Emissions Test , Which Oil

[cb450sc]

My son just purchased a 1993 Honda Civic with a 1.6 l engine. It has 242,000 km on it. The previous (original) owner was meticulus with maintanence. It idles and runs smoothly with no apparent smoke out the tailpipe. I live in Ontario and have to get the car e tested prior to getting a plate for it. Does the oil weight have any bearing on emissions? I have been told by friends to run a 10W40 in it for the test and then put the 5W30 in it after. Does this make any difference with blowby?

 

[xxch4osxx]

If it was maintained properly, then a good quality 5w30 should work fine.

 

[chubbs1]

Go to Walmart or whatever and get an SN rated 5w30. PYB would be a good choice though they all should work well. I was just thinking the new SN's are supposed to be more "efficient".

 

[HTSS_TR]

No, you don't need thicker oil for emission test, just use any current SM or SN xW30 oil as recommended in the owner manual. One thing you need to do is drive a good distance, 10-15 miles (15-25 km) before the test, if you need to wait more than 10 minutes at the test facility before your turn, then you want to let the engine idle at least 5 minutes then drive in to keep the engine warm.

 

[kcfx4]

since sn rated is so new........how can assume thats gonna help here? i love how ppl want an oil more advanced than their vehicle

 

[steve20]

As HTSS said-a hot engine will generate the best results

 

[51Plymouth]

cb450sc, I am very familiar with the dreaded emission tests in your (our) area. If your engine is in perfect mechanical condition, regular weight oil will be fine as long as it is changed before the test. If it is a problem car like my 1989 Dodge 2000GTX (Mitsubishi Galant) was before I rebuilt the engine, then 20W50 will help for the test. In my car my engine was worn and the thicker oil dropped the hydrocarbon output by about 20ppm (parts per million) which is what I needed for my pass.

If the car was tested and passed anytime within the past year by any owner, you can transfer the ownership without a test, since a passing test is valid for a year. You can type the VIN number in the Ontario Drive Clean website and see when it was tested last and what the test outcomes were (Pass, conditional pass, fail.)

 

[Errtt]

I usually do an oil change before an e-test, drive it good to heat up the cat, then roll in for the test. Same oil as always, nothing different or special. Make sure the PVC is doing it's job.

I had a e-test tech tell me once to use premium fuel, when I asked why, he said because it's premium. I told him "good [censored] answer".

 

[chubbs1]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
since sn rated is so new........how can assume thats gonna help here? i love how ppl want an oil more advanced than their vehicle


How is SN PYB so much more "advanced" for the vehicle? It's fricken PYB for goodness sake. Most SN rated oils have more efficient forms of ZDDP which was one of the whole reasons for a new rating (to reduce emmisions and increase cat life and efficiency). It was a recommendation but not an assumption. Now whether the vehicle's in good working condition is another story, so yes there are variables but SN rated oils are "designed" to be better for emissions systems. A premium fuel should help as well as a good 15 or so minute highway drive before the test if possible.

 

[cb450sc]

Hey 51Plymouth
I had an '89 Dodge 2000 GTX as well. I traded it in to get my 2003 Civic Hybrid (purchased used). It had 300000 km on it when it went. I think it was the best car I ever owned. Both of my kids were getting their drivers licenses at the time and I was just concerned that there could possibly be a problem with the car when they drove it. My wife "broke her water" with our son on the way to the hospital in it. I traded it in just prior to his 16'th birthday. I still see a few of these around the area.