Passing smog in CA, a locals take

[06wrx4me]

So my car is turning 6 years old so its smog time, just thought I'd share because there seemed to be a lack of info when I looked. I was intrigued by what it would actually take to pass, so I took an iterative approach.

My mods:

Turbo XS TBE with Hi flow CATCO CAT
Stage 2 protune flashed with CObb AP V2
CX RACING TMIC with blue hoses
FLAT PANEL FILTER

I had no "Smog Guy", just chose the places I went to off of google on a criteria of proximity and reviews. First place I went was a "NO pass No pay" place which was awesome. Second place I went was a franchise chain smog joint.

Attempt 1:

Drove the car in with everything on it, Stage 2 protune.

*Failed visual, but they were cool about it. They were fine with the TMIC (in fact they never mentioned it) and the blue hoses, but wanted the stock downpipe on even though my DP had a hi flow CAT.

Attempt 2:

Stock exhaust, but protuned stage 2 ROM flashed still.

*Passed Idle emissions, passed function, failed 2500 RPM test by a lot. Max CO allowable at 2500 RPM is 1.0 PPM and as measured mine was at 1.5 PPM. My protune map keeps the AFR's off idle in the 10.x-11.0 range.

Attempt 3:

Stock exhaust, Married AP V2 with Cobbs "Married Stock Mode v3.0" map and a different smog place (first place was closed)

Passed Visual, Function and Emissions.

Notes:

* It is important to reflash your car several days before your smog check otherwise the ECU will not go through all the computer diagnostics and you will fail the "Function" test.
* First thing both places did was grab a flash light and a mirror and pour over the exhaust system from the turbo back. I had even painted my whole system with the aluminized paint 6 years ago so it had the correct patina and looked stock, but no luck.

My personal feeling is that my car would have passed the tail pipe emissions with the "married stock mode v3.0 map" and my aftermarket TBE w/CAT, which would have saved 4 hours of hardware removal and re-installation time, had I found a place that was more lenient on the visual portion.

[zax]

Great information Jeremy!

[EJ257]

* It is important to reflash your car several days before your smog check otherwise the ECU will not go through all the computer diagnostics and you will fail the "Function" test.

Romraider has an option to force the readiness monitors online. Does ATR?

[06wrx4me]

Romraider has an option to force the readiness monitors online. Does ATR?

I called cobb and asked because I did not see it on the AP anywhere, and the AP does not have that functionality.

ATR has the ability to force off individual CEL codes but not emissions readiness.

[06wrx4me]

Through my cunning use of the itarwebz, found out that you can check the status of your emissions readiness tests by using an obd 2 code reader. For fun I hooked up my autozone $60 code reader and sure enough, it tells you the status of each of the 8 tests in an "Inc" or "ready" format. So next time I'll check with that before I take it in.

[subaken]

Through my cunning use of the itarwebz, found out that you can check the status of your emissions readiness tests by using an obd 2 code reader. For fun I hooked up my autozone $60 code reader and sure enough, it tells you the status of each of the 8 tests in an "Inc" or "ready" format. So next time I'll check with that before I take it in.

Is there a name and part # for the $60 code reader? i'd like to get one.

[06wrx4me]

Is there a name and part # for the $60 code reader? i'd like to get one.

Sure, Actron CP 9125 is the one I bought at Autozone, here it is on Amazon.

Amazon.com: Actron CP9125 PocketScan Code Reader: Automotive

Here it is at Autozone:

Actron/OBD II code reader for 1996 and newer vehicles (CP9125) | Code Reader | AutoZone.com

The Actron CP9550 is an attractive option because it has a 2 line display that actually tells you what the MIL code is if you have a check engine light on, the CP9125 tells you the code then you have to look it up in the included book or CD.

For the purpose of emissions readiness, both the CP9125 and CP9550 actually display the name of the diagnostic test and its readiness level on the display. So there are no "P codes" for those, the display reads "Ready, O2 sensor" etc.