How was your California SMOG test?

NewTdi said:

If I recall someone mentioned that the CAT has to be original OE in order to pass smog and not an aftermarket brand; how do we get around this?

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there is no getting around it, and in my opinion this rule is pathetically ridiculous.

think about it, if the exhaust is cleaned with a cat,who cares what label the cannister has on it

bluesmoker said:

I can almost agree that the old dpf equipped powerstrokes, 6.7 cummins were disasters when released, poor economy, blown turbos, blocked egrs, blown heads etc were commonplace

but removal of a cat converter, come on

the cat has almost zero backpressure and has little if any negative effect on economy

removing your cat is simply wrong headed, and grossly polluting
http://cumminsemissionsolutions.com/retrofit-doc.html

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Ever taken apart a cat off of a cummins?? Or actually measured back pressure on it, without looking at media claims, or not thinking like a hippie?? Didnt think so....cant even see light through it. There is a pressure drop across it...My 06 after 14,000 kms had basically plugged the cat....when new the turbine outlet pressures were exactly what cummins specifies (between 2-5" h2o at idle and not exceeding 22" at WOT)....at 14,000 these pressures were 17" at idle and 50" at WOT .....take the CAT out....and BAM.....2" at idle, 12" at WOT. Now the new Diesels with the crap on them are allowed to reach 75" pre-DPF, Regen usually occur at 50"....But my 06 is not rated for that....and if anyone thinks I am putting a new cat on every 14,000 km to reduce something that is all a myth...then good luck.

first of all i am not a hippie, i have a crew cut and i vote for the conservative party, the us equivalent would be republican

and yes i have seen a cat converter prior to installation, you are not supposed to be able to see through, what you are looking at is a ceramic substrate covered with platinum and other rare earth metals

any exhaust fitting will cause back pressure (muffler, cat resonator, fart cans etc) the few inches of back pressure caused by a cat will cost you about 1-3 hp in your tdi, big deal,

the loss for a large truck is probably more but again very little in the grand scheme of things

here is a challenge to you, dyno your car with the cat off and then dyno with it on, you may be surprised to see virtually no loss in power, unless 1-3 hp makes you loose sleep at night

bluesmoker said:

first of all i am not a hippie, i have a crew cut and i vote for the conservative party, the us equivalent would be republican

and yes i have seen a cat converter prior to installation, you are not supposed to be able to see through, what you are looking at is a ceramic substrate covered with platinum and other rare earth metals

any exhaust fitting will cause back pressure (muffler, cat resonator, fart cans etc) the few inches of back pressure caused by a cat will cost you about 1-3 hp in your tdi, big deal,

the loss for a large truck is probably more but again very little in the grand scheme of things

here is a challenge to you, dyno your car with the cat off and then dyno with it on, you may be surprised to see virtually no loss in power, unless 1-3 hp makes you loose sleep at night

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Sure 1-3 hp when the vehicle is new....bottom line is after 14,000 kms on my truck, i was experiance dangerous backpressures due to the cat...and actually gained about 9rwhp after removal....on my Challenger....I gained 17 rwhp removing the cats....on a tdi sure that number is gonna be much smaller....but, I am talking cats in general....not on 1 vehicle.

The fact that governments think (because they are told by some media friendly outlet) that this emissions equipment is making a difference, should maybe look at the other side of the coin, and to the scientists that are shunned, and cannot get their voice out.

People are being forced to spend money, to replace emissions equipment they do not want on their vehicles....why do people not want them....because they take it off for sound, or for power, and realize gains in both as well as fuel economy. DPF's are a perfect example....real world gains are experianced taking them off....but people are still forced to pay money up front on the purchase of the vehicle because that cost is passed on....then they pay extra at the pump because the cars burn more fuel in order to keep this stuff on the car, and then the price of fuel rises, because we are burning more....this is all a money making scheme put forth by the government, and their friends....more money from taxes on the vehicle, on the fuel, on the inspection.

