean as a whistle. So obviously I've been there and done that. Not only did I fix my own car above but I've repaired other people's Gross Polluters with similarly excessive readings just as successfully. Everything else I mentioned as far as smog rules I got directly from the Gold Shield station in which I passed the above vehicle at the time my passing certificate and keys where handed back to me.

294,000 miles on the original motor?

I am impressed!

I did not elaborate on the "gross polluter" label because I know that it involves a different standard for different years, motors etc. AND different counties. L.A. County is one of the toughest in the state, maybe the nation because of the severity of the smog in the L.A. Basin. I cannot speak to the rules in Santa Barbara County, but I have to believe they are a little easier than LA or OC County just because of the population, geographical conditions, coastline and prevailing winds. In LA the winds flow west to east pushing all the smoke and ocean fog back over land and its trapped against the mountains in the valley...so they have to be serious about this. Back in 1980 when you flew into LA you decended into a brown (literally) cloud that was so thick that you could not see the airport until the last moments before touchdown. Now, even with more people and cars, you can actually see the ground as you approach. They have made a difference.

The GP label can be a lifelong label in certain cases when all other remedies fail to correct the problem. The state cannot force you to take a vehicle off the road (as far as I remember) but they do make it more uncomfortable to keep driving one thats a GP in their opinion.
The GP label can be had by seriously bad emissions, repeated failures,(which automatically get a GP label after 2 or 3 failures the same yr) so the next inspector knows to look at specifics. The state did have a system that would permit a waiver when you spent a certain amount of money to effect repairs and it still did not pass. That might get you a cert, but there were strings attached.

They don't play with smogs in SoCal; especially the SCAQMD counties. I have dealt with the SCAQMD in business and on a personal level and they are the Air police.They have authority over just about every other agency in their district. No sense of humor and no grey area. I've had shops fined or cited for not having the electric motor on a pressure washer listed and certified. Imagine how they view 20 yr old car engines if they're concerned with what an electric motor produces?

That is why/how a HUGE industry got started in Ca...the Japanese engine swap. The standard in Japan is even tougher, and most car owners replace their motor @ 30 to 40K miles. So those piles of used engines come to this country to be sold and used. From what I know, Japan requires replacement of an engine and rebuilding is not an option. Only new motors run clean enough to meet their standard.

There are warehouses in LA country not far from Long Beach harbor that store 10's of thousands of good, used engines, not clean enough for Japan, but still able to pass Californioa smog.


Point is, Ca has been doing this longer than anybody and they know what they're doing. Their system is designed to get hopeless cars off the streets and it also helps the poorest owners with repairs if their car is a gross polluter. Its tough, but its fair. In the 25 years I lived in SoCal, I'd have to guess that I passed about 50% of my smogs with no problem. Other times a major tune up was required or a new cat, or at least some form of adjustment.
OBD-II cars can avoid ALL the hassle by simply getting their system scanned prior to arrival at the smog check so they have opportunity to see what the station will see and correct anything before the test. Chances are that if there is no SES lite there won;t be a problem. OBD-I owners have to give it their best guess with a tune up, a decent cat and hope for the best.

 

[86PACER]

Does anyone know what the California Emissions entails for the C4 LT4?

The smog test itself consists of two parts. A visual under hood inspection and the actual tail pipe output readings with the exhaust analyzer machine. If you fail either you don't pass.

The visual inspection checks for any modifications or changes done to the engine's emissions or engine control systems under the hood. They look under the hood for any unauthorized or missing parts that are not street legal for CA (meaning they have no C.A.R.B. or E.O. number/ not 50 state legal) such as long tube headers, missing/gutted catalytic converters, disconnected emission hoses, blocked off EGR valves, AIR pump eliminator pulleys, etc. Fail the visual and you fail the whole test no matter how good your readings are at the tailpipes. They can't fail you for unrelated things such as if you removed your AC compressor or because your cruise control doesn't work. The mufflers are also not an emission item and you cannot be failed if you have installed muffler eliminator pipes in place of mufflers.

If you show up with your Check Engine light illuminated it automatically fails right off the bat. They also know some people will remove the light bulb from the instrument panel in an attempt to mask a problem so stations that know what they are doing make sure the check engine light bulb lights up when the key is switched on during the car's bulb check. That way they know you didn't remove the light bulb in an attempt to mask a repair or that it's burnt out and cannot warn you of engine codes that might be present. If your ignition timing is not within spec you also fail, although the shop will just quote you about $45 or so fee to adjust it on the spot (on cars with adjustable distributor timing) so you can pass if that's all it needed and send you on your way.

