How do I smog a euro??

ddstl · Post by **ddstl** » Dec 29, 2005 10:14 PM

Sooner or later I'm going to have to 'legalize' my M535i in MO. This involves a fairly strict emmissions inspection, a safety inspection, but no real visual check of emmisions equipment. IIRC.

Here's what I have to work with:

A high compression dirty motor with no emmissions equipment whatsoever.
An exhaust that is seamless--no cat back, no cat, just welded pipes to a rear muffler.
An O2 sensor that runs to a johnson box in the glovebox.
An exhaust odor that says "fat chance in hell that you will get this thing to pass"

Where should I start? I'm thinking of installing a US exhaust, with cat. Or, I could weld in a cat, but that would be hard to reverse, and I kinda like the feeling that the car has now

. Either way, I will be doing the normal pre-emmissions ritual(oil change, premium gas, high-rev drive prior to test). Still, I may need more than that, I don't know. I would like to have a decent chance of passing the first time, since failure would result in a visual inspection and they would surely notice the absence of a canister and associated smog hardware under the hood.

I have documentation that the car passed TX emmissions in 2005, but it failed twice prior to the passing attempt. Not sure what a TX test entails, but in MO they put it on a dyno.

Any help would be awesome.

shifty · Post by **shifty** » Dec 29, 2005 10:17 PM

Find a buddy that lives about 3 hours away in the same state as you and trade him, straight up, for his E30 and his E28 and just call it even. Both of his cars are already perfectly legal in the state of MO.

Actually, you might see if you can locate Tim The Enchanter. I hear he got a high compression M535i to pass NJ's emissions testing a couple of years back. There should be some Cali guys that have accomplished similar feats.

Good luck, my friend!

BKCowGod3 · Post by **BKCowGod3** » Dec 29, 2005 10:25 PM

AFAIK, Cali guys generally rely on bribery... "gee, it's just about exactly as clean as the Civic that was next to it"

Best of luck to ya - have you considered purchasing an identical beater non-euro and vin swapping for a few hours?

SpongeBob · Post by **SpongeBob** » Dec 29, 2005 10:32 PM

I have had a few euro cars - an e12 M535i clone and an e23 735i H7S Hartge car, so been there. I am sorry to say - but the euro ECU and injector combo runs the car very rich and stinky - you would kill a new cat if installed with the euro ECU in a matter of weeks.

If you are serious about keeping the car, get a US ECU (maybe injectors too?), run a wire for the O2 sensor back to the ECU, get an O2 sensor bung installed in the exhaust and put a cat on the car - you should be good. But the bummer is, you will probably be down 15 to 20 hp so the car will not pull quite a strong and but it should be clean.

Good luck.

SBSP

shifty · Post by **shifty** » Dec 29, 2005 10:38 PM

SpongeBob,

Who says he has to drive the car in that configuration year-round?

Swapping the harness, ECU, and exhaust system should be a Saturday afternoon job. Take it to get it inspected, put the stuff back on Sunday afternoon, and you're good to go for another 12 months.

Am I missing something? Besides the whole "highly illegal" part of it? I'm kind of in the "breakin' da law" mood after dealing with this E30 today.

ddstl · Post by **ddstl** » Dec 29, 2005 10:40 PM

I have a few spare 059 ecu's, and know that the car will run on one of those. Maybe if I fool around with the aj. screw in the 059, combined with a US exhaust it will pass and I can reverse everything and have 2yrs before I have to go through it again.

Seems to me that there are issues marrying a US exhaust to euro manifolds--at least I think I remember that being the case. I have some US manifolds if need be.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!! Brad--find a couple more beater E30's and an E24, and then we'll talk about a mass trade!!

shifty · Post by **shifty** » Dec 29, 2005 10:48 PM

DD,

The ETK says the green and dirty engines came with different manifolds, so you're probably right about the US downpipes not mating up to the Euro manifolds.

You know, there are a few guys in STL with US-spec 535i's. Maybe you could sweet talk one of them into lending you their 535i for the weekend so you can swap out the exhausts. . . twice. It would be payment enough to me to get to hear my own 535i with a Euro exhaust. It sounds sweet!