The common rail design, is the most efficient diesel fuel design put forth thus far....and no one had any issues with it, until of course, someone noticed market share was rising, and all of a sudden, all this extra gobbly gook gets slapped on not by choice....but by some douche in government.

your logic would make sense if the crap belching from your cat delete cars went straight into you passenger compartment and stayed there; instead it pollutes all the air we breathe

the same selfish attitude is held by smokers and second hand smoke

cat converters were mandated by laws passed by our democratically elected governments, that is the will of the people

so what if you got a few HP by cutting off your cat converters, the cost to the environment is not worth it

and when smog testing comes to your area you will be crying that you cant get your car registered

too bad

But he's in Canada ...

bluesmoker said:

your logic would make sense if the crap belching from your cat delete cars went straight into you passenger compartment and stayed there; instead it pollutes all the air we breathe

the same selfish attitude is held by smokers and second hand smoke

cat converters were mandated by laws passed by our democratically elected governments, that is the will of the people

so what if you got a few HP by cutting off your cat converters, the cost to the environment is not worth it

and when smog testing comes to your area (and dont fool yourself, it is coming, the EPA has mandated air quality standards for the us, soon they will be legally enforceable) you will be crying that you cant get your car registered

too bad

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And the same ignorance is held by people who actually believe the democratic system works for them....bottom line is, they work for themselves. Cause I vote, yet my will, and the will of most Albertans is never fulfilled or even tried.

Not to mention it says right beside my name, that I live in canada, Edmonton to be exact....but I guess it makes sence...you are from BC and all...LOL

09R/T said:

And the same ignorance is held by people who actually believe the democratic system works for them....bottom line is, they work for themselves. Cause I vote, yet my will, and the will of most Albertans is never fulfilled or even tried.

Not to mention it says right beside my name, that I live in canada, Edmonton to be exact....but I guess it makes sence...you are from BC and all...LOL

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i fixed my error, btw, emission testing is coming to your area too

I didn't remove my CAT, but I did remove my DPF from my 2008 PSD and my mileage jumped from 12 to 16/17MPG!
Then I got my smog check notice in the mail and put the DPF back on and sold my tuner...
If I were to get pulled over with the DPF missing in my truck, I would get slammed with a $10,000 fine...

Sweated for a month, fixing things the PO had screwed up, getting ready to get my Jetta smogged for a xfer of ownership... brought it in last week and 15 mins later and $60 lighter, it was done! The first place I brought it to looked at the Jetta for about 5 mins and then the guy threw up his hands and said "I can't do it... I dunno what I'm looking for". The 2nd place was a European auto shop, and while they admitted this was the first diesel VW they'd smogged, they were much more professional and had the right shop manuals so they could do the job properly.

I changed the stock cat on my tdi to a Magnaflow high-flow cat from Kerma about a year ago. When the muffler guy cut of my cat I asked to see it expecting to see all kinds of soot and crap. It was see-through and clean. My car had 140k at the time. I just wanted to share my experiance because I dont think the stock cat is that restrictive. With the Magnaflow cat my turbo spools up just a little quicker but not enough that I would go through the trouble to replace it if I had to do it again.

Also, please remember forum rules and keep political views to ourselves. This is about the cars.

vwtdiwagon said:

I changed the stock cat on my tdi to a Magnaflow high-flow cat from Kerma about a year ago. When the muffler guy cut of my cat I asked to see it expecting to see all kinds of soot and crap. It was see-through and clean. My car had 140k at the time. I just wanted to share my experiance because I dont think the stock cat is that restrictive. With the Magnaflow cat my turbo spools up just a little quicker but not enough that I would go through the trouble to replace it if I had to do it again.

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Have you gone through smog and did you pass?

Just passed an 09 TDI with app 20,000 miles.

Smogged Already

ruking said:

Just passed an 09 TDI with app 20,000 miles.

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I was mistakenly I think told that we were not required to have
our new CR TDIs inspected until they were four years old.

Based on your experience, I now believe that is not true,
and inspection is required every two years. Correct?

Thanks for the clarification in advance.