You can opt for a "pre-test" at some stations if you have doubts about passing or if you want to verify the reading change after a repair for example. This is a legal and unofficial reading of your exhaust just to see what your output numbers are to know weather you will fail or pass the real test before you even bother. The fee is usually about $15.

The exhaust analyzer portion is done one of two ways.

Some counties in CA take the tailpipe readings with the vehicle on a rolling dyno to simulate an actual driving situation as if the car was driving down the road under a varying load. People are also randomly selected and notified via mail for a rolling dyno test.

The other method is off a rolling dyno as you can see in my test sheet above. The readings are taken with the car at idle and then again with the car held at 2500 RPMs.

 

[Hib Halverson]

There's some misinformation here about the California smog check.

There are three different types of smog checks required in CA.

Some counties, mainly rural areas, require a standard emissions test (run at idle and 2500 rpm with no load on the engine) only on transfer of registration.

Other counties, such as the aforementioned SBCo and others like it, require a biennial standard test.

Some counties, mainly in urban areas with air quality problems, such as the greater L.A. area, require the "enhanced" smog check which is an I/M 240 test. If your car is registered in an enhanced area, you get the biennial test and it's run on a chassis dyno at 15 and 25 mph. There is no random selection, ie: the majority of cars in enhanced areas must test this way. The only exceptions are a few vehicles which cannot be dyno'ed. In some cases, often cars CARB believes are high polluters but still legal, registered owners are ordered to go to "test-only" stations.

The statement that "the State" cannot force your car off the road is not necessarily true. If your car can't pass and cannot be repaired to pass and you don't qualify for any of the "low-income" exemptions (most of which are not open-ended) your only choices are scrap the vehicle or sell it out of state.

Don't think for an instant that the environmentalists who control both the executive and legislation branches of CA State government care about older vehicles. If they could force everyone (except certain low-income constituencies) to ride bikes they could.

People who own 2G ZR-1s already have a problem with NOx. What the State has been doing (quietly) is lowering the cut lines for certain standards (one being NOx) for older vehicles. This forces some cars which were previously legal to now flunk emissions tests even thought the engines are running properly and are in reasonable condition.

Persons in that situation are confronted with modifying the engine to pass the test (very expensive and perhaps not even legal), scrapping the vehicle or selling it out of state.

As long as an old car either is scrapped or crosses the state line going outbound and never comes back the CARB is happy.

Lastly, the State has tried twice in recent years to overturn the exemption for pre '74 cars and failed, however, with a new administration coming in run by Gov. Brown, an avowed hardcore enviro, and the legislature being as progressive as it ever has been, it's possible that bill might pass if anti-car legislators decide to introduce it. If they do attempt that again, it will be like the other two attempts and, if passed, will put 1966-74 vehicles back in the smog check.

 

[86PACER]

There is a 2% random selection for "test only" inspections aside from the other factors you mentioned.

 

[roger longman]

There is a 2% random selection for "test only" inspections aside from the other factors you mentioned.

Hi 86PACER, would you tell me what you did to achieve the remarkable turnaround? I'm having the same problem with my '88..Thanks....Roger.

 

[86PACER]

Hi 86PACER, would you tell me what you did to achieve the remarkable turnaround? I'm having the same problem with my '88..Thanks....Roger.

The smog readings?

 

[boomdriver]

There's some misinformation here about the California smog check.

There are three different types of smog checks required in CA.

Some counties, mainly rural areas, require a standard emissions test (run at idle and 2500 rpm with no load on the engine) only on transfer of registration.

Other counties, such as the aforementioned SBCo and others like it, require a biennial standard test.

Some counties, mainly in urban areas with air quality problems, such as the greater L.A. area, require the "enhanced" smog check which is an I/M 240 test. If your car is registered in an enhanced area, you get the biennial test and it's run on a chassis dyno at 15 and 25 mph. There is no random selection, ie: the majority of cars in enhanced areas must test this way. The only exceptions are a few vehicles which cannot be dyno'ed. In some cases, often cars CARB believes are high polluters but still legal, registered owners are ordered to go to "test-only" stations.

