Does EPA approved SMOG TESTING equipment test only exhaust temperature, or does it test for all chemicals in the automobile exhaust?
And, does it work, if at all, like the oxygen sensor on the engine?
You seem like a technical guy, translate “smog testing equipment” into technical terms
The STATES use several EPA approved testing protocols. IM-240 is the most common, where your car is run on a treadmill (dyno) and several gases in the exhaust are measured and computed into a grams per mile reading…
NONE of the tests accomplish ANYTHING other than placating the tree huggers and generating a lot of revenue. Not enough cars ever FAIL this “test” to make any measurable difference in air quality…If all the failed cars were removed from the road, it would make no measurable difference. It’s a complete waste of time and money.
I couldn’t tell if he was asking about a diagnostic machine (4and 5 gas analyzers) or the equipment at the emission’s test facility. Never heard anyone say “need to get my smog tested today”.Here in AZ its emission’s testing,but I haven’t heard it all.
Let’s not start this foolishness again. How many people would yank off their emissions equipment or fail to keep their cars in proper tune if they didn’t have to pass periodic emissions tests? THAT’S the value of testing: deterrence.
The “Tuners” still yank it off. They just put it back on for “test day”…
Most cars that “failed”, then were “repaired”, came back a got a re-test, passed…If you check them a week later, they “fail” again…It’s a joke, a waste of time…
Unless you live in Tarrant County (Fort Worth) Texas. The county sets up portable testing sites on freeway entrance ramps. A camera grabs your license plate as a gas analyzer detects your exhaust emissions. If they detect readings that are suspect, they’ll send you a letter telling you to bring the car in for emissions testing.
-A
I’ll agree that the smog tests had their place when most cars on the road were from the 70’s and 80’s, when engines required frequent tune ups and emissions equipment was finicky and ancillary to the actual functioning of the car. Nowadays, the emissions equipment is much more reliable and is integral with the functioning of the car-- in other words, there’s only a handful of relatively rare issues that arise with modern cars that will result in higher emissions but no drivability problems. Also, for the same reasons of improved performance and more integration of emissions devices, it’s very difficult for someone to deliberately remove them and also less of a motivation to do so.
I think the plug in OBD-2 test is fair, but it should cost a fraction of what an old fashioned smog test cost.
sort of a strange area to have an emissions detector, in an area with a higher than average taco output so to speak.
I think the OBD II “emissions test”, required in my county, costs an extra $6. The shops are NOT getting rich from this! I still maintain that the testing requirement keeps the vast majority of car owners honest in keeping their vehicles in reasonably good shape, tuners notwithstanding. As long as there have been rules in any aspect of life, there have been cheaters. I don’t expect human nature to change significantly anytime soon.
SMOG TESTING EQUIPMENT = THE TYPICAL EMISSIONS TESTING EQUIPMENT USED BY SMOG TESTING STATIONS in the average repair shop.
A Better Question would be: "Does any emission testing equipment test anything but exhaust temperature?"
Or, do Oxygen Sensors limit efficiency?
IF SO, Change the resistance of your Oxygen Sensor to TUNE YOUR ENGINE, BETTER than California SMOG experts.
Or, since engine exhaust gets hotter with more efficiency, does SMOG testing equipment limit efficiency and miles per gallon in order to produce less undefined SMOG?
Maybe Cal. SMOG EXPERTS were prostitutes, like most Government employees and Politicians.
Define: “TUNE” as government specifications, not efficiency, for SMOGGY THINKERS, who have been brainwashed by Government Propaganda Experts!
How can a few “tuners” ruin the AIR, when so many fools follow the Righteous Leaders?
Very expensive exhaust gas diagnostic machines are only available to Engine designers, not consumers of gasoline.
People who can’t translate similar words, can’t THINK very well,
especially, if the words are misspelled, slightly, in the same language.
NONE of the tests accomplish ANYTHING other than placating the tree huggers and generating a lot of revenue. Not enough cars ever FAIL this “test” to make any measurable difference in air quality…If all the failed cars were removed from the road, it would make no measurable difference. It’s a complete waste of time and money.
Yea, they catch very few malfunctioning systems, but they do tend to prevent many many more from removing, disabling or not bothering to fix their cars.
“If all the failed cars were removed from the road, it would make no measurable difference.”
How about that '89 Cadillac Sedan running on 7 cylinders? It’s probably putting out as much junk as 100 newer cars in good tune.
Nobody so far has mentioned the obvious:
- Regular “smog tests” don’t measure exhaust temperature
- Emissions tests generally measure hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide which result from incomplete burning, plus oxides of nitrogen
- Oxygen sensors measure oxygen, which is not a pollutant