Need Tune to Pass Smog Testing in Colorado

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February 27th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

3 Attachment(s)

Need Tune to Pass Smog Testing in Colorado

Hi everyone ~ This is Kristen, Shawn's wife. I am hoping that someone can help me with a tune to pass emissions in Colorado. Tags expire in May; need to get the Camaro to pass emissions so I can re-title and register the car in my name.

If you are familiar with Colorado emissions testing, they put the car on the rollers, put sniffers up to the tail pipes, and hook up to the OBDII connector. They test the car at various speeds, trying to imitate "normal" driving conditions. If I had to guess, they only take it up to 4th gear - it didn't sound like they shifted to 5th at all. (JoeCar suggested I ask them to shift telling them that I normally drive in fifth or sixth - I will do this next time). I've run the car through twice; failed on Hydrocarbons both times; everything else passed.

Shawn has some details on the car setup in his signature (hopefully will show up at the bottom of this post) ... It sure is a lot of fun to drive!

I'm attaching several documents to the post. Both emissions testing results - including trace graphs of the various emissions related criteria v. speed and time. I am also attaching a copy of the current tune. The only difference between the two tests is that I changed the PE modifier in table B3618 from 12.17434 to 14.59447 for all RPM's up thru 6000 for the second test. Hydrocarbons actually increased on that run.

I can run some logs, if necessary, and post them. I'll try to answer any questions I can; I helped Shawn a lot with the tuning initially, then he really took off with it and his knowledge far exceeded mine. I have limited records on the modifications that have been made to the car, but I'll do my best. :) Any help that anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated!
February 27th, 2012
joecar

Hi Kristen

post some log files when you can (showing LONGFT1/2 and HO2S11/21 ).

:)
February 27th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

1 Attachment(s)

Ran around a bit this afternoon. Tried to get a variety of driving conditions, neighborhood, local roads, highway, etc. Noticed a bit of KR (.8 degrees) on highway entrance ramp - I think I was in 4th gear, accelerating - hard to watch the computer and drive at the same time. :)

Please let me know if more is needed, etc.

Thanks!
Kristen
February 27th, 2012
GMPX

Hey Kristen, how is everything going with the family now?
February 27th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

Thanks for asking. We're doing pretty well. Some days are easier than others. :) I think we have found a groove that works, so going with that. It's given me the opportunity to try to get the car to pass emissions ... Carra hung out in the back seat during the logging run this afternoon ... so we'll see how that goes and how long it lasts. :)

Kristen
February 27th, 2012
cme265

hi, this is mike with RWR MOTORSPORTS, i've been following the weathermans post for some time and he has helped many people on here, if you're interested, we would be more than willing to help out with dyno time and some tuning to get it to pass the IM240 test, no charge for tuning or dyno time, our shop is just south of chatfield reservoir in littleton
February 27th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

Mike, are you serious? That would be wonderful! Wow! Thank you! I don't know what to say. I am assuming you know what Colorado looks for, then, being local and all. :) Do you have any ideas for what we can do, tune-wise?

Can you PM me your contact info? I would appreciate any help you can give!

Kristen
February 27th, 2012
cme265

yes i am serious, shawn helped many people on this forum and asked for nothing in return i feel it is the least i could do, i have 19 years GM dealer experience and 7 years with EFIlive and i know exactly what the IM240 test is looking for, shop phone 303 359 5029, my cell phone 303 475 2337
February 27th, 2012
joecar

Mike (cme265) of RWR MOTORSPORTS,
that's very generous, thanks for your help :cheers:
February 27th, 2012
cme265

no problem, glad i could help, watching the Daytona 500, holy crap!!!
February 27th, 2012
joecar

Rained out, delayed, and knocked out on 2nd lap (according to news updates I've seen at work today)... ouch.
February 27th, 2012
GMPX

One day I'll get to see Daytona (or Talladega) from the grand stand (have been to both tracks on non event days), but I just know, the year I go is the year it gets washed out.
Melbourne weather can be unpredictable, however we all say here, if there hasn't been rain in a while, hold a motorsports event, then it's guaranteed to rain.
February 27th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

Wow! I am thrilled! This has been weighing on me for months - putting off testing the car - figuring it probably wouldn't pass - not really having anyone "local" to turn to. Thank you so much! I'll call you tomorrow and we can chat.