The statement that "the State" cannot force your car off the road is not necessarily true. If your car can't pass and cannot be repaired to pass and you don't qualify for any of the "low-income" exemptions (most of which are not open-ended) your only choices are scrap the vehicle or sell it out of state.

Don't think for an instant that the environmentalists who control both the executive and legislation branches of CA State government care about older vehicles. If they could force everyone (except certain low-income constituencies) to ride bikes they could.

People who own 2G ZR-1s already have a problem with NOx. What the State has been doing (quietly) is lowering the cut lines for certain standards (one being NOx) for older vehicles. This forces some cars which were previously legal to now flunk emissions tests even thought the engines are running properly and are in reasonable condition.

Persons in that situation are confronted with modifying the engine to pass the test (very expensive and perhaps not even legal), scrapping the vehicle or selling it out of state.

As long as an old car either is scrapped or crosses the state line going outbound and never comes back the CARB is happy.

Lastly, the State has tried twice in recent years to overturn the exemption for pre '74 cars and failed, however, with a new administration coming in run by Gov. Brown, an avowed hardcore enviro, and the legislature being as progressive as it ever has been, it's possible that bill might pass if anti-car legislators decide to introduce it. If they do attempt that again, it will be like the other two attempts and, if passed, will put 1966-74 vehicles back in the smog check.

I remember how much the enviro-crowd was trying to get the exemption changed so they could in effect, force classics and other older cars out of California and off the roads. And with the new "progressive" Gov coming in, who is famous for his tree hugging agenda, the possibility is very real.

What does a famous, popular guy like Jay Leno do? with a collection of dozens of classics, that all run and drive weekly, where does that leave him? To sue the state? move out like many other business have done because the Ca bunny huggers legislated certain industry out of the state?

When the state allows the smog police to have total authority over the polulation and does not maintain oversight, the rights of the public suffer. Sure, they need some air pollution management but to reach the point of increasing the standards so they can force more failures is political and its obvious.
Hey, they impeached Gray Davis, hopefully they will impeach Brown if he follows thru on ending the exemption. Even though there is a huge enviromentalist lobby in Ca, there is a bigger working class that bears the weight of supporting that state. They'll stand up when they get dumped on enough...
Sundays are loaded with classics on PCH in the summertime. I'd hate to see that come to an end. Guys there love their street-rods.

I just can't visualize a surfboard on top of a SmartCar.

 

[roger longman]

The smog readings?

Yes.. the hydrocarbon reading is 112 at 15mph and 86 at 25mph... that's right on maximum... My wife's Jaguar (6cyl.)..has just registered 80 and 61, against an allowable 80 and 45, everything else was wayyyy under. Is my Vette going to need to meet the same figures as the Jag, when it goes in next ? ....Thanks for your help.....Roger.......P.S...(My son served in Korea, Iraq and Afgahnistan in 'The 10th airborne').

 

[Hib Halverson]

Leno can simply not register the cars that won't pass the smog check. He can still display them in the Big Dog Garage, he just can drive them on public roads. Actually, anyone can do that. I neglected to mention that non-operation is a third option along with scrappage and sale out of state.

Gray Davis was not impeached. He lost a recall election. Big difference.

As for Governor Brown (the only Governor-elect one addresses as "Governor") and the mandate he may feel he has...that combined with a legislature drunk on progressivism might just try to repeal the exemption. On the other hand, they also may end up with their hands full trying to deal with the State's fiscal dire straights and not have the time for such minutia...one can only hope.

 

[86PACER]

Yes..

My '86 Vette's most recent smog had HC readings of 26 at idle (120 max allowable) and 12 at 2500 RPM (150 max allowable) while CO% was practically nothing at .001 the whole time (max 1.2 %). And this is with an old and used non OBD-2 efficient conveter with unknown milage. Readings would probably be even lower with one of those new more efficient converters but I don't need it as I am well within limits. I've never done a rolling dyno. Really the key is a properly tuned engine coupled with an efficient catalytic converter(s).

