Steeda Oil Seperator

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: yeti
a friend saw my name on this thread, and asked if i got any flak about my catch can during my emissions test about 2-3 weeks ago. he thought that there might be an issue, as i had altered an emissions related oem setup. i told him that the mechanic said nothing, and that my truck passed with very good numbers. imo, this is better for the environment,as the contaminants and oil vapors are kept out of the motor. has anyone heard of an instance where a catch can installation was an issue ?

In California, and possibly other places, if anything is different from OE, and doesn't have a "CARB EO number" on all speed parts, than their smog stations automatically disqualify the car, even if smog is just fine.

It makes me think that it is less about pollution, and more about someone in California collecting more revenue from cars that fail tests, or car parts that must pay someone to pass a test.

However, in many places, they are smart and realistic enough to stick a probe in the car's pipe and measure how much pollution comes out.

 

[yeti]

in ontario, new cars are exempt for 5 years, then a test every 2 years. i think that it should be every 3 years, but what do i know. obviously, a revenue issue. the tailpipe probe is part of the test here. i dumped the garbage from the c. can yesterday. there was about 1/2" of oily and off white junk in it. my c. can is almost identical to the picture in the earlier post. it works very well.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: yeti
in ontario, new cars are exempt for 5 years, then a test every 2 years. i think that it should be every 3 years, but what do i know. obviously, a revenue issue. the tailpipe probe is part of the test here. i dumped the garbage from the c. can yesterday. there was about 1/2" of oily and off white junk in it. my c. can is almost identical to the picture in the earlier post. it works very well.

Florida used to do smog checks every year. You couldn't get your license plate renewed or replaced without passing one.

However, junkers owned by the poor people made this testing useless. Many people with newer cars just needed plugs, wires, and possibly an electronic engine component, and people with good older cars may have needed a carb rebuild in addition. Meanwhile the poor needed engines that would have to be rebuilt to pass the test.

Also, the people at the smog stations were usually incompetent. My dad sometimes met people who would forget to switch on the testing machines. They they say "Nice car! It made zero pollution!"

That, and many people have bribed smog testers (and never got caught) to put the tester in the pipe of a known good car, while recording a bad car's information. Not until OBDII had car info stored in an electronic module, and could only be reached by a scan tool could this be prevented. However, I'm sure people have figured out how to reflash and hack such modules to avoid getting caught.

 

[demarpaint]

NY Down State, 1995 and older get the Dyno TP Probe every year. Fail it, IIRC the state allows you to attempt repair up to $500 to get it to pass. If it fails you have 1 year to fix it. If it fails the next year and you can't get it to pass you take it off the road. 1996 and newer gets plugged in, no Dyno no Probe.

 

[yeti]

vehicles 20 years old and up are exempt here. that's a small portion of the cars around here. the car's year, model, etc., and v.i.n. must match, and the test data are all logged into the computer, as well as a bar code type security measure that you get on your printed copy of the report. if it fails, there's a ceiling of $250. (not sure)for "repairs" needed for compliance.then you can renew you licence. i was told that one could not tamper with test results, but who knows ?

 

[chevrofreak]

I was in Lowes the other day and saw that they lowered the price on the 2 Kobalt "air filters" they sell. The large one is now under $20, and uses 3/8" inlet and outlets that required me to purchase a couple of $2 adapters for my 1/4" hose barbs. The new larger one works far better, flowing more air and collecting more junk. The drain valve is one that seals on pressure and automatically dumps the bowl contents when pressure is released. I had to lock it closed by adding a couple small washers to the bottom and reinstalling the C-clip. Unscrewing the bowl to drain it isn't a big deal.

With the filter ($20) two 3/8" to 1/4" adapters ($4) two 1/4" NPT 90 degree elbows with 3/8" hose barbs ($3.50) and a fabricated mount you could build your own setup that probably works better than the Steeda for roughly $30.

They have the smaller one that uses 1/4" NPT fittings that wouldn't require adapters, and is only $12. They both use the same drain valve that needs to be altered.