I am really lucky to have a very good smog check guy near me....approx' 1/2 mile away....Been going to him for at least 15 years. Extremely honest and knowledgeable....I would never take it to anyone else...If he ever retired, I think I would stop driving.......I want to move up to Trinity county in N. CA...they don't require testing- Only 13,000 people in the whole county...I want to install the 3500- but it was never hooked to a manual trany, so in CA your not allowed(Even tho it would be much cleaner than the original engine)...If I move to Trinity, I can do the swap, make sure it runs right, and then not have to worry about someone noticing the difference and getting on me.....(I don't mind the smog stuff or even the test, but I want that better engine)....

I guess I should feel lucky up here in the northwoods of New Hampshire. I have a great shop with a guy that always indulges me when I pull out the factory service manual to point out the proper lift points, despite the fact we have had the same conversation every spring for years now. . Most of the time we spend more time talking about fiero's and how clean and rust free my 33 year old example is, then actually going over the car. He knows that I am a car guy and enjoy busting knuckles on the weekend, and maintenance is always overdone. He always lets me inspect the underside of all of my cars when I get them inspected as well, as I do not have a lift of my own and I like to check for things like leaky seals or other worn items.

Now in NH we only have safety check for all, and OBDII testing for 97+ vehicles. To me, this would keep 90%+ of the vehicles on the road compliant and emissions ready. Its hard to fool the newer ECMs to dismiss S.E.S. errors when the inspection computers looks for compliance. I do not see the real need for pipe sniffing. The ECMs in today's cars sniff the entire time the vehicle is running (so to speak). In fact I am battling a small EVAP leak in a 2001 Bonneville SSEI with only 50k miles. It is seriously a pain in the butt, that an otherwise completely clean, safe, and properly running vehicle can not get a sticker, but at least I know this before I even try to bring it in. No need to waste my time bringing it to a shop only to tell me the pipe sniffer smelled something it didn't like.

quote Originally posted by Larry Nakamura: Kit, The last time I had my 88GT smoged in Santa Clara was 2010. The limit on the NO was Max 799 at 15MPH and Max 738 at 25MPH. So you can see the test limits are indeed tightening up over time making it harder to pass.

Did you read any of this thread at all?

I *just* posted my 2017 smog check where it shows the limits are 815 @ 15mph and 754 @ 25mph. How exactly is that tightening up since 2010?

Ok, I just got my 86GT smogged today and it passed. The Nox max according to my printout is 804 ppm at 15 mph and I did 552 ppm. The Nox max for 25 mph is 685 and I measured 480. Smog test was done at a shop across the street from Stevens Creek Toyota. The other numbers (HC and CO) were excellent. My limits (obviously) were not the same as you or Larry, maybe because of location?
Thanks, Kit

Here are my numbers from 'The Smog Hut' in San Jose a few years ago:



The 'Enhanced' areas have more stringent requirements

Mine was done in San Jose like you but the allowable max (for Nox) is slightly lower on my smog test. Isn't this proof the max numbers are being pulled in or is it because your Fiero is a later year than mine, changing the max requirement?
Kit

[This message has been edited by Kitskaboodle (edited 07-06-2017).]

In British Columbia (just north of WA) they instituted "air care" (smog checks) around 1992. In 2012 they said because of the improved computers and emissions control they were mostly spending their time passing cars every year. So in 2014 they closed all the testing stations and did away with the smog test requirement. No more smog tests in BC since then

I like the map below because it shows partial enhanced areas. Even in Santa Clara County, some areas are only basic, other areas partial enhanced,

[This message has been edited by cyrus88 (edited 07-07-2017).]

Seems to be a lot of argument in this thread about readings tightening between 2010 and today. Who gives a crap. The point is that the requirement today should not be tighter than it was in 1984-1988 depending on the year of your car.

The bit about lead paint and your house is ridiculous. The feds don't come into your house and tell you to REMOVE the lead paint. (Which would be the equivalent of making your car meet a higher standard) Its true you can't buy lead paint anymore, but you can't buy a car any more that pollutes like its 1984. A better analogy is that when you remodel your old home, you must meet current building codes. If you swap in a non-original engine, then I'd be open to making the car meet a tighter standard because you are now dealing with something different than when the car was manufactured.