AKIRA Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 In march in my area of PA they are adding visual inspections of emissions control equipment. (EDIT: and gas cap tests) Here is how I think I can get around it: leave all the junk on(egr, Pcv, etc..), and just pop off and plug the lines once it's over. with a webber, just put the hitachi back on for the inspection, or take the "webber" words off and fit on a stock cleaner. (this is an idea, I don't have a webber yet) put a 3 way highflow cat on it that would pass inspection Instead of my 20yr old stock one. what do you think? any other ideas? -AK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 I would think that a weber should be easy to leave in place with the stock aircleaner over it. How often do these guys see EA81s to know what carb it had? My BRAT is in vilation of so many of VA's laws that I don't even think about taking it to a chain or brand name garage. I found a nice backwoods hillbilly place that just doesn't care and passes whatever comes through the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Akira: That's basically what I'm going to do if they make me get an I.M. sticker here (it's kinda shady since I don't claim my residence or register my car in Anchorage, but they could make me do it). I just saved the hitachi and everything that goes with it when I put the weber on, and I gutted the stock cat for now, but I have a spare y-pipe to put on. I have also heard that if everything is tuned up real good you can pass the tailpipe test without a cat at all, and it at least looks like I've got a cat there. Depending on how anal the inspection is in your area, they may require you to have an exact replacement of the stock cat on there. You might check before putting on an aftermarket one. It's really stupid because that would probably do a better job than the stock one, but that's our government for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyruss Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 stock replacement of the cat applies to OBDII cars (96 and up) if your car was supposed to have a cat the limits are lower. If you can beat that great but I would not count on it. The inspector that lets a weber get past him would be out of a job in no time. I reply to this because I am a licensed smog tech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Thanks rallyruss, I was kind of waiting for your reply to that. I too am rather skeptical of being able to pass w/o a cat, but I'm going to test it out on the IM machine we have at UAA to just to see if that rumor is true. It just might work, especially with a few bottles of alcohol in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_whirly Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Sorry to hear they are breaking balls in the rest of PA now. My latest trick is to take my old subies to the local SUBARU dealer for inspection. They have a deal for free emissions inspection; both my old subies have always passed emissions with no problems!! Strange, but true!! This Subaru dealer is giving me a break I know! Previous inspection stations were always breaking me balls about "squeaking" by emissions....hey, give the dealer a try...ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Grind the "Weber" writing off the casting, and modify the stock air cleaner to fit. Paint the carb black to make it not stand out so much - run a bunch of vac lines around in dizzying circles all about the carb - they will never know the difference. Hell - I live in soob country, and the guy said my 85 brat didn't have an AIS. And my Brat has them on BOTH sides. These guys don't know diddly. And if they get wise at one station, just go to another. Not saying *you* personally don't know anything Russ - but the typical testing fob is not exactly a college grad - and if you run through enough times, you'll get one dumb enough to be to your likeing. And if you can't - I'm sure you can find one that will take a bribe. Grease a few palms - it works wonders. I'll tell you if I was working at that job, I would be taking some bribes for sure. And don't give me that crap about camera's - they can't hear what your saying, and it doesn't need to take place where a camera can see it. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Just keep it simple and go to backwoods low budget garages. When looking for an inspection I just pulled up and asked if there was anything on the truck that they would have a problem with. As soon as they said they had to get the book or started to point out lift or exhaust etc. I just got back in the truck and left. After about a half dozen stops I went to a place where the guy said everything looked good but the exhaust needed to be 6 in. longer. I ran to autozone and got some exhaust tips then back to the garage. He took a look at them and started making up the sticker. He never checked a thing outside of that quick glance. Never looked at the catless exhaust, double the legal lift, 5 point harnesses, etc. I just started asking guys with lifted trucks where they got their inspections done at then started checking those leads. You might have to do some leg work but you can find a place that will pass anything just about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKIRA Posted January 30, 2004 Author Share Posted January 30, 2004 ok, I am just gonna disconect the emissions lines(and plug them) once it's inspected, when i get a webber i think I will put the hitachi for inspections unless I find one I think i could slip a webber by. I leave the stock cat or core it out. remember this is a visual inspection, not an actual smog test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 i had a camaro once upon a time.. had hooker headers, dual straight pipes into a set of flowmaster mufflers.. had the stock quadrapuke on it.. i took it through emissions (DEQ) and it failed so i pulled it out, adjusted and back around i went.. after about 4 times of this i got it to pass, without a cat, and deffinitely not stock.. after i pulled out i turned the screw back to where it was and drove off.. a car can be tuned down real far, to make it pass emissions without anything stock on it.. it'll just run like crap till you adjust it back when your done.. as far as visual inspection gut the cats and leae them on there, you can't tell the difference unless you take the pipe off and peek inside, which they won't do.. as far as a webber is concerned, if you take all of the emmision stuff off, so there is no evidence it ever existed i don't think they would know the difference... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABdad Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Good luck. In Phoenix, Arizona, we have visual inspection, gas cap and tank pressure tests, and they measure the exhaust while runing the car on rollers through all the gears! But the good news is it only costs $27 and is good for 2 years. The inspection stations here are run for the state by a contractor. For the visuals they are just looking that the Cat(s) are still there and that the plumbing and belts under the hood aren't hanging loose or stripped off. That being said, I've never had any real problems getting passed, more or less, legitimately. Get it tested/inspected, off the record somewhere first. (be sure it is someone with NO financial interest in the matter) It is alot eaiser if you know where you stand going in. Don't assume you are going to fail. The sooby engine (and for that matter most engines) are really pretty clean running if they are in good tune. The one of the most common failures is too much HC caused by running too rich or missing. Some tricks that might work if you have to get creative: You could plug your "excess" hoses with ball bearings and reconnect them. AIR pumps can be just hollow shells and small change can block off some of the larger holes. A little alcohol in the gas helps. Go for your inspection at a busy time when there are lots of cars in line. Never, Ever hassle or be rude to the inspector. Most of them hate their jobs and hate dealing with pissed off people all day. Be nice to them and they may let you slide on something or at least tell you the easiest way to get passed on the second try. and if all else fails move out of state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 move to IOWA, we did away with our testing many years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 But the good news is it only costs $27 and is good for 2 years. Only $21 here - good for 2 years. Our stations are run by the state, and owned by the state. So what we have is a bunch of state employees that could care less about the visual. I could almost certainly get away with a Weber here. But I don't need to, as only *some* of our zip codes are within the testing area. I'm just getting a P.O. box out in an area without testing, and I'll be good. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossta86 Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 I'm with subarubrat on this one. Talk to some people, and find the right inspector. I work at a shop and most inspectors (for safety inspection) that i have meat/dealt with can be reasoned into passing if there are no real safety concerns. Emission inspections are a little tuffer if they actually run it on a dyne like here in parts of VA. Thats when you convince them to run another car in place of yours just with your vin number in the computer, probably a hard thing to do if you don't know an inspector personally. If it is just a visual inspection only i wouldn't worry too much. Meeky Moose they won't know the difference, as long as you remove the emssions sticker from under the hood, but u were probably including that when you said all of the emission stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 bad rock chip in windshield, golfball size fix by cooking egg with hair dryer put magnetic sign on side of door that says Possum Lake bird sanctuary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8vega215 Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 in oregon we have the DEQ testing and my brat passed missing the preheat tube and all the vacuum lines are all pluged off with golf tees, so just drive station to station till you find a guy who happens to be a little bit slow, being nice to the testing guy never hurts either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87 Pimped Gl Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 Hey I have a 87 Subaru Gl hatch but it has a 95' EJ22 motor in it. They never even blinked an eye when they poped the hood, and it even has an intake with an heat shield on it. I have only talked to one guy in the last 10 years that any idea what was going on at the emmissions place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomad Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 here in Toronto, most of our techs are morons who just go by what their computer says the car is s'posed to have on it. For example, if your vin says the car is a v6 and you drive it in with a v8, they get all confused and wonder how the computer could be wrong. There is a "hot rod" clause in our testing laws, however... it states that if the car has an engine/drivetrain other than stock, it must be tested by 1980 year standards. The trouble is, most of the techs either don't know about it or just pretend not to know. Me? a few ball bearings in the right places and 3-5 gallons gas to one gallon of methyl hydrate in the tank. AFTER a complete tune-up of course... Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subafreak Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 Hmm. I'm getting my Loyal inspected next Sat at a Suby dealer. The last time I had it inspected at a Midas shop 2yrs. ago, that was right after I finished the lift and it passed no problem. This year I have the EJ22T in it that probly runs cleaner than the EA ever did so I should have no problem with the emmisions part, plus with the AWD tranny in it they can't run it on the rollers this time. In R.I. they have 1 or 2 year inspections (depends on the day you show up) were they do a compleat saftey and emmisions test. I think it's a good idea becouse some people drive some really dangerous crap around in CT., were they only saftey inspect when you register the car after that they never check again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WagonsOnly Posted February 2, 2004 Share Posted February 2, 2004 Subafreak, they only inspect cars for safety here if you own a car previously titled in a different state. So if you buy a car with a Conn. title you can register it without going through Safety at all. Emissions only (and that's only when they clear the backlog). The fee is 20 bucks for 2 years, with an additional 20 dollar late fee if you miss the test date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted February 2, 2004 Share Posted February 2, 2004 I guess it would also depend on what your state does if you just don't go. Some states won't re-register your plates if you don't have a current safety/emissions sticker. Others don't and you can just deal with the occasional ticket. In VA fix it tickets for "safety" violations are usually dismissed but if you just pay it you don't have to prove it was fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted February 2, 2004 Share Posted February 2, 2004 The IM program in AK is pretty well-educated and fairly rigidly enforced. The only areas that enforce it (Anchor town and Squarebanks) have inspectors who are pretty anally retentive about it. The outlying areas usually don't offer inspections as thay don't require them. I wish I knew of a place to go where I could get through witha Weber and no cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeky Moose Posted February 2, 2004 Share Posted February 2, 2004 Originally posted by Rossta86 Meeky Moose they won't know the difference, as long as you remove the emssions sticker from under the hood, but u were probably including that when you said all of the emission stuff yup i meant all of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romcat Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Hi All: Is it possible to convert to the Weber 32/36 and use the pollution controls that are on the car? Mine is an 86 GL AWD D/R Wagon w/5spd. I don't want to drop the controls, I'd like it to run as clean as possible within common sense... I know some may be offended by that but, I used to live in Toronto and I watched the air turn brown as the population grew and the number of cars going into the city on weekday mornings increased past 1 million. Now that I live in New Jersey, I bought the Sube to get down dirt roads to hike in places too far from pavement for the average person to like. In other words the car is to help me get to the woods, why would I want to speed its destruction with the tool used to get there. Cheers, Gareth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 many people have reported cleaner emissions after converting to the Weber. you may not need to worry about that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.