I have only failed smog once with the Vette with HC's of 190 at idle. That was due to incorrect ignition timing. I always hook up my own timing light at home and double check my own timing before going in for smog. This is because if your timing is off the shop will ask for about a $45 fee to adjust it for you in order to pass. This particular time on the vette I noticed the timing was off (or so I though) so I adjusted it with the timing light. Little did I know the actual timing had not changed but rather my harmonic balancer had slipped since the last time causing me to set the timing to the wrong spot due to a timing mark that had since moved. Of course I failed with elevated readings because the timing was off. A replacement balancer and re-timing to the correct mark allow me to pass with no issues that being the only change done. The shop didn't diagnose the slipped balancer. As far as they saw the timing was correct. I diagonosed and replaced the slipped balancer on my own and went back for a re-test.

Now...

Understand that excess HC's (Hydrocarbons) is basically raw unburnt gas exiting the tail pipes and the CO is a byproduct of those unburnt gasses. My experience has shown that when I drop the HC's the CO's follow and also drop with it. The motor itself will never produce exhaust 100% free of HC's. This is where the catalytic converter comes in. There are a couple of factors that can attribute to high HC's individually or in a combination. It usually comes down to these three main areas. The car is getting too much fuel, the car isn't fully or properly igniting/burning the fuel mixture, or an inefficient catalytic converter with too many miles is no longer doing it job as effectively.

The vehicle shown above had a combination of those three factors. It had bad fuel injectors and an original catalytic converter with more than 280K original of miles on it at the time that although not blocked or plugged it was just no longer efficient enough.

Some of the fuel injectors where leaking fuel under pressure (not closing) while others had terrible spray patterns not allowing for complete and proper combustion of the gas within the cylinders. So in some cylinders I had leaking fuel injectors pissing fuel and in others I had bad spray patterns. I had the injectors tested and found some where spraying fuel in solid drops and not in a fine cone shaped atomized mist for proper efficient combustion. So in those cylinders the fuel was not being fully ignited and some raw unburnt gas was going right out the tail pipes elevating the HC readings substantially. The other injectors had a better spray pattern but leaked. So I installed all new fuel injectors and the car ran a lot better. I went for a pre-test after only changing injectors to see the change. It was a massive drop that cut the total HC numbers by about half but still wasn't near enough to pass.

By this time I had ensured through my own in depth testing and a full tune up that engine was properly tuned and timed and needed absolutely nothing else on the engine side besides a new set of fuel injectors. So I shifted my focus to the original factory catalytic converter with over 280K miles on it at that time. A catalytic convert does not necessarily have to be blocked or plugged to be inefficient which was definately the case here. I looked back at my last 2 or 3 smog inspection readings going back several years. Glad I kept them because what I noticed was that my HC numbers climbed closer and closer to the max limits with each new most recent smog inspection. This despite the fact that I had done no changes or modifications to the motor during the same time frame.

So I installed a new OBD-2 efficient catalytic converter for pre OBD-2 vehicles being this was an '85. This change alone dropped the high HC readings from about the mid 200's after the fuel injector swap down the rest of the way to practically almost nothing shown above.

As of January, 1 2009 CA requires that all converters sold in California must meets new OBD-2 converter regulations in including pre OBD-2 applications. Pre OBD-2 applications must now also meet OBD II Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standards which is a significant improvement in performance over the previous generation. This also rendered all current invetory of previous versions illegal to sell and install in California. To my knowledge Magnaflow was and is the only manufacturer that has been granted an E.O. (Executive Order) number by California for these new more efficient CA converters for pre OBD-2 applications which is where I have purchased mine from.


So look at the following areas when HC's are high:

Too much gas

-Running rich
-Vacuum leaks
-O2 sensor
-Leaking fuel injectors

*Running pig rich for prolonged periods of time will also ruin the catalytic converter.

Incomplete combustion

-Insufficient spark or weak ignition components
-Bad fuel injector spray patterns
-Insufficient cylinder compression (Blown head gasket/Leaking valves/Cam to Crank out of syncromization)
-Incorrect ignition timing (look for slipped balancer marks where applicable)

*Not enough compression will not allow the air/fuel mixture to properly ignite even if fuel and spark are sufficient.

Bad Catalytic converter.

Again a catalytic converter does not have to be plugged or blocked to be inefficient in reducing HC readings. I've seen it first hand. The above vehicle being one case. I leave the converter as the last item after taking care of the engine side first, when the converter has a lot of mileage, and if the previous smog printouts for that vehicle going back 2 or 3 smogs show the HC readings creeping closer and closer to the max limits with every most recent smog inspection. In each case I have been right and have used the new OBD-2 CA compliant converters from Magnaflow resulting in impressively low numbers. I have become a fan of these new converters. They do a great job.

