Larmo

When they check state inspections, do they hook up the sniffer to measure the emissions, or do they just check to see if there are any check-engine codes?

Just trying to plan for what I'll have to do once I install an o/r exhaust.

I live in NC, if that helps.

woulduno

Every state I have lived in hooks up the sniffer, but if you are going with an O/R X or H pipe you can generally swap it back around each year. Of course around my parts they have started putting the vans on the side of the road that sniff as you drive by, as they have eliminated the yearly checks here, you just have to avoid those :-). They snap a picture of your car if you are in violation I think...

Of course I have not tried speeding up and turning off the engine and "rolling" by it at speed :-) ..

Scott

Larmo

vans on the side of the road? wow... never heard of that.

I know I could just swap out my o/r setup each year, but I am going to be installing LT's and swapping everything out to pass inspection would bea royal PITA.

sweetlou69

ya i live in a tiny *** town in MA and the van is new here. Just a white econoline van who sits in teh same spot everyday with a camera setup roadside and anyone breakin the law gets a ticket in teh mail

Larmo

How does that work? Do they measure the exhaust chemistry somehow? I wonder what NC is doing.

sweetlou69

i think its mostly speeding.. but my friend did get nailed for tint.

GT Bob

If they have sniffer technology that can sit in a van feet away from your car and reliably tell if your running cats or not as you drive by at speed and can prove that your engine was operating within the load and RPM range that the emissions tests require, I'll put my mustang between two pieces of Rye bread with some mayo and mustard and eat every single bite of it.

Seriously tho, The vans are for speeding and obviously illegal things (lane changes, tailgaiting, etc...)... sometimes they are manned, and sometimes not. Chances are that your buddy got dinged by one of the manned ones.

Larmo

My concern is that at inspection time, will I be SOL ?

techmanBDsStang

Hope you are hungry. I have read a story that they do have the vans that test while you drive buy. Here is a link to Virginia doing this. It is in PDF for so hopefully you can read it. Other states also have this.

http://www.deq.state.va.us/info/docu...Monitoring.pdf

To the OP. Most likely they will sniff and check for engine codes. With all the hype on greenhouse effects, they will go to the extreme of testing, not just do one or the other.

GT Bob

Wow... looks like I will need to go buy some rye bread...

From that link, looks like it works very similarly to how Breathalyzers work. I know that Breathalyzers need to have very controlled circumstances to be accurate (I am a former VA State Certified Breathalyzer technician). That being said, I still think that they would have a hard time using that to impose any penalties. Having lived in Va, I can say that their emissions laws are very specific to whats required and theres little chance that driving by one of these would be accurate enough for penalties. Seems like it's just PC for them to send you to a sniffer station is all it is.