Too bad the eta stuff doesn't bolt up. It'd be worth it to me just to see a Euro 535i with a 528e exhaust!

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » Dec 30, 2005 12:05 AM

FWIW....

No chance in hell my E12 M535i would pass here in Illinois either.
The cars are put on rollers and driven like a dyno with a probe
stuck up the car's ass sniffing the fumes. My M535i has classic
vehicle insurance. As long as you have this insurance and can
show proof that the mileage is limited, you get an emissions
exemption here in Illinois. Every two years when I get the
notice, I go to the DMV and get a special form and send that in
with a copy of my insurance policy.

Bingo, I get to do whatever I want with the car's exhaust.

Rich Euro M5 · Post by **Rich Euro M5** » Dec 30, 2005 1:56 PM

I have documentation that the car passed TX emmissions in 2005, but it failed twice prior to the passing attempt. Not sure what a TX test entails, but in MO they put it on a dyno.

It depends on the County in Texas where the test was performed. I doubt the car came from the counties where DFW, Houston, El Paso, or San Antonio are located. These counties all have the latest EPA Dyno emission tests for pre OBD-II equipped autos/light P/Us. The only way you will pass this test is with a functioning catalytic convertor and Lambda sensor. In the non-urban counties emissions testing is done at idle. However to pass this test also requires a functioning cat and O2 sensor.

So it looks like the previous Tx owner had a friendly mechanic that handled the test for him. Another possibility is the Tx owner was passed after putting $300 into emissions related repairs. In Texas the maximum an owner is required to pay for repairs in a given year is $300. Also if you drive less than 5000 miles / year you get an exemption, ie a free pass.

Rich in Houston

[Edit by Euro M88 on [TIME]1135969226[/TIME]]

ddstl · Post by **ddstl** » Dec 30, 2005 2:14 PM

Rich:

You could be right about the 'friendly mechanic'--no way this car is passing at the moment. Thanks for the info.
FWIW, here is the info from Carfax on my car--I previously said the car had passed in '05, looks like it was '03. Is Mandeval a suburb of Houston? I bought the car from a dealer in Houston who collects vintage BMW's. The car only has around 170k miles on it right now, so I doubt that the condition of the car is much different than when it was tested in '03.

Date: 12/15/2003
> Odometer Reading: 161,376
> Information Source:
> Texas
> Inspection Station
> Manvel, TX
>
> General Comments:
> Failed emissions inspection
>
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Date: 12/18/2003
> Odometer Reading: 161,620
> Information Source:
> Texas
> Inspection Station
> Manvel, TX
>
> General Comments:
> Failed emissions inspection
>
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Date: 12/18/2003
> Odometer Reading: 161,680
> Information Source:
> Texas
> Inspection Station
> Manvel, TX
>
> General Comments:
> Passed emissions inspection
>
-jv

[Edit by ddstl on [TIME]1135970241[/TIME]]

Nana535i · Post by **Nana535i** » Dec 30, 2005 2:29 PM

Manvel is outside of Houston in Brazoria county (HWY 6 and HWY288), cars are put on the rollers in that county. Looks like it failed and then it passed or got exempt.

[Edit by Nana535i on [TIME]1135971281[/TIME]]

Rich Euro M5 · Post by **Rich Euro M5** » Dec 30, 2005 2:53 PM

Nana535i wrote:Manvel is outside of Houston in Brazoria county (HWY 6 and HWY288), cars are put on the rollers in that county. Looks like it failed and then it passed or got exempt.

[Edit by Nana535i on [TIME]1135971281[/TIME]]

Not until just recently. Brazoria, Ft Bend and Montgomery counties as well as Travis county all were added within the past two years.

I bought the car from a dealer in Houston who collects vintage BMW's.

Let me guess, you bought the car from Matt Groner who owns Matthew's Auto. I believe the ALPINA 2002 Racecar Skeen drives was also purchased from Matt.

Matt's shop is really more of a major body repair facility. His shop tends to specialize in rebuilding the expensive and exotics. The last time I was at his shop he had a brand spanking new Porsche Cayenne with the twin turbo V8 in which some pro-ball player went unexpectedly offroading. There wasn't a straight body panel on the thing when it was dropped at the shop. When I saw the car it was on the frame rack, just a body shell, no engine, interior, electricals, nothing, and it looked like nothing had happened to the vehicle. His shop does very nice work.

