Stupid question

[MusclesWit350]

I heard and read about people removing emission crap by the air filter. What exactly is there to remove and what advantage would come from removing it?

Thanks

 

[zachh]

Theres alot to remove..... I cant explain it on here, mostly because Im not sure what all the "hi- tek" names are. Yuoll get a few more horses under the hood, and there'll be a little more space under the hood.
good luck
zachh

 

[MusclesWit350]

Theres alot to remove..... I cant explain it on here, mostly because Im not sure what all the "hi- tek" names are. Yuoll get a few more horses under the hood, and there'll be a little more space under the hood.
good luck
zachh

Thanks!

Does anybody have pictures or something to help me understand what can come off and how to do it? Sorry for the dumb question, im only 18 and im trying to learn everything I can about my Vette... Thanks all!

 

[22229stingray81]

No dumb questions here, friend. Sorry can't help you with your questions. To be honest I am curious as well. Perhaps doing a search will yeild some more answers. Welcome to the CAC!

-Tatortot

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

In terms of power increase, it's not worth lifting a wrench to remove anything.

The smog pump is the worst offender and that's 1-2 HP.

 

[BarryK]

the biggest issue I think with the power (or lack of power!) with the later model C3's such as your '80 L82 (and my '78 L82) is not so much JUST all the emission control equipment on the car but the overall configuration of the motor that they built to conform to emission requirements.
Removing the emssion crap off the motor such as the AIR pump, AIR injectiors, EGR valve, etc, etc may give you a little bit of power increase you can feel, but I don't think it's going to be significant for the amount of work involved - you still have a fairly mild cam in the car and a pretty low compression motor.

On the other hand, the L82's were all 4-bolt mains I believe so you at least have the basis for a new motor if you really wanted to build it up.
You could remove all the emissions crap off it, rebuild it with a little larger compression, put in a bigger cam, etc and than you would really feel a difference.
Of course if you wanted to do that it would probably make more sense to just pull the motor and preserve it (assuming it's the original motor for the car) and drop in a nice crate motor.

 

[buscemishark]

The biggest difference in removing all that "junk" is the extra space in the engine compartment and all the weight you will be removing.

The extra power that comes from removing the emissions equipment is that now you have made sure that your car is no longer original and you can start retuning it, throw in a better cam, ignition, or headers.

The terms everyone is looking for are:

Secondary Air Injection Reaction (SAI) - Those are the tubes and check valves that are piped into the exhaust manifold and the "extra" pump running off the fan belt. It is used to pump fresh air into the manifolds in order to burn more combustion gasses before they exit the tailpipe. This is the biggest pile of clap-trap and will only aid you in making room/less weight in your engine compartment. You will have to find pipe plugs (8 of them) to plug the holes in the exhaust manifolds...or get new manifolds/headers.

Evaporative Emissions Cansiter (Evap) - That is the charcoal canister (little bit bigger than a coffee can) located on the drivers side of the engine bay, behind the wheel well. This takes the gasoline that has evaporated from your tank (hydrocarbons) and stores it until the engine starts and then a valve opens and the natural vacuum of the engine "sucks" the gas out and burns it. You will get no HP benefits from removing this....but your engine will look cleaner. Make sure you plug off the tubes beacuse this is plumbed into your fuel tank.

Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve (EGR) - That is the big silver (i think it's silver) valve stuck on the passenger side of the intake manifold (it was on mine...1980 L82). This is used to lower the NOx emissions. This can be removed, but the hole in the intake will obvously have to be plugged.

Just remember, the engine was originally designed to run well with all of that on there. If everything is running OK, then you may cause more problems. By taking it all off you will upset the tuning of the car and will probably have to fiddle with things to get it perfect again....but since you asked the question, I assume that you aren't "perfectly" happy with the car.

I originally went through this to gain a little horsepower, but in the end, all I really gained was a nice and neat engine that allowed me to get in there and add a new cam/carb/intake setup. That's where you will notice the power increase.

The only reason I am rambling on so much is that I went through the exact same thing on mine...and I happen to be an emissions engineer at GM. It's not very often that I get to spill some knowledge on this website, so I do it when I can.

For those of you who stuck with me through all this...get back to work.

Dave

 

[82ColEd]

snip
The only reason I am rambling on so much is that I went through the exact same thing on mine...and I happen to be an emissions engineer at GM. It's not very often that I get to spill some knowledge on this website, so I do it when I can.

For those of you who stuck with me through all this...get back to work.

Dave

Very informative. Thanks for "rambling"..

Work, aeh, ok.. :L


-Stefan

 

[MusclesWit350]

The biggest difference in removing all that "junk" is the extra space in the engine compartment and all the weight you will be removing.

The extra power that comes from removing the emissions equipment is that now you have made sure that your car is no longer original and you can start retuning it, throw in a better cam, ignition, or headers.

The terms everyone is looking for are:

Secondary Air Injection Reaction (SAI) - Those are the tubes and check valves that are piped into the exhaust manifold and the "extra" pump running off the fan belt. It is used to pump fresh air into the manifolds in order to burn more combustion gasses before they exit the tailpipe. This is the biggest pile of clap-trap and will only aid you in making room/less weight in your engine compartment. You will have to find pipe plugs (8 of them) to plug the holes in the exhaust manifolds...or get new manifolds/headers.

Evaporative Emissions Cansiter (Evap) - That is the charcoal canister (little bit bigger than a coffee can) located on the drivers side of the engine bay, behind the wheel well. This takes the gasoline that has evaporated from your tank (hydrocarbons) and stores it until the engine starts and then a valve opens and the natural vacuum of the engine "sucks" the gas out and burns it. You will get no HP benefits from removing this....but your engine will look cleaner. Make sure you plug off the tubes beacuse this is plumbed into your fuel tank.

Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve (EGR) - That is the big silver (i think it's silver) valve stuck on the passenger side of the intake manifold (it was on mine...1980 L82). This is used to lower the NOx emissions. This can be removed, but the hole in the intake will obvously have to be plugged.

Just remember, the engine was originally designed to run well with all of that on there. If everything is running OK, then you may cause more problems. By taking it all off you will upset the tuning of the car and will probably have to fiddle with things to get it perfect again....but since you asked the question, I assume that you aren't "perfectly" happy with the car.

I originally went through this to gain a little horsepower, but in the end, all I really gained was a nice and neat engine that allowed me to get in there and add a new cam/carb/intake setup. That's where you will notice the power increase.

The only reason I am rambling on so much is that I went through the exact same thing on mine...and I happen to be an emissions engineer at GM. It's not very often that I get to spill some knowledge on this website, so I do it when I can.

For those of you who stuck with me through all this...get back to work.

Dave

That what I was looking for! Thank you very much to take the time to explain it for me.

Thanks,
Kyle

 

[buscemishark]

That what I was looking for! Thank you very much to take the time to explain it for me.

Thanks,
Kyle

Just remember that removing all that viods your warranty

Also, you won't pass emissions tests anymore. Not sure how your state is, but here in michigan that is no problem.