Kristen

P.S. Shawn would have been so honored by your generosity! I am sure he is thanking you, too. :)
February 27th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

Shawn and I went to a race in Phoenix in 2007 - I think it was the second to the last race of the season. I was so amazed at how loud it was. We were sitting right next to each other and couldn't hear anything the other said - had to write notes back and forth. :) Totally different experience in person than on the television.

Kristen
February 27th, 2012
joecar

Yes, a gaggle of piston engines thundering by at full throttle speaks for itself :cheers:
February 27th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

Is it a gaggle or a herd? Maybe a flock? LOL :)
February 27th, 2012
cme265

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeathermanShawn

Wow! I am thrilled! This has been weighing on me for months - putting off testing the car - figuring it probably wouldn't pass - not really having anyone "local" to turn to. Thank you so much! I'll call you tomorrow and we can chat.

Kristen

P.S. Shawn would have been so honored by your generosity! I am sure he is thanking you, too. :)

no problem, we will do our best to make it pass and still run like it should, look forward to hearing from you.
February 27th, 2012
cme265

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeathermanShawn

Is it a gaggle or a herd? Maybe a flock? LOL :)

haha, i think it's just a pack of speed junkies trying to see how much noise they can make lol
February 27th, 2012
Stealth97

Hello. I'm an old member. I don't post here anymore but I come from time to time to check things out.

I wanted to say to you Kristen, Shawn was one of the nicest most helpful guys around on this forum when I was active here many years ago and I logged in just to tell you how much I respected him as well as these other guys and gals. I also respect you for what you are doing with the car and your ability to tune and do things with knock retard and hydrocarbons. Wow. I wish my girlfriend was only half as smart as you, my life would be perfect.

Shawn was lucky to have you and you him as well. I can tell this was quite a pair. I only hope I am so lucky one day.
February 27th, 2012
joecar

Hey Stealth, good to hear from you :cheers:
February 28th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

Shawn always said what good people there were on this forum. He truly enjoyed helping people because he learned so much from other people on the forum. I struggle to know whether weather or tuning was his strongest passion in recent years. He'd wanted to be a meteorologist since he was 11 - I wonder what would have happened had there been EFILive at that time. :)

Stealth, thank you so much for your kind words. Means the world to me. After the wonderful response I received from my original question/post, I started looking back through some of Shawn's posts. He knew more than I ever knew he knew. (How many times can you use the word "knew" in a sentence? LOL) I am so thrilled that he was able to help so many people and I can only hope that his tutorials and posts will continue to help many more in the future.

And, Joe - you are the best! Thank you for all your guidance!

I love having Shawn's car as a constant reminder of him and his life. I even think I am getting pretty good at driving it - after all, it's the car I learned to drive a manual on. If you're going to learn, you might as well learn big, right? :)

Thank you all so much. And, Mike, I'll be giving you a call sometime today. Your generosity continues to astound me in the best way possible.

Kristen
February 28th, 2012
Sid447

Good luck Shawn,

It's going to be a big task with that camshaft.

Is your PCV system stock? If so this would be affecting readings and if catch-can set-ups are within the law, it would help.
February 28th, 2012
Dieselman

Quote:

Originally Posted by cme265

yes i am serious, shawn helped many people on this forum and asked for nothing in return i feel it is the least i could do, i have 19 years GM dealer experience and 7 years with EFIlive and i know exactly what the IM240 test is looking for, shop phone 303 359 5029, my cell phone 303 475 2337

Now this is a sign of an awesome forum. Well done to Mike for offering his time and equipment to help a fellow member :cheers:
February 29th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dieselman

Now this is a sign of an awesome forum. Well done to Mike for offering his time and equipment to help a fellow member :cheers:

