Impossibly low emissions?

My wife's 1992 Saturn SL1 was recently run through the treadmill
emissions test for Maryland, and they give us a printout with the
results.

The good new is, we passed easily.

My question is: are these readings unusually/impossibly low?

HC: 0.009 gpm
CO: 0.219 gpm
NOx: 0.021 gpm

These are all at like one percent of the allowable amount. Cow orkers
with similarly old cars seem to be passing the tests with 20-50% of the
allowable amount, and this makes me wonder if any exhaust was even
coming out of the tailpipe of our car! (Maybe a leak, or maybe they
did the test wrong, or...?)

The car is low mileage and has been well maintained and even a few
emissions-related things changed over the years (PCV, Canister Purge
Solenoid) in response to check engine codes.

Tim.

Looks like the decimal points are off.
> wrote in message
oups.com...
> My wife's 1992 Saturn SL1 was recently run through the treadmill
> emissions test for Maryland, and they give us a printout with the
> results.
>
> The good new is, we passed easily.
>
> My question is: are these readings unusually/impossibly low?
>
> HC: 0.009 gpm
> CO: 0.219 gpm
> NOx: 0.021 gpm
>
> These are all at like one percent of the allowable amount. Cow orkers
> with similarly old cars seem to be passing the tests with 20-50% of the
> allowable amount, and this makes me wonder if any exhaust was even
> coming out of the tailpipe of our car! (Maybe a leak, or maybe they
> did the test wrong, or...?)
>
> The car is low mileage and has been well maintained and even a few
> emissions-related things changed over the years (PCV, Canister Purge
> Solenoid) in response to check engine codes.
>
> Tim.
>



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I have seen several vehicles, including one of my own, with emissions so low that they register zero. I have seen it in Palm Beach county when they did emission testing and also when I lived in Maryland and they had only idle testing.
The key is to have the engine and catalytic converter warmed up and the spark plugs clean. When one of my cars had zero emissions it was after I had been driving on the highway and I pulled into a testing station when there was no line. My sister had a Chevy astro van that failed the emission test here in Florida. It failed after she had driven a short distance from her workplace to the testing station. I knew it should have passed since I had recently tuned it up. I told her to drive it on the highway to get it warned up and get it tested again. Much to my surprise it not only passed but the emission reading were all zero.

wrote:
>
> My wife's 1992 Saturn SL1 was recently run through the treadmill
> emissions test for Maryland, and they give us a printout with the
> results.
>
> The good new is, we passed easily.
>
> My question is: are these readings unusually/impossibly low?
>
> HC: 0.009 gpm
> CO: 0.219 gpm
> NOx: 0.021 gpm
>
> These are all at like one percent of the allowable amount. Cow orkers
> with similarly old cars seem to be passing the tests with 20-50% of the
> allowable amount, and this makes me wonder if any exhaust was even
> coming out of the tailpipe of our car! (Maybe a leak, or maybe they
> did the test wrong, or...?)
>
> The car is low mileage and has been well maintained and even a few
> emissions-related things changed over the years (PCV, Canister Purge
> Solenoid) in response to check engine codes.
>
> Tim.

--
Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

) scribbled:

> My question is: are these readings unusually/impossibly low?
>
> HC: 0.009 gpm
> CO: 0.219 gpm

my recent inspection, which they said did really good:
(Texas inspection)
Standard Current Reading
HC (ppm) 179 41
CO (%) 2.22 0.01
CO2 (%) 14.6
O2 (%) 0.0
Nox (ppm) 1161 273
Dilution (%) >6.0 14.6

this is a '90 Trooper v6(Chevy engine), 198k miles !

--
<< http://michaeljtobler.homelinux.com () >>
71:
69 with two fingers up your ass. - George Carlin

Emissons tests are mostly bull**** as cars are already pretty clean if
they are in tune. In the beginning, the tests only weed out way out
way out of tune cars in most situations with the exeptions of cars
that are tuned to maximize gas mileage (such cars run lean and thus
have high NOx volumes.




On 4 May 2005 11:36:24 -0700, wrote:

>My wife's 1992 Saturn SL1 was recently run through the treadmill
>emissions test for Maryland, and they give us a printout with the
>results.
>
>The good new is, we passed easily.
>
>My question is: are these readings unusually/impossibly low?
>
>HC: 0.009 gpm

Grams per mile? This is a conversion. Probe measures ppm.

>CO: 0.219 gpm

This may be high. Indication is that you are running rich and the
catalitic is cleaning up the unburned HC that is coming out the tail
pipe

>NOx: 0.021 gpm

This is too low, again, your car is running rich. I have run cars
that passed witn 1550 ppm at 25 mph with the limit set at 1668 pm for
the test. The car was running 26 miles per gallon. Retuned to a
richer mix on the following test, the mileage dropped to 24 mph with a
slight increse in hc leves. I leaned it out again. With gas prices
the way they are, I like to get the extra 10 %. If they want clean
air, confiscate barbara treissand's private jet.
>
>These are all at like one percent of the allowable amount. Cow orkers
>with similarly old cars seem to be passing the tests with 20-50% of the
>allowable amount, and this makes me wonder if any exhaust was even
>coming out of the tailpipe of our car! (Maybe a leak, or maybe they
>did the test wrong, or...?)
>
>The car is low mileage and has been well maintained and even a few
>emissions-related things changed over the years (PCV, Canister Purge
>Solenoid) in response to check engine codes.
>
>Tim.

Don't worry, the EPA will be reducing the limits in the near future.

"M. Cantera" > wrote in message
...
> Emissons tests are mostly bull**** as cars are already pretty clean if
> they are in tune. In the beginning, the tests only weed out way out
> way out of tune cars in most situations with the exeptions of cars
> that are tuned to maximize gas mileage (such cars run lean and thus
> have high NOx volumes.
>
>

I agree. All those extra (and unnecessary) trips everyone has to take to
the emission inspection stations probably generate more pollution and waste
more fuel than catching the <1% of cars that fail. It's a job creation
scam.

What the heck is GPM? I've heard of PPM but not GPM. Maybe the decimals are
right for whatever the heck GPM is.

"ed" > wrote in
:

> What the heck is GPM? I've heard of PPM but not GPM. Maybe the
> decimals are right for whatever the heck GPM is.
>
>
>

grams maby????

--
ThunderSnake #9 Warn once, shoot twice
460 in the pkup, 460 on the stand for another pkup
and one in the shed for a fun project to yet be decided on

It appears your state like some others read pollutants in gpm, grams per
million instead of ppm parts per million. It makes the amounts look much
smaller but is more realistic representation of comparative sizes.
> wrote in message
oups.com...
> My wife's 1992 Saturn SL1 was recently run through the treadmill
> emissions test for Maryland, and they give us a printout with the
> results.
>
> The good new is, we passed easily.
>
> My question is: are these readings unusually/impossibly low?
>
> HC: 0.009 gpm
> CO: 0.219 gpm
> NOx: 0.021 gpm
>
> These are all at like one percent of the allowable amount. Cow orkers
> with similarly old cars seem to be passing the tests with 20-50% of the
> allowable amount, and this makes me wonder if any exhaust was even
> coming out of the tailpipe of our car! (Maybe a leak, or maybe they
> did the test wrong, or...?)
>
> The car is low mileage and has been well maintained and even a few
> emissions-related things changed over the years (PCV, Canister Purge
> Solenoid) in response to check engine codes.
>
> Tim.
>

> gpm, grams per million

Actually, grams per mile. I don't think my vehicle has any idle
testing required, it's all dynamometer testing.

Tim.