Rich At Idle ----failed emissions. Do I need tune

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Jan 23, 2013 | 08:43 PM
  #1  
Hello All..
I am trying to smog my car. And it is having trouble with the idle part of the emission test. It passes fine at the 2500 rpm test with no issues.

now background of car. is a Kleeman K-4 and has Kleeman cams , 80mm TB, Kleeman headers , 168mm crank pulley and a Kleeman ECU flash.. 68,000 mi.

Car does not have any check engine lights, runs perfect and no vacuum leaks. I just put a set of plugs in (Iridium 1 step colder) Car idles fine without any stumbles..

Now my question.. would the Kleeman cams give me this issue? it is running around 3% in the C02's and HC's are at Gross polluter levels at idle on the smog test..

or do I need a Another tune to lean things out at idle.. I found the Mixture adaption in the DAS but I Kept having a communication error and ran out of time today..
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Jan 23, 2013 | 09:15 PM
  #2  
Silly question perhaps...but what cats are you using? Stock or aftermarket high flow?
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Jan 23, 2013 | 09:25 PM
  #3  
It does have two pre-cats removed.. the two center cats are there.. Which is why I was thinking possibly a tune..
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Jan 23, 2013 | 10:03 PM
  #4  
Is this the first time you have smogged it with the upgrades?
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Jan 23, 2013 | 10:06 PM
  #5  
just bought the car.. In Ca cars with OBDII dont have to smog for seven years. But since i am bringing it in from another state(trying to register it ) that had no smog/ emission testing . It had never been smogged.

which I don't know if it was a lingering issue or was never an issue since car was in a no emission state...
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Jan 23, 2013 | 10:24 PM
  #6  
I would put the money on being the cams with larger durations and causing a richer idle. May be able to tune it out but may be easier to just temporarily add another cat...or become friends with someone at a smog shop.
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Jan 23, 2013 | 11:01 PM
  #7  
The first cats are the primaries while the others under the car being the secondaries. You can pass with the primaries alone just fine, but it would be very tough with only the secondaries. This plus the cam-tough with California smog. Best of luck.
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Jan 23, 2013 | 11:26 PM
  #8  
I was under the impression that starting 2013 that the tailpipe part of the emissions is no longer required
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Jan 23, 2013 | 11:32 PM
  #9  
^^me too
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Jan 23, 2013 | 11:40 PM
  #10  
He said he bought out of state so prob not.
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Jan 23, 2013 | 11:46 PM
  #11  
AB 2289 - New Smog Check Law

Set to begin January 01, 2013; Model year 2000 and newer vehicles will no longer require the tailpipe emissions test portion of the smog check process. AB 2289 will require late model vehicles be administered the smog check's visual and functional tests only.

The implementation of AB 2289 is expected to reduce the time and cost of the smog check. The program will now take better advantage of a vehicle's OBD II technology by eliminating tailpipe testing and instead using the vehicle's own OBD II emissions monitoring system.

This new smog test system is already in place in 22 other states. "This new and improved program will have the same result as taking 800,000 old cars off the road, also resulting in a more cost effective program for California motorists." said ARB Chairman, Mary D. Nichols.

Currently California's smog check procedure requires all vehicles undergo a tailpipe emissions inspection to measure harmful pollutant output from the tailpipe, a visual inspection for present and properly installed emissions components, a functional test to insure the proper operation of various emission components; and as part of the functional test, an OBD II computer diagnostic check.

Under AB 2289, the tailpipe emissions portion of the smog inspection will be eliminated for 2000 model and newer cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs.

Background on the OBD II system - All vehicles imported into the United States as of 1996 have had to be equipped with an On Board Diagnostics system referred to as OBD II. The OBD II diagnostic system is designed to monitor all aspects of your engine's emission conditions and report this information to a central database within it's computer. This information is processed and checked against the computers pre-determined values for various input levels and performance patterns.

If any problems are found, the computer will determine whether to alert the driver or not. If a decision has been made to alert the driver of an emissions problem, the "Check Engine" or "Engine Malfunction" light will illuminate on the vehicle's dashboard. In more serious emission conditions the computer may even begin to rapidly flash the "Check Engine/Malfunction" light indicating to the driver, that the vehicle needs immediate diagnosis/repair attention.

AB 2289 now requires the smog test inspection to rely on data from a vehicle's own on board emissions computer to determine the vehicle's harmful emissions production as opposed to using a smog machine to sample the vehicle's emissions output from the tailpipe. This design is expected to reduce the cost of equipment at the smog station, reduce the amount of time it takes to smog check a vehicle, and reduce the cost of the smog test.
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Jan 24, 2013 | 12:13 AM
  #12  
Hmmmmmm.. very interesting..
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Jan 24, 2013 | 12:36 AM
  #13  
Pretty sure when bringing a car into CA for the first time a smog is required. But I still thought all the new smog tests were only obdII plug in and visual?
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Jan 24, 2013 | 01:15 AM
  #14  
off topic but is your e55 white? i was behind a white e55 on the 10 the other week with kleeman badges. looked great none the less
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Jan 24, 2013 | 01:18 AM
  #15  
Quote: off topic but is your e55 white? i was behind a white e55 on the 10 the other week with kleeman badges. looked great none the less
I do travel the 10 FWY often.. but my car is black
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Jan 24, 2013 | 02:11 AM
  #16  
in other chassis i have seen with non stock cams, is they like more fuel at idle. possibly to help out a little signal loss at such a low rpm. it will be a pain either way, but you can either try to have the idle portion leaned out (which could lead to stubble on tip in) or remove secondary cats and have a set of high flow cats put in and keep fingers crossed.
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Jan 24, 2013 | 09:53 AM
  #17  
Quote: in other chassis i have seen with non stock cams, is they like more fuel at idle. possibly to help out a little signal loss at such a low rpm. it will be a pain either way, but you can either try to have the idle portion leaned out (which could lead to stubble on tip in) or remove secondary cats and have a set of high flow cats put in and keep fingers crossed.

Well it does blow super clean @2500rpm so I would think if the cats can handle the 2500 rpm load part of the test, it should be able to handle the idle portion ...

The HC's are pretty high to which leads me to believe there is some unburnt fuel at idle also.. I got a new set of wires coming today maybe spark is not strong enough At idle to completely burn...

I don't think cats will cause a high HC's
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Jan 24, 2013 | 11:23 AM
  #18  
Pretty sure its your cams. Ran into the same issue with another one of my cars awhile back.
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Jan 26, 2013 | 07:21 PM
  #19  
hah ... ill be damned. this is the guy that almost bought this car but passed on it at the last minute.

anyhow ... post the printout and i will try to help you. What do you have for 02 readings? How are you warming up the car before going in? how long do you wait to get on the machine? do you know the tech and is he willing to warm it up for 3-4 minutes at 3000 rpms before beginning the test? how many failures have been communicated to DMV/BAR(i.e how many times did you take it in and failed)? if you blew in the gross polluter range you will now have to go to a test only or gold shield station. You better not run it through again without a pre test to make sure it will pass before you actually do the test... you do not want to keep sending failures through to the DMV/BAR.

btw ... 2500 rpms is easier on the cats than idle and/or low RPMs. how old are the O2 sensors?

p.s i know about that new SMOG law but i just bought an E55 out of state and had to SMOG it here in CA. they did a full test SMOG test, including sniffer but no load bearing/dyno(i.e measured idle, 1500 RPMs and 2500 RPMs without running the wheels on the dyno).

post up all your printouts and we'll go from there.
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