D

NewTdi said:

Have you gone through smog and did you pass?

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When my registration came in the mail they just wanted the money. No mention of a smog. My sticker came in the mail just like always. Mabye I'll get snagged next year??

Derrel H Green said:

I was mistakenly I think told that we were not required to have
our new CR TDIs inspected until they were four years old.

Based on your experience, I now believe that is not true,
and inspection is required every two years. Correct?

Thanks for the clarification in advance.



D

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You are correct on all counts. I was also under the mistaken directive, untill I got the new improved 2 year directive (printed in real English from the DMV) that CR TDI's were not required a smog test till 4 years old.

In fact, (CA) DMV has always collected a reduced fee YEARLY in lieu of not having to go till 4 years AND a reduce fee when your car is required to go every 2 years.

The biggest thing the smog only test station technicial could NOT get over was the UTTER lack of smoke from the TDI. (He had declared a number of times that ALL diesels smoked) I watched him perform the smoke test literally 5 times, when one/once was required. He also went under the hood a number of times to make sure he indeed was testing a diesel. As all are aware, the 09,10,11 barely has the diesel sound. The entertainment value was ironic, even as I remembered I was paying for this fiasco. Needless to say this is a 200% increase in TAXES.

So It's Every Two Years?

ruking said:

You are correct on all counts. I was also under the mistaken directive, untill I got
the new improved 2 year directive (printed in real English from the DMV)
that CR TDI's were not required an smog till 4 years old.

In fact, (CA) DMV collects a reduced fee YEARLY in lieu of not having to go till
4 years AND a reduce fee when your car is required to go every 2 years.

The biggest thing the smog only test station technicial could NOT get over was the UTTER lack of smoke from the TDI. (He had declared a number of times that ALL diesels smoked) I watched him perform the smoke test literally 5 times, when one was required. He also went under the hood a number of times to make sure he indeed was testing a diesel. As all are aware, the 09,10,11 barely has the diesel sound. The entertainment value was ironic even as I remembered I was paying for this fiasco. Needless to say this is a 200% increase in TAXES.

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Every two years then?

Mine was new in February, 2010. The first license was $335.

Now, I just got the renewal which is due in February 2011 and it is $370 but
that includes my personalized (vanity plate) which adds and extra $39.

Doing the math, we find that the original $335 when new had been reduced to only $332.



D

Correct, every 2 years. The further irony is the 09 TDI went in BEFORE the 03 TDI with 150,000 miles. I am guessing they will require a smog test on the 03's next registration.

NewTdi said:

If I recall someone mentioned that the CAT has to be original OE in order to pass smog and not an aftermarket brand; how do we get around this?

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It has to be OE or an approved replacement with a CARB EO. Same basic thing as all performance products have to be certified not to emit any more emissions than original equipment.

Problem is that there has not been much of demand, so no(legal) after-market options at this point in time.

Jason

SilverGhost said:

It has to be OE or an approved replacement with a CARB EO. Same basic thing as all performance products have to be certified not to emit any more emissions than original equipment.

Problem is that there has not been much of demand, so no(legal) after-market options at this point in time.

Jason

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http://www.autorepair.ca.gov/80_BAR...iesel Parts Article version 12_24_2009_gc.pdf

For what it is worth, here is one/ the .ca.gov reference.

Got my 2011 registration no smog required, also did not have to do it in 2010. Maybe 2012?

I have a 2003 Jetta TDI (in California) with current registration stickers of March 2011 and I just received my registration renewal form yesterday and no smog test required.

Also, my sister just bought a 2002 Jetta TDI (also in CA) and she had to smog it for the title/ownership transfer.

BTW, can someone out there send me a PM about getting a replacement switchblade keyfob for cheap in Southern CA? I live in Orange County, California and the cheapest I've found is $216 at a place in Canoga Park, CA.

hbTDI said:

I have a 2003 Jetta TDI (in California) with current registration stickers of March 2011 and I just received my registration renewal form yesterday and no smog test required.