So take a look at those factors and do one thing at a time. Take care of whatever the engine needs first if anything and then focus your attention on the catalytic converters themselves. Your readings aren't rediculously high. You are just at the borderline so chances are it's not anything major. If you do or replace a bunch of things at the same time you won't know which fixed it or was responsible for the improvement. I personally like to have a "pre-test" done after each change to see the difference it made and go from there. But I test not guess and I do the converter last. And if you have them go back and take a look at your last 2 or 3 smog inspection results for each vehicle. See if the numbers have been slowly creeping up higher each smog or if this was just a sudden change.

I have seen cars that are perfectly tuned otherwise and the engine needs nothing yet always just seem to barely squeak by the max limits. But once a new OBD-2 efficient catalytic converter is installed they now pass with impressively low numbers with that being the only change made. The motor itself can only do so much. In my opinion California made the right choice in 2009 with raising the bar on OBD-2 efficient converters including pre OBD-2 applications and rendering all current inventory of the less efficient previous generation converters obsolete and unsellable in CA. I'm a fan of these highly efficient converters. A properly tuned motor with a very efficient converter make a great combination.

P.S...(My son served in Korea, Iraq and Afgahnistan in 'The 10th airborne').

God bless. I respect all veterans past and present.

 

[roger longman]

Hi PACER86, The Jag had a new cat. fitted in '08, so it had to be pre OBD 2, but it's only done about 6,000 miles in 2 years. The Vette, I guess, may well need one, but I'll do some checking first. Thanks very much for your help......Roger.

 

[boomdriver]

Leno can simply not register the cars that won't pass the smog check. He can still display them in the Big Dog Garage, he just can drive them on public roads. Actually, anyone can do that. I neglected to mention that non-operation is a third option along with scrappage and sale out of state.

Gray Davis was not impeached. He lost a recall election. Big difference.

As for Governor Brown (the only Governor-elect one addresses as "Governor") and the mandate he may feel he has...that combined with a legislature drunk on progressivism might just try to repeal the exemption. On the other hand, they also may end up with their hands full trying to deal with the State's fiscal dire straights and not have the time for such minutia...one can only hope.

You;re right....
Its been more than 2 hours. I forgot that it was a recall vote, damn near as politically embarrassing as impeachment. Even worse in some ways...The public saying "we can;t wait for you to go away".Literally can't wait for the next election.

Yeah, the state economy may be such a handful that "green" political agendas may take a backseat to survival of state governement.
"Drunk on progressivism" certainly is an accurate description.

I'd imagine,. knowing that "green" is as much a business or industry as it is a movement or a cause, that the state would issue permits (for a price) for short time operation of forbidden cars over the age they consider enviromentally friendly.

It always has been and always will be about money. Just ask Al.

 

[boomdriver]

Hi PACER86, The Jag had a new cat. fitted in '08, so it had to be pre OBD 2, but it's only done about 6,000 miles in 2 years. The Vette, I guess, may well need one, but I'll do some checking first. Thanks very much for your help......Roger.

I discussed cats with a cat expert a few months ago when I was having issues with Tex smog.

It was explained to me that older cats will simply die and not enable the chemical reaction that should take place. This happens because the older designs had problems with the inside materials melting (when rich caused excess heat) and coating the surface of the grates or honeycomb element. Short hops and fuel issues contribute to this. The cat becomes inert and useless. Newer cat designs gaurd against this with different internal materials and other design improvements.
There are a couple ways to test for this, one is to test the inlet vs the outlet temp while running at elevated rpm.The difference should be a specific min temp difference and anything less is considered to be a dead cat. If I remember right, it was not that much...80 degrees or so. It takes 600* to start the process (if memory serves) and the normal reaction did'nt cause a tremendous amount of extra heat...when things were in order.
The other is more sophisticated using some kind of gas analyzer to see if there is chemical reaction.

The only other thing to watch for is high NOX. Good HC can sometimes mean high NOX. Thats often just EGR or timing. The balance between HC and NOX can be difficult to find on engines that have even mild mods. High NOX comes from excessive combustion temps, which are good for burning the HC's, but the heat causes toxic oxides of nitrogen. Thats all EGR really does, is to cool combustion as needed.