Apparently I need to install the mechanical fan for emissions...

[nrubenstein]

The Permacool slim puller just doesn't have the oomph to keep engine temperatures down. Of course they ran the car anyway and heated it right up to the red line on the temp gauge. It's temperature stable under all other circumstances, so it's just as well that I kept the euro fan.

Results were close, but not quite acceptable:

IM240 readings (maximum):
HC: 1.2164 (2.0000)
CO: 10.8167 (30.0000)
NOx: 3.4704 (3.0000)

Sadly, they didn't give me the graph. I'm hoping that reinstalling the mechanical fan does the trick. A REALLY hot engine will have higher combustion temps and that was pretty close. And with a POS Magnaflow 54959 cat too.

[Coyote_ar]

hmm i always thought the factories runned the engines as hot as possible to improve emissions.

[nrubenstein]

hmm i always thought the factories runned the engines as hot as possible to improve emissions.

Running hot improves HC and CO, but can worsen NOx.

[MyE30]

What's your permacool's max cfm rating? I believe flex-a-lite recommends a 2000 cfm electric fan for an inline 6.

[DesertBMW]

POS Magnaflow 54959

It is true, the $100-$200 aftermarket converters are good enough for 2 years of use, tops. This is because they lack most of expensive metals inside them. And factory original cat lasts 20 years, depending on how well you keep the engine running. My 1986 325e has the stock original cat and it passed emissions no problem.

[butters]

they ran the car anyway and heated it right up to the red line on the temp gauge

Yikes! I'd be furious if this happened, and I'd run a compression test to check if any obvious head damage occurred.

I sat and waited for my emissions test, with a line of sight into the garage. I told them to shut it down when they could and hawked them on checking the temp gauge.

[nrubenstein]

Yikes! I'd be furious if this happened, and I'd run a compression test to check if any obvious head damage occurred.

I sat and waited for my emissions test, with a line of sight into the garage. I told them to shut it down when they could and hawked them on checking the temp gauge.

It's done by DC government employees at a single facility for the entire city. You don't really get the opportunity to do that.

[hyperE30]

Yikes! I'd be furious if this happened, and I'd run a compression test to check if any obvious head damage occurred.

I sat and waited for my emissions test, with a line of sight into the garage. I told them to shut it down when they could and hawked them on checking the temp gauge.

I'd be mad too, I run a manual aux fan and just told them to flip the switch when they turned on the car, sign a paper and done the car stayed right on temp.