FINALLY!!! The truck passed with a new cat, a new rear o2 sensor and a new EGR valve. The EGR was completely blocked with carbon as were some hoses. While it did pass, NOX is still really high at 15mph. It read 1042 with a max allowed of 1058. At 25mph, it read 290 with a max of 918. Any ideas as to why it's so high at 15mph?

One possibility is that the RPMs were too low to get the EGR valve fully open at that speed.

Two good things about Wisconsin. No emissions inspection (outside of Metro Milwaukee/Racine/Kenosha). $60 annual registration fee (even new cars!). No primary seatbelt law. No proof of insurance required. Low cost insurance (comparatively). No motorcycle helmet law. Short lines/fast, friendly DMV. Cops don't pull people over without a real good reason (except Metro Miwaukee). Ok, ok I know that's more than two things. I just couldn't resist bragging. -- Matt

Nice to hear you passed.

Back in CT....and when I had older more abused cars....I used to put a few bottles of dry gas in the tank prior to going for the test. Dry gas is basically alcohol....and it makes the motor run hotter....and therefore cleaner. Ofcourse the extra heat isn't all that great for the motor.

.....Dry gas also melts any water ice in your gas tank and thins any water out, so it can run through a carb without stalling the motor....but like any tool, I never used it for it's intended purpose.

>>>*Yes, we run into this when we find oversizes tires on vehicles without gears.

I don't agree with the MPH tests, all testing should be run at a set RPM for a spec.

Another thing the gentleman mentioned was a vibration? That can increase emissions because the throttle gets jiggled, it shows up less at higher RPM's...

*We are still out of the DEQ area since we live way out in the hills, but last time I looked the new boundry was just a mile South of us.

Portland is coming, OHNO OHNO! But we have some folks living farther up in the hills that I don't think anyone wants to try and make come in for testing...*LOL**.

Emissions testing does have it place, but they need to use some common sense about it....*EB

I disagree on the MPH test.. I think they're a good idea, MPH as measured on the dyno, not by some speedo that could be off by X.. Otherwise, I'm going into the speedo modification business. Your speedo will say 60, but somehow you're emissions will be 30mph.

Why do I disagree?
A car may have a specific hydrocarbon output at a fixed RPM, no load, but under load the engine dynamics change a lot. Rings could be bad, it could begin to immediately barf massive quantities of blue smoke.. These things don't necessarily show up as much under no-load conditions.

I'm a fan of "reasonable" emissions requirements also. That means real world tailpipe emissions. I'm disappointed by states (like TX) that go by strick OBD-II standards, as I've got a car that's now OBD-II non-compliant.. Basically it uses a "spare" section of the ECU to run some non-emissions impacting equipment (intercooler sprayer - water). It fails the emissions tests in TX due to codes for that indicate an automatic transmission error. Oh yea, it has a manual... There is no recourse. Well, unless someone figures out how to "scrub" ecu codes.. :-)

I've talked to TXDOT about the work I do with EFI cars - basically, if they've told me it's completely illegal to modify EFI - they say if I do I can be fined, blah blah blah.. You know, like it is out in California! It doesn't matter if they're pooping out pure C02 and water as the only emissions, if you touch 'em, it's against the law.. A bit of a bummer if you're interested in doing modifications for dual fuel or actually IMPROVING emissions output. This is a real bummer on older vehicles as they tend to pollute more as they age.

More laws.. Just what we need.

The dyno test we have out here is not ideal though. There is no load setting I can see on the dyno, so same load for a little 4 banger or a V8. And the RPMs they test at seem to be too low IMHO. I have 4.88s and 33s and the RPMs at 15/25 are 1750/2750. I know in my '85 FSM, the EGR tests are all done at above 2000 RPM, so it must just be turning on at 1750. I think next time I'll borrow my buddy's set of 28" tires for the test.

dcq,
Any chance of a "referee" to interveen, like here in California?

A suggestion.

A big chunk (geographic) of CA is not under the every two year smog requirement. If you know someone who lives in a non CARB regulated area, see if you can register your vehicle with their address, then you do not have to smog it every two years.

Not entirely legal, but, a loophole.

In Sonoma County, Santa Rosa is in the Air Quality Management District, but Healdsburg is not. Difference of about 15 miles.

You do not have to move, just have the rig registered somewhere that does not have the requirement.