Cruiter

Here in GA basically what they do is plug their machine into the car's computer and start it up. Then they check the vacuum on the gas cap. If anything fails (and the one in the pictures probably would fail) it's get it repaired prior to the state issuing the annual decal for the tag. Emissions is all they check for here. The safety test which included lights and brakes was discontinued due to major fraud cases. So now we all look in our mirrors and wonder when we have to stop fast if the guy behind us will be able to do the same

Lexmex

We don't have emissions here in Florida, had it around 91-00, but now our air is that much cleaner. It's also so flat in this state (highest point is 345 feet way up north), the wind takes care of everything. Safety checks were also done way with in the 80s. Both were just awful wastes of time and really never improved anything. The best thing this state ever did was in the late 80s by requiring everyone to have insurance at all times. Prior to that, there were so many hit and runs and uninsured drivers.

Regardless, when I lived in Mexico, I passed each time I went in for the voluntary testing to get around that ridiculous no drive day law. The only thing that would fluctuate was the HC or hydrocarbon count, but it was still under 50, though the limit was 100 at the time, now it is 50. I didn't have that modification shown above at the time (I just never really bothered to do it).

This was a Mexico City emission test that I did in Nov. 2006 (when I had my previous Magnaflow cat, and by 2007 I had a newer one).

When the vehicle wasn't warmed up (like at the muffler shop), the HCs would be in the 60s or so, but would come down once fully warmed up. The second numbers are after I had the new and larger Magnaflow cat installed, but that's not fully warmed up and also we weren't running on rollers. This was taken around February 2007 by my recollection.

Lexmex

On many cars like my cousin's Golf, they use crankshaft vent filters in place of recirculating the 'crud'.

Or in the case of this aftermarket system on my friend Michael's Z06 Vette, one can add an oil catch can and also a crankshaft vent filter.

I did try a system in that earlier thread I mentioned, but the one side (driver's) kept getting gummed up with oil vapor. I could have gone for an oil catch can, but the system I have seems to work, though I am probably going to clean it up at some point for aesthetic reasons (there's a lot in my engine bay I'd like to clean up). The white one in the last photo was the one that got gummed up.

Pescao

Here emission tests are a fraud, every car pass the test, beside, we are a very small island in the caribbean, wind blows all the time.

Lexmex

My problem with them in Mexico City wasn't the fact so much they existed, but rather the government took steps that really didn't minimize the pollution such as their no drive day or hoy no circula policy. It ended up causing people to buy a second junk car to drive on their off day. And the more stringent they made the program, the more it ticked people off. Add to the fact, that they took literally forever to convince, if that is the right word, Pemex to clean up their gasoline and reduce the sulfur content, something that I really only saw in my last few years there, but suffered from with damage to my own exhaust system in my years there, which resulted in my modifications and repairs. Public transportation never did the job no matter how much BS or money was poured into it. I also had friends that literally drove new vehicles out of the dealership and didn't pass emissions and had to take the vehicles back and get the dealer to try to pass them.

I had a friend, Michael, that you may remember with 93 RX7 who took it to Mexico City and had problems when he went home with emissions tests in Northern Virginia. His cat was really deteriorated from the years of bad gas down there and he had to do some engine work as well, before finally he got it through.

Lexmex

It's kind of funny what you mention about the safety tests. We didn't have those when I was in Mexico City, just emissions testing in the metro area. Anything like busted lights, etc. was in the realm of the local police. I was a big stickler for checking my lights and anything else that might be found funny at least once a week. I even had to go get a local civil judge to sign off on the fact that I wasn't required to have a front license plate (as required in Mexico City), because Florida is a one plate state (that's even their business, but I thought I'd cover my tracks). I many friends with older 70s and 80s vehicles at my 1/4 mile track who'd go to the civil judge to get such a document, called a constancia, to basically affirm their car only came with a broken seat belt of which whose parts no longer officially exist through the dealer (that was the key). There were police check points to check this kind of stuff all over the place, and I let other expats know exactly where they were so they wouldn't run into them. Luckily in my area, I knew most of the police because many of them took their personal vehicles to my uncle's shop.

Lexmex

Well, what's passing back in there is oil vapor/mist, etc. The idea behind this modification is to remove this from the combustion cycle. By removing it, there is less (I can't say by how much exactly with the RX300) chance for knocking, because this mist getting back into the system lowers the octane level in the combustion mix.

Pescao

Also decreases the intake temperature. 2 days without them and haven't notice any difference.

Thanks again

Lexmex

Quite true.

One other thing I wanted to add above about cats. Is that not too many months passed after I had to get another magnaflow cat, even though testing fine in the one instance. That's just the kind of scenario I had to deal with regarding the gas down there. I had a bit of hesitation and had the vehicle tested at an exhaust shop that I frequented and sure enough, it wasn't passing muster. I did have my cats checked at the same shop within a week before I left Mexico and all was fine.