Well said, Dieselman!
February 29th, 2012
cme265

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dieselman

Now this is a sign of an awesome forum. Well done to Mike for offering his time and equipment to help a fellow member :cheers:

just trying to do my part to help some one who has been through a lot lately, i've been there and know the feeling. and yes this is an awesome forum from a company with an awesome product.
March 12th, 2012
cme265

just an update, kristen took the car in today for another test, the HC limit is 1.2 grams per mile, it failed with 1.28, time for round 2
March 12th, 2012
joecar

Quote:

Originally Posted by cme265

just an update, kristen took the car in today for another test, the HC limit is 1.2 grams per mile, it failed with 1.28, time for round 2

That's pretty close.
March 12th, 2012
cme265

yes it is, and we're almost there, i think it will pass, not to big of a cam, i think the biggest problem is how long it sits before they actually test it so the converters cool off when they run it
March 12th, 2012
Taz

I agree with your comment on converter temperature. Is a cold / cool (ECT) start mandatory in your area ? It isn't where I live. I have much better test results when I bring a vehicle straight in from the highway, and on to the rollers with the engine at operating temperature and the converters hot. If the test centre is running behind, the vehicle is left idling in the parking lot (to keep temps up) until its my turn.

Regards,
Taz
March 12th, 2012
cme265

no, cold/cool restart is not required, all to often the test facility is busy and that's what happens, pull up, shut the car off and wait for 30 minutes, then the converters cool off, especially with long tubes they take a long time to re-heat, plus a few other tune modifications to help with emission output.
March 12th, 2012
joecar

Could Kristen show up first thing in the morning, and ask them to keep the engine running (while they turn on their equipment)...?
March 12th, 2012
cme265

maybe but i doubt it, still a state/government operation and we all know how efficient that system is, and they're hourly employees
March 13th, 2012
joecar

Kristen just let me know that it passed :cheers: good job Mike, thanks :cheers:
March 13th, 2012
WeathermanShawn

Here are the final test numbers:

Hydrocarbons (gpm): 0.9234 (1.2000 Limit)
CO (gpm): 4.8753 (15.0000 Limit)
CO2 (gpm): 494.0991 (no limit listed)
NOx (gpm): 0.2810 (1.5000 Limit)

Many thanks to everyone on the forum - especially Mike at RWR Motorsports (cme265)! Such a generous offer - and we were successful! :) I've found a local speed shop and that makes me feel much better! Only wish Shawn had known you were around - he'd have been down there all the time. LOL

I've re-registered the car (very bittersweet, I must say) and chose Air Force Commemorative plates - in honor of Shawn's USAF service.

Thanks again!
Kristen
March 13th, 2012
cme265

Quote:

Originally Posted by joecar

Kristen just let me know that it passed :cheers: good job Mike, thanks :cheers:

no need to thank me
March 13th, 2012
cme265

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeathermanShawn

Here are the final test numbers:

Hydrocarbons (gpm): 0.9234 (1.2000 Limit)
CO (gpm): 4.8753 (15.0000 Limit)
CO2 (gpm): 494.0991 (no limit listed)
NOx (gpm): 0.2810 (1.5000 Limit)

Many thanks to everyone on the forum - especially Mike at RWR Motorsports (cme265)! Such a generous offer - and we were successful! :) I've found a local speed shop and that makes me feel much better! Only wish Shawn had known you were around - he'd have been down there all the time. LOL

I've re-registered the car (very bittersweet, I must say) and chose Air Force Commemorative plates - in honor of Shawn's USAF service.

Thanks again!
Kristen

you're very welcome!!
March 13th, 2012
Bryce418

Mike, your a good man.

Helping out someone in a tough situation with no request for anything in return make you a honorable man in my book!
March 13th, 2012
cme265

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryce418

Mike, your a good man.

Helping out someone in a tough situation with no request for anything in return make you a honorable man in my book!

thank you for your kind words
March 13th, 2012
Bryce418

Your welcome, it's not nearly often enough I hear someone doing something genuinely kind in the auto performance industry. So I felt the need to say something nice about it. We need more people like you in this world.