Emissions Testing

Bernie

Active member
Joined
Feb 24, 1999
Location
leominster MA USA
Does anyone know when and if Massachussets will start testing diesel emissions, and will it be tested to OBDII Tier 1 or Tier 2 standards.
 

JeffT

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 4, 1999
Location
Diesel is diesel is diesel!
Bernie, looks like testing for diesels in Mass is beginning now. Your car will be due for inspection on an odd/odd even/even schedule. Do you have an emission's sticker on your car now?

My quick read of this stuff says the only emission test for diesel cars in Massahusetts will be for opacity and you will need to have an opacity reading of 20% or lower.

Check out this page: http://www.vehicletest.state.ma.us/generalinfo.html#wheninspect

And you find the actual regulations here: http://www.state.ma.us/dep/bwp/iandm/files/imregfin.pdf

I love regulations!!!!
 
M

mickey

Guest
If the only standard for a diesel is 20% opacity then you have nothing to worry about. A direct injection engine, like a TDI, couldn't possibly fail that test and still run well enough to move the car around. Some counties in Utah have the same test. I think it's done just to make diesel owners jump through some hoops. The test itself is completely meaningless to a TDI. The standard is set at 20% in order to allow old-fashioned IDI diesels a reasonable chance to pass the test.

-mickey
 

Hyates

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 27, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
SOLD
Been doing opacity emissions testing in BC for a few years now. Our '87 Golf Diesel consistently goes through with 0% opacity even with 267000 km on the clock. Gotta love it. One year it went through with 1.0%... the air filter was dirty!

Checking opacity on the diesel cars is basically just a tax grab IMHO. 20% is a very generous limit.

Harry.

------------------
'87 Golf Diesel (267000+ Km)
'00 Golf TDI GLS (965 Km)
 

Huracan

Veteran Member
Joined
May 14, 1999
Location
Saratoga, CA
TDI
1999 Jetta GL Dark Green , 2010 Jetta White
Hyates,

I got this from the ICBC webpage (the guys in charge of the AirCare in British Columbia)

If the vehicle fuel type is "D"(diesel), the system will automatically select the diesel opacity test. This test consists of a 50 kilometres per hour (km/hr) dynamometer run with a load of 10.0 hp for all vehicles. The opacity meter measures smoke output throughout the test and records the reading after 30 seconds of dynamometer operation. The standard for compliance is:

20 per cent opacity for 1987 and older

10 per cent opacity for 1988 through 1994

5 per cent opacity for 1995 and newer

I am sure that the TDI's will be below the 5%. I remember reading some ad in a newspaper asking for public input about not requiring Emission tests for diesel passenger cars. I wish I could give my input now.
 

Hyates

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 27, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
SOLD
Huracan:

My point exactly. If a 1987 Golf diesel goes through AirScare with 0%.. that's zero... then a TDI should do the same.

There is NO reason why a TDI would be worse than our old diesel unless it has major systems failing and then it probably wouldn't run well enough to drive it AirScare anyway.

Harry.

------------------
'87 Golf Diesel (267000+ Km)
'00 Golf TDI GLS (965 Km)
 

Bernie

Active member
Joined
Feb 24, 1999
Location
leominster MA USA
So you don't think a blocked EGR will be detected. (bye the way my dealer Technican said he will clear the ERROR codes in the ECU on every visit,and he believes the EGR is detrimental to the engin but VW was forced to install it).
 

VWBoost

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2000
Location
Surrey, B.C.
This answers a question i had, i'm thinking of getting a 90-92 Jetta TD and was wondering how easy it would be to pass aircare. Apparently, its pretty easy!!!
 

Skeeter

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Location
Ellington, CT
CT. recently started to test diesels after years of being exempt (I was hoping to get out of it, but no such luck).

This is simply another way for the state to pick your pocket.
 
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