This has to be the most amusing and informative post I have read. The denatured alcohol trick is a good one. I'll have to use it myself. My 90 3.0 has an exhaust leak somewhre before the catalyst. This has caused an increase in NOX due to the lack of a rich condition in the catalyst and has also caused the O2 sensor to read lean and try to fatten up the mixture. Double whammy. I smogged it for change of ownership myself and barely passed. Rather than repair it I ran it early in the morning so the NOX would be lower. I know I won't get away with that again though. Even though everything I did was legal the DMV is going to see that I own the truck and then see my smog license number next to my name and "Presto" test-only next time. Happens to every smog tech I know. In fact, every tech at my shop, whether or not they smog has there cars flagged test-only. Even the service writers and the service manager. His wife's Tahoe is not a test=only but it's in her name and she doesn't have anything to do with the auto repair business.
If anyone cares, a lower than stock temperature thermostat may prevent a vehicle from going into closed loop or at least from staying there. This usually results in higher than normal HC and CO but may at times result in higher NOX as well though usually not all at the same time.
The biggest culprit for NOX on this blog, as I see it, is those shaved cylinder heads. I understand that there is really no viable alternative and replacement heads are prohibitively expensive but I didn't set the limits either. And expect the limits to get even tighter. CARB still sees automobiles as the primary contributors to smog gasses and even though we all know that industry pollutes FAR more than we do, getting government to see the truth is never easy unless the truth is spetacular or appears to defy common sense. Until then expect our plight to become worse, not better. Sorry.
The Kalifornia <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" /> smog check is quickly becoming a game of "see what you can get away with" and it's being made more difficult by the fact that it's getting harder and harder to find a smog tech who will cheat. I won't and I don't know anyone who will. The price is too high and the penalty too severe.
Good luck!
