I'm trying to get the wife's beater Honda to pass state inspection.

It's an old (89) tired (220k miles) Civic with the 1.5L 4-cyl. It uses oil, about 1 qt per tank of gas. I assume it's burning it, I can see smoke when I accellerate at night. Usage seems to be based on engine RPM and load, doesn't smoke when started. Mileage remains roughly 28mpg.

Texas recently changed their emissions testing, it now includes a 15mph and 25mph emissions test. I took the car up to get it inspected, and it got the following stats:

15mph test: (1820 rpm)
HC ppm 338 (max is 223) - Fail
CO 0.37% (max is 1.26%) - Pass
NOx ppm 1719 (max 1744) - Pass

25mph test: (1565 rpm)
HC ppm 267 (max is 216) - Fail
CO 0.27% (max is 1.39%) - Pass
NOx ppm 1436 (max 1592) - Pass

Gascap failed their testing too.

As I watched the testing, I could see the smoke from the oil coming out the tailpipe, so when they told me it had failed I asked about it and they suggested some of that Motor-honey type stuff.

I went and added Motor-Honey or Smoke-Stop or something similar (not sure which brand it was) and replaced the gascap.

Took the car back to the same shop, and a retest now shows:

15mph test: (1802 rpm)
HC ppm 439 (max is 223) - Fail
CO 0.39% (max is 1.26%) - Pass
NOx ppm 2165 (max 1744) - Fail

25mph test: (1571 rpm)
HC ppm 305 (max is 216) - Fail
CO 0.34% (max is 1.39%) - Pass
NOx ppm 1716 (max 1592) - Fail

The first guy had said that those "guarantee emissions pass" things you add to your gas probably would not help it pass inspection, since it looked like the oil was the problem.

The second guy said the exact opposite.

Thanks for reading this far, what I'm curious about is where I should go on this next? I'd prefer to not spend much money on the car, it's just a beater; but I need to get it to pass emissions. What all can be told about the car from the stats? (there's more on the sheet if needed - CO2%, O2%, Dilution% if needed)

Thanks, y'all.

Your first test indicates Hydrocarbons
are ecessive which which makes sense due to
your mileage and from your the smoke on accelleration sounds like rings are gone.
If your honda has a pcv valve you might change it however I doubt it will pass regardless.
Why don't you go to a non-emmission county and have it inspected..We dont do
emissions testing here in waco and most counties away from DFW Houston and San Antonio don't.


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best regards
Importtech

Derek,
I'd do a full tuneup (plugs and wires). Just when through the same with my girlfriend's 307 Olds. Passed just fine after plugs, wires, cap & rotor. Use spiral core wires.

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Tino #28 Gold
72 Malibu 350-300,700R4
83 Grand Prix LJ 305

and I would change the oil and filter if they are not fresh and take it for a good drive to make sure the engine is good and warm before going to the emissions station.

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Leo Paugh
Maryland Chevelle Club #017
A.C.E.S.#3731
progress has little to do with speed, but lots to do with direction.
Maryland Chevelle Club (http://www.chevelles.net/mcc/mcc.htm)

I would not be too concerned about th oil burning as it is counted as a "particulate" and not as part of the exhaust chemistry.From the HC readings, it looks like it could be too rich, or too much spark advance or your catlyst is not working. You can change the advance a few degrees and drop the float level a bit to try to reduce the HC. Of course, a hot thermostat will help reduce HC, too. As for the NOx, it might respond to the spark timing, but I am not too sure on that point. The change in the readings by adding the oil magic stuff is puzzling. I wonder if there is a lot of variation in the test and its measuring equipment.

Besides the oil change (with thicker oil) and a basic tuneup (including setting the timing to factory spec), you can also run it down near empty and pour in several (~4) cans of SILOO or comparable gas "dryer" additive. This stuff is mostly methanol, and burns very clean. Make sure your car is fully warmed up and then get it retested. After you pass http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif , fill up the tank with gas. This technique has saved 3 "gross polluters" here in California. Good luck with yours.

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Mike Ahlmann
'69 Elky SS-396
Sunnyvale, CA
There are no atheists at 150 MPH!