Also, my sister just bought a 2002 Jetta TDI (also in CA) and she had to smog it for the title/ownership transfer.

BTW, can someone out there send me a PM about getting a replacement switchblade keyfob for cheap in Southern CA? I live in Orange County, California and the cheapest I've found is $216 at a place in Canoga Park, CA.

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You know it didnt even cross my mind that with 2 TDI's I have 864 dollars in key fobs GEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

hbTDI said:

I have a 2003 Jetta TDI (in California) with current registration stickers of March 2011 and I just received my registration renewal form yesterday and no smog test required.

Also, my sister just bought a 2002 Jetta TDI (also in CA) and she had to smog it for the title/ownership transfer.

BTW, can someone out there send me a PM about getting a replacement switchblade keyfob for cheap in Southern CA? I live in Orange County, California and the cheapest I've found is $216 at a place in Canoga Park, CA.

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Check Ebay. You may find what you need at a good price - Or maybe not. But it is a good place to check.

I needed a $300 part for my SUV fuel tank, saw it on Ebay for $30 - somebody else got it, not me. Oh well.

I Feel....HMMM..Violated!

I have an 04' Jetta TDI and got the registration renewal in November 10' for my February 11' registration renewal (I think the state is trying to get revenue as fast as it can). The renewal said I needed a smog check as well.

I went and had the check done and all I can say is what a load of B##L S**T. All the tech did was pop the hood, plug in his "sophisticated equipment" to the OBD port and in about 5 minutes....out pops the inspection report.....PASS. No check for smoke, didn't even rev the engine except when he drove the car near (not onto) those "dyno rollers".

All I can say what a crock...$60.00 dollars to the state for driving a diesel car that gets good gas mileage but no penalty for all those SUV owners whose cars eat gas and pollute but are not even taxed at the rate of pick-up trucks...all I can say is WOW. What a "Great State" this truely is...yeah right.

I took my 2002 Jetta TDI for smog test. The results were as follows: Comprehensive Visual Inspection-PASS, Functional Check-FAIL, Emissions Test:N/A. It failed in MIL/Check Engine Light test. I had replaced a bad glow plug after getting a code and then cleared the code and took for testing. It failed, but advised to drive 50 miles and come back for retesting. If it fails, I will have a dealer fix this problem.

Dodoma said:

I took my 2002 Jetta TDI for smog test. The results were as follows: Comprehensive Visual Inspection-PASS, Functional Check-FAIL, Emissions Test:N/A. It failed in MIL/Check Engine Light test. I had replaced a bad glow plug after getting a code and then cleared the code and took for testing. It failed, but advised to drive 50 miles and come back for retesting. If it fails, I will have a dealer fix this problem.

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You might have taken it in too soon after clearing the code. Not only do they check for codes but they can see if readiness monitors have all been set, which get cleared when you clear the code. The car needs to be operated at certain conditions that allow it to run through the checks on all the emissions components. This resets the readiness. Whatever you cleared the code with might be able to check for readiness. For example, my scangauge can check readiness. I'm sure VCDS can. Then you would know when you had driven it enough for it to pass.

how do you check readiness through SG Geomorph? How's the rabbit doing btw? New owner lovin it to death?

VCDS does have a readiness monitor check. I think it's called "OBD Readiness" in the Engine section "front page."

Also, my Droid phone will also check OBD monitors using the Torque app and an OBD2 Bluetooth module. Any Android phone (and iPhone I think) will do it with the Torque app.

kooyajerms said:

how do you check readiness through SG Geomorph? How's the rabbit doing btw? New owner lovin it to death?

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I think you are thinking of someone else with a rabbit.

As far as scanguage checking readiness, you just go to the scan function and hit scan. If you have no codes, it will say No Codes, and Ready, right under it indicating Readiness is set.

I cleared a code on a co-workers vehicle with it and scanning it right after it said, No codes, Not Ready. I told him it still wouldn't be able to pass even though the engine light was off. We went for a short drive and still didn't say Ready. It was an Oxygen sensor code and it probably needed a good amount of driving to complete readiness.