I reside in a county adjacent to the DFW area, so we have to pass an emissions test every year. They hook a monitor up to your computer get some readouts and they stick a sensor in the tailpipe while letting the engine idle. Last year, I was running Level 3 on my Edge when I took it in and it passed with no problems. Took it in yesterday with PHP's 87 Performance tune and again, passed with no problems.

The funny thing, they were hooking up their machines when I realized I was running a different tune and that there could possibly be a problem. But, not to worry, Bill's tune passed that test.

When the guy drove it down the road, as part of the test, I got to hear my exhaust. No one ever drives my truck, so it's rare that I hear it or even get to see how it looks while moving. I really like the wheels and love the Flowmaster sound! The two guys doing the testing said they liked my truck. Makes you feel good.

 

Great story, Bluejay. Here in Tucson the testing is done on rollers. You have to accelerate to 30mph and hold it there (15 seconds as I recall) for a "loaded" reading of the exhaust. Kind of hard to hold it at a steady speed, and if you get outside of the testing range, you have to start all over. So far, my truck's been new enough that it doesn't need emissions testing. I plan to leave Bill's tune on it too when it is finally due.

- Jack

 

I had to get inspected in Oct. and had my AF1 intake on and running Troyer 87 perf. tune. They do the emmisions tests here in Austin and I thought I'd probably be better off returning to stock tune and intake for the inspection. Then figured "screw it, if it fails I'll switch 'em both out and go back..".. 30 minutes later I had a new sticker.. lol

The only thing I was really worried about was the lack of a CARB sticker for the AF1.. apparently the local Brake Check I went to doesn't give a rats *** about such things..

 

As I understand it, CARB only applies to California registered vehicles so it shouldn't matter in Austin. Unless there's something going on in Texas I don't know about.

 

here in Ontario, Canada.......they do not road-test our vehicles for emissions testing. Or put it on rollers????
It just sits there, idles and gets revved up for a bit!
What do they measure on the road-test?........do they actually take equipment with them?
I wouldn't blame them for wanting to take Blue's truck for a drive though-LOL

 

Thanks for the compliment! I love to drive my truck and I'm going to put about 1200 miles on it in the next 3 days.

They check the brakes, the steering, speedometer, that type of thing when they drive it. They check the wipers and all the lights when they get back, look at the tires, and then they hook up the machines and let it idle. They also check the gas cap.

 

Here in sunny Arizona, they don't worry about your vehicle's mechanical condition. They only want it to smell good, so they check emissions at idle and under load with a sniffer. They also check for computer codes on the newer vehicles and they look for illegal modifications to the gas filler, exhaust and engine.

I remember when I was stationed outside of Philidelphia way back in the 80's, Pennsylvania required a "mechanical" inspection twice a year . It was "conveniently" done at an automotive garage, so any problems could be "fixed" right away. I was always astonished to find that my headlights needed to be re-aimed every six months, without fail (for about $15 each time as I recall)! I guess they didn't make headlight mounts very well in those days, since they went "out of adjustment" so frequently.

- Jack

 

They don't even stick the little sniffer thing in the tail pipes hear in GA. They plug it up and test the cap, and your on your way with passed vehicle. I think I even passed with a check engine light and a blinking O/D light.

 

same here in pa...just a gas cap pressure check and your on your way...supposed to be changing soon though

 

must be different in erie,in pgh they do tailpipe sniffer

 

In Barrow County -- where we live -- there is no inspection. Hee-hee.

The funny part is that it's required in, like, every county around us, though! Hee-hee again.

 

Here in TN, they sniff the pipe unless you have ODB-II (1996 and up).
I had a 1995 Cobra with a built 302, E cam, long tube headers, etc. that was sniffed.
Not only did it pass, but it actually registered ZERO emissions!
Al Gore woulda been proud!

Guess I was lucky.

CW

 

Here in the Cleveland area, they just plug in, check the gas cap and use a mirror to look at your cats on OBD2 vehicles.
On older stuff, they check the cap, the cats, and do a sniffer at idle and at a 30 mph roll under load.

 

All this is new to me! I've heard about these things but we have no such thing in North Dakota!

 

Here in MA. they plug into your OBD port . So you must unplug your programmer. I wasnt aware of this, since they used to use the rollers and a sniffer. I reset my programmer to stock before I pulled in, and found out the test criterea they were looking for was all blank. I had to get a rejected sticker for a day . I needed to put some miles on the truck to get the computer to fill in the blanks. Some highway driving and around town was all I needed . All tested out well in the end. They will also reject you if you dont have your front licence plate.