He also has a really neat E36 318ti with a complete ///M3 drivetrain installed. It looks like any other 318ti that the owner might have lowered and added nice wheels. But when you stomp on the gas LOOK OUT !!! The thing hauls butt.

Rich

[Edit by Euro M88 on [TIME]1135972943[/TIME]]

ddstl · Post by **ddstl** » Dec 30, 2005 3:31 PM

[QUOTE="Euro M88"]Let me guess, you bought the car from Matt Groner who owns Matthew's Auto.[/QUOTE]

You got it, Rich! I think Matt was planning on keeping the car and doing something with it, but he had too many projects on his plate, so he advertised it for sale on his website. I was fortunate enough to be the first to contact him about it and put a deposit down on it over the phone. His collection of BMW's is amazing--I saw the M318ti on his website--talk about a sleeper!! Matt seems like a good guy--he definately took care of me. I wish I had been able to pick the car up in Houston, so I could have met him and seen his shop.

Nana535i · Post by **Nana535i** » Dec 30, 2005 4:08 PM

[QUOTE="Euro M88"] Not until just recently. Brazoria, Ft Bend and Montgomery counties as well as Travis county all were added within the past two years.

Let me guess, you bought the car from Matt Groner who owns Matthew's Auto. I believe the ALPINA 2002 Racecar Skeen drives was also purchased from Matt.

Matt's shop is really more of a major body repair facility. His shop tends to specialize in rebuilding the expensive and exotics. The last time I was at his shop he had a brand spanking new Porsche Cayenne with the twin turbo V8 in which some pro-ball player went unexpectedly offroading. There wasn't a straight body panel on the thing when it was dropped at the shop. When I saw the car it was on the frame rack, just a body shell, no engine, interior, electricals, nothing, and it looked like nothing had happened to the vehicle. His shop does very nice work.

He also has a really neat E36 318ti with a complete ///M3 drivetrain installed. It looks like any other 318ti that the owner might have lowered and added nice wheels. But when you stomp on the gas LOOK OUT !!! The thing hauls butt.

Rich

[Edit by Euro M88 on [TIME]1135972943[/TIME]][/QUOTE]

Is the 318ti black with black wheels?

ddstl to bad you're not in Houston. I may have been able to help.

Bryan in SB · Post by **Bryan in SB** » Dec 30, 2005 4:29 PM

Both Shifty and Sponge Bob are correct regarding their replies. Then find a smog shop that hasn't put in rollers. Detune the motor a hair, and you should be good to go.

Hoo Ha!!

Rich Euro M5 · Post by **Rich Euro M5** » Dec 30, 2005 4:33 PM

Is the 318ti black with black wheels?

IIRC, Matt's ///M 318ti is one of the dark blue colors from that era and it had regular ///M3 wheels on it when I saw the car. The modification was very well done, it looks like it came from the factory with the ///M bits and drivetrain.

Rich

Skeen · Post by **Skeen** » Dec 30, 2005 7:35 PM

I believe the ALPINA 2002 Racecar Skeen drives was also purchased from Matt.

True, except it's not an ALPINA, just has their colors.

Nana535i · Post by **Nana535i** » Jan 03, 2006 1:10 PM

Is the 318ti black with black wheels?

IIRC, Matt's ///M 318ti is one of the dark blue colors from that era and it had regular ///M3 wheels on it when I saw the car. The modification was very well done, it looks like it came from the factory with the ///M bits and drivetrain.

Rich

Euro M88 wrote:

IIRC, Matt's ///M 318ti is one of the dark blue colors from that era and it had regular ///M3 wheels on it when I saw the car. The modification was very well done, it looks like it came from the factory with the ///M bits and drivetrain.

Rich

Ok. Not the car I saw. This one was black with black painted Schnitzer wheels.

wjones · Post by **wjones** » Jan 05, 2006 4:36 PM

I have a 10:1 M535.

Dummy o2 sensor, euro ECU, euro exhaust with a cat welded in place. I also has a coughcough charcoal cannister lookingthingthatdoesnothing.

Bottom line is that is passes the roller test fine. Your car probably just needs all the tune-up items taken care of... and cats.

Rich Euro M5 · Post by **Rich Euro M5** » Jan 05, 2006 6:52 PM

[QUOTE="Bryan in SB"]Then find a smog shop that hasn't put in rollers. Detune the motor a hair, and you should be good to go.

Hoo Ha!![/QUOTE]

In some states you might get away with this, not in Texas. To have a safety inspection / SMOG test done in a given county requires your vehicle to be registered in that county. For instance I live in Sprng, Texas (way N. burbs of Houston) and driving up to College Station to get a safety inspection isn't a problem from a distance perspective, about 70 miles. However, since I don't have a residence there and my vehicle isn't registered in the county, I can't have the safety / SMOG test (tail pipe sniffer w/o the rollers and very easy to pass) in College Station.

Rich

Bryan in SB · Post by **Bryan in SB** » Jan 06, 2006 11:53 AM

Good point Rich. I'm not sure the same requirement applies here in Cali, although it may.

I can't believe that EVERY smog shop out there has been able to afford the increased cost of the roller setup. Aren't there Mom and Pop smog shops?

Rich Euro M5 · Post by **Rich Euro M5** » Jan 07, 2006 5:52 PM

[QUOTE="wjones"]I have a 10:1 M535.

Dummy o2 sensor, euro ECU, euro exhaust with a cat welded in place. I also has a coughcough charcoal cannister lookingthingthatdoesnothing.

Bottom line is that is passes the roller test fine. Your car probably just needs all the tune-up items taken care of... and cats.[/QUOTE]

I doubt the test you have in Pa is as thorough as as the ASM-II Tests used in certain counties in Texas. The ASM-II test is run at two different speeds 15 and 25 MPH and it's very difficult to pass unless everything in the emissions system is functioning normally. In fact even if the emissions controls are functioning normally, just having dirty oil can cause a failure of the Texas ASM-II Test. The test is a royal PITA and we are required to pass it EVERY year,

Rich

Rich Euro M5 · Post by **Rich Euro M5** » Jan 07, 2006 5:57 PM

[QUOTE="Bryan in SB"]I can't believe that EVERY smog shop out there has been able to afford the increased cost of the roller setup. Aren't there Mom and Pop smog shops? [/QUOTE]

They're all independantly owned, the State of Texas doesn't own the test stations like in some states. In addition, when the test is being performed, the computer system of the test system (5 Gas Analyzer) is connected via a modem to a central computer controlled by the State of Texas. It's almost impossible to cheat the system.

Rich

wjones · Post by **wjones** » Jan 09, 2006 12:58 AM

[QUOTE="wjones"]I have a 10:1 M535.

Dummy o2 sensor, euro ECU, euro exhaust with a cat welded in place. I also has a coughcough charcoal cannister lookingthingthatdoesnothing.

Bottom line is that is passes the roller test fine. Your car probably just needs all the tune-up items taken care of... and cats.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE="Euro M88"]I doubt the test you have in Pa is as thorough as as the ASM-II Tests used in certain counties in Texas. The ASM-II test is run at two different speeds 15 and 25 MPH and it's very difficult to pass unless everything in the emissions system is functioning normally. In fact even if the emissions controls are functioning normally, just having dirty oil can cause a failure of the Texas ASM-II Test. The test is a royal PITA and we are required to pass it EVERY year,

Rich

[/QUOTE]

I need to pass this -> ASM 1 (ASM5015). Once a year at ~ $70 a pop. Isn't the car were talking about in MO?

[Edit by wjones on [TIME]1136786401[/TIME]]

[Edit by wjones on [TIME]1136821413[/TIME]]

RobertRO · Post by **RobertRO** » Jan 09, 2006 3:36 AM

The ETK says the green and dirty engines came with different manifolds, so you're probably right about the US downpipes not mating up to the Euro manifolds.

I am curious, what is the difference between the Euro and US exhaust manifolds for the M30B34 engine.
The exhaust ports in the head are the same, since there's no difference between Euro and US heads - it's the same part. So maybe the manifolds "chambers" are larger?

