Running riiiiiich.

[Edev]

Yeah. So my cars hydrocarbons (HC's) are really high. The emissions place says they're "suppose" to be 220, well..mine are 2,280. Yes, two thousand two hundred and eighty. Is there a way to bring this down? I'm trying to sell it because I want something else, but nearly everyone needs to pass emissions. I think it is the cam that's installed. Specs are close to M3 territory. It also has 19lb injectors. The car now has an m30 afm to make the stroker breath better. At emissions testing, it had the stock m20 air box at the time.


Any ideas? I was told the o2 sensor is still good, for what it's worth. Any input is appreciated.

I think I should also add that..before going to emissions, the guy with me (potential buyer) killed it NUMEROUS times. I mean, even in the parking lot of the emissions place. So, un burnt gas was built up. Car wasn't driven really hard before emissions testing, maybe about 10 minutes-ish. And lastly, the exhaust had been sitting in a garage for about 2 months..meaning, not in use..I installed the exhaust(manifolds to muffler) a day or two prior, with little driving, to emissions testing.

[smonkbmw]

my guess would be the injectors and afm.

[jlevie]

+1

[E30_fiend]

catalytic convertor.

Injectors wont effect your emissions at all unless they are something crazy like 40lb injectors. The afm, if working properly will also not effect your emissions. Look at the most obvious things first. Get your exhaust as hot as you can. E30s are known for running cool. If your car doesnt get hot enough then your cat will not fire and burn off the excess emissions. This was likely your problem. Go back, get the exhaust really hot and try it again. If the exhaust guy is cool, have him run a manual test first to see what you emissions levels are at. When you pull on the dyno your hydrocarbons should be in the red but once you warm it up on the dyno you should see the levels all drop to green, assuming that the exhaust components are in working order.







Taylor

[jlevie]

In this case, the injectors and AFM could be the cause. That combination can work with the right chip, but if the DME hasn't been tuned for what is installed the engine will probably will run rich.

[Edev]

my guess would be the injectors and afm.

That's what I was thinking too, yet I heard the 19lbs wont effect it? I'll look into that more. And at the time of emissions testing, it was the stock m20 afm. The m30 was just thrown on a few days back.

catalytic convertor.

Injectors wont effect your emissions at all unless they are something crazy like 40lb injectors. The afm, if working properly will also not effect your emissions. Look at the most obvious things first. Get your exhaust as hot as you can. E30s are known for running cool. If your car doesnt get hot enough then your cat will not fire and burn off the excess emissions. This was likely your problem. Go back, get the exhaust really hot and try it again. If the exhaust guy is cool, have him run a manual test first to see what you emissions levels are at. When you pull on the dyno your hydrocarbons should be in the red but once you warm it up on the dyno you should see the levels all drop to green, assuming that the exhaust components are in working order.







Taylor

Thanks, I'll see if I can put in a new cat. Do "aftermarket" cats get the job done?

In this case, the injectors and AFM could be the cause. That combination can work with the right chip, but if the DME hasn't been tuned for what is installed the engine will probably will run rich.

As said to Jeff above, the stock m20 afm was on at the time of emissions testing. Hm. This is annoying.

[Van Westervelt]

How long had you been driving your car before you had it tested?

I took my old seta in and had it tested after 15 minutes of 45 mph driving, failed. Same car, no changes, took it in after a 45 minute trip on the freeway, getting the cats nice and hot, burning off all the bs, passed with flying colors.

[Edev]

How long had you been driving your car before you had it tested?

I took my old seta in and had it tested after 15 minutes of 45 mph driving, failed. Same car, no changes, took it in after a 45 minute trip on the freeway, getting the cats nice and hot, burning off all the bs, passed with flying colors.

Maybe like 10..15 minutes top. I'll give that a shot first, since it's basically free. I knew the car hadn't been driven long enough, so I was kind of hesitant at first. Then the lady stuck with with a FAIL. Kind of a bummer. Would it be okay to run the m30 afm at the emissions place? Those are suppose to make a car run lean. Well, my car runs rich. Could the m30 possibly level the air/fuel ratio down a notch?

FWIW, the car doesn't idle weird with the m30, it doesn't bog down at higher rpms. It works just as the m20 did, if not slightly better. Plus, the sound at WOT (or around 4k) is nice.

[nando]

CLT sensor, O2 sensor, AFM, injectors

these are the main things that control fuel

if it's not just the cats being to cold, try looking at these in that order.

[Edev]

CLT sensor, O2 sensor, AFM, injectors

these are the main things that control fuel

if it's not just the cats being to cold, try looking at these in that order.

Right on, thanks. And by afm, you mean the m20 afm..since that's what was on it while having it tested for emissions. Or, should I get it tested with the m30 on?

[nando]

well check to see if it's working right. I wouldn't want to test with the M30 afm, unless the M20 AFM is screwed up.

if the first three are working, slightly larger injectors aren't going to make it run rich unless they are leaking or something.

[Edev]

well check to see if it's working right. I wouldn't want to test with the M30 afm, unless the M20 AFM is screwed up.

if the first three are working, slightly larger injectors aren't going to make it run rich unless they are leaking or something.

How would you know if the M20 afm is screwed up? Door not opening properly?

I'm going to be replacing the coolant temp sensor in a few days. You said CLT, would that be the coolant temp sensor or something else.

[nando]

CLT is coolant temp sensor, just a common acronym for it I've come to be used to.

the AFM could be giving out the wrong signal or the door could just be gummed up. It's common for the resistor tracks that the wiper arm drags across to wear through, giving a bad reading. You have to give the AFM a reference voltage (5v I think) and measure the ouput voltage as you open the door. it should smoothly increase/decrease with no drops or spikes.

[Edev]

CLT is coolant temp sensor, just a common acronym for it I've come to be used to.

the AFM could be giving out the wrong signal or the door could just be gummed up. It's common for the resistor tracks that the wiper arm drags across to wear through, giving a bad reading. You have to give the AFM a reference voltage (5v I think) and measure the ouput voltage as you open the door. it should smoothly increase/decrease with no drops or spikes.

Okay that's what I thought.

Interesting. I'll be doing those first three items you listed, then go to the m20 afm.