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Time for Mango Bango's biennial smog check. There's a test-only station just a couple of blocks from home, so I stopped there after running some errands. The car wasn't completely warmed up, so the guys at the station decided to just let him idle.

For about 20 minutes.

Yikes! I don't want to think about what that's going to do to my tank average this time.

But, $100 later, I have a smog certificate! The HC numbers were pretty much right at the "Average" number (it says "Average Emissions For Passing Vehicles", probably by age of vehicle, in PPM). The CO percentages were somewhat higher than the Average figure, while the NO (PPM) numbers were significantly lower. Sounds like he's running a trifle on the rich side... Hmmm.

-soD

Wow. :eek:

You aren't helping my reluctance to bring the family vehicles in to the mechanic. :p

i went through the smog nightmare when i lived in texASS. they'd put my 50mpg del sol through hell each time and it NEVER once passed the NOX. they would have given me a 'voucher' on a new dodge diesel though. :cconfused: i guess the computer didn't know that 5sp del sols were MADE with no EGR which is designed to control NOX.

smog testing is yet another way to take money out of your pocket and put it in another, in this case car mechanics .

in AZ here we have stricter testing then anyone including California. It is a nightmare to go to the testing station which is run by the state. they have let up a little as recent since now all cars 1996 and newer are just scanned for codes but all the rest must be run on the dyno and these kids working at the station don't know what they are doing. i am afraid they are going to blow engine with the way they rev the holey piss out of some of these cars. worst is the fact we are the only state that i know of that test motorcycles. what a complete waste of time for me to sit in the summer sun fully geared up for 30 min in line to just idle and rev a few times.