Madhungarian · Post by **Madhungarian** » Jan 11, 2006 5:24 PM

Lotus 72D, can you tell me more about that "Andrews box"? I am in the same boat, but got an O2 sensor and cat already. Since running an 061 ECU the O2 sensor has no place to go. About to swith to an 059 ECU, but would like to hear more about this option. TIA

bmwfreak · Post by **bmwfreak** » Jan 12, 2006 12:05 AM

Getting an emissions test in St. Louis is the biggest pain the ass, nowhere else in Missouri do you have to have an emissons test done (Federal Clean Air Act). I have customers with new cars that fail this stupid thing. The state has a privately contracted company perform these tests, the employees are morons. I had one of these idiots zap reverse twice during the dyno test, just about ripped him out of the car! I can understand ddstl's concern with this matter. I have 2 euro M6 customers, we have set the exhaust up so we can put a free flow cat in for emissions tests only, we put cat on, take to emissions (just down the street) bring it back pull said cat off & deliver the car, works out really well. Give me a buzz at Bimmers R Us
Dave

scottiesharpe · Post by **scottiesharpe** » Jan 18, 2006 6:28 PM

JV-
Having had extensive experience smogging cars in the great facist state of CA, I can suggest to you that no unusual equipment is required to make a well tuned BMW pass emissions.

You don't need a us ecu, or an o2 sensor/johnson box setup (although the johnson box sure does help!).

What you do need is a newish cat converter, good exhaust gas analyzer (such as a heated 02 sensor and a digital volt meter). You can have your local hot rod shop make you up a bolt in track pipe with a modular cat pipe. (Just don't mention to them that you are using it on the street, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

Freshen up your oil, air filter, plugs, check for vacuum leaks. Close (screw all the way in) the idle air bypass screw on the AFM. Don't worry about idle quality. Then tune the AFM so the car runs at stoich on cruise. Then after you get the dialed in, fiddle with your idle screw until you can get it to run between rich and very rich at idle.

This is how I set my motors (1988 M5 with M88 full euro powerplant and euro ecu, and 1984 745i with a Valentine "Johnson" box) up during my "drop 'em and bend over" sessions with the State.

Good luck!!

ddstl · Post by **ddstl** » Jan 18, 2006 7:35 PM

I appreciate the terrific advice!

I'm going to go for the test in a few weeks---first I have a laundry list of tune-up-related duties that need to be addressed, most of which are mentioned in these posts. Then, I am going to have 'a friend in the biz' 'install'......cough..... a cat. I should have a pretty good chance here in MO at that point. I've got some tricks that I can try in addition to those mentioned---we'll see what works!!!!

I'll let the board know how it goes fo-sho.

Muppet · Post by **Muppet** » Feb 12, 2006 10:17 AM

I just did this in Nov 05. I have a 1985 M535i HC motor and got tired of trying to pass emissions every year. I replaced the cat with a DEC one from Steve Haygood and changed the CPU from a 061 to a 059. I took it to the local shop and had them insert the pin for the O2 sensor into the harness head. They installed the relay that attaches to the side of the fuse box and installed the O2 sensor. (Note)The DEC cat did not bolt up it had to be cut and welded but it has the bung for the O2 sensor. It runs much smoother as idle. There is some lost of power but I feel like it has more in the lower RPM range. When the 061 CPU was in the car it was totally different after 3000 rpm. I knew when I hit 3000 the car took off. Now it is a smoother transition. The car passed emissions with flying colors.

I have the 061 for sale if any one can use it 105 shipped.

Madhungarian · Post by **Madhungarian** » Feb 13, 2006 8:49 PM

I just did the same exact thing except I have done my own O2 wiring. JBort was going to check for me in the euro schematics files to find out what the hell was in the pin reserved for the o2 sensor in the Euro harness.
Still tuning it , but agree it runs smoother at idle.
I am going to hang on to the 061 and get a "track pipe" made up for fun in the 4K-6K range.

Madhungarian · Post by **Madhungarian** » Feb 13, 2006 8:51 PM

Sorry, don't know what hapened...

[Edit by Madhungarian on [TIME]1139884213[/TIME]]

MyE28.com

MyE28.com

How do I smog a euro??