A little help with smog please,......

[1RADNSX]

I just purchased a 92' NSX from Texas and even though it had moderate engine modifications I was under the impression from the previous owner that smog would not be an issue. I took it to the dealer for the registration smog certificate and it failed at 15mph/1446 rpm & it rated gross polluter at 25mph/1774 rpm. Not being much of a mechanic myself I was hoping some of you out there in the nsx community could refer me to a good mechanic here in San Rafael, California area. The technician at Marin Acura did not feel comfortable wrenching on the modifications and told me to find a racing shop,.....

Here are the modifications to the best of my knowledge: Comptech heads,ported and polished. Cams from Comptech. Adjustable cam gears or modified gears from Russ Collins. Comptech throttle body? Russ Collins Injectors. Comptech computer chip. Russ Collins timed engine here in California when original owner made purchase in 92'. Any one have any ideas on what I need to do to get the smog done. A friend told me he thought if the injectors were swapped out with stock injectors long enough for the smog, it might pass, then just place the Russ Collins injectors back in? Maybe replace catalytic converter? Any assistance would be appreciated. Otherwise I am extremely stoked about this vehicle. It is very fast, and sounds awesome. Can't wait to post preliminary photos,....Red with blk interior in very nice condition and only 57K miles with 60K service already done. Water pump, valves, belts etc......Thank You in advance,....

 

[TheYellowBeast]

Maybe I can't say what the problem is, but I can say what the problem isn't... I also bought in Texas (though it was a 2000) and moved to California; the car has Comptech supercharger, headers, exhaust, and airbox; and passed first time... so hopefully take that stuff off or combination thereof off your list. Good luck!

 

[Malibu Rapper]

One piece of advice that is always useful is to give your car a good drive before smogging. Give it a good half hour drive around the city and freeways to get things really warmed up.

 

[Steve D]

Make sure the TCS is turned off.

Dion

 

[Sulley]

I had trouble getting my 93 passed this year and all it has are headers and an exhaust.
I did alot of research on smog controls while trying to get my car to pass and it could be anything in the system.
I would think the cams are not helping. I assume there are headers(which brand). What were your test results? Some people test the car in 2nd and 3rd, which are the 1500rpm. Some have tested in 1st and 2nd which runs closer to 2500 rpm.
I had a bad O2 sensor and one bad catalyst. I eventually passed but not by much.
Having the car well warmed up helps, but if it was bad enough to be a gross polluter something is wrong.

Sulley
Merced,CA

 

[nis350]

I had trouble getting my 93 passed this year and all it has are headers and an exhaust.
I did alot of research on smog controls while trying to get my car to pass and it could be anything in the system.
I would think the cams are not helping. I assume there are headers(which brand). What were your test results? Some people test the car in 2nd and 3rd, which are the 1500rpm. Some have tested in 1st and 2nd which runs closer to 2500 rpm.
I had a bad O2 sensor and one bad catalyst. I eventually passed but not by much.
Having the car well warmed up helps, but if it was bad enough to be a gross polluter something is wrong.

Sulley
Merced,CA

How did you narrow down to one O2 sensor and one cat.? are there any symptoms for each of the failure?

My car has some smell on the exhaust, but it passed the CA smog last year. It ran fine and no warnings light. I don't know if that is the case with the earlier model NSX.

 

[Zsport]

Because your was car labled a gross polluter you will be scrutinize more than a normal smog test, as it stands there no way your car will pass with a aftermarket engine ECU and injectors (remember more fuel, more power, more emissions). You have had a lot of work done to your car it may cost some bucks to pass California emissions.
Good luck!

 

[CKS Papa]

I was under the impression from the previous owner that smog would not be an issue. ...

You should contact the seller, hopefully he can help out.

 

[D'Ecosse]

Here are the modifications to the best of my knowledge: Comptech heads,ported and polished. Cams from Comptech. Adjustable cam gears or modified gears from Russ Collins. Comptech throttle body? Russ Collins Injectors. Comptech computer chip. ....

Since the mods are predominantly Comptech, maybe it makes sense to have them take a look at things - being in N CA you're not that far away from them in El Dorado Hills, just East of Sacramento. Contact Comptech

 

[drew]

Check your O2 sensors first, then you should look hard at the cams and cam gears and injectors. If it is not an easy fix, you're gonna need some place with a sniffer and start going through a checklist to see...

Did you do a "test run", or is it officially labled a "gross polluter"? If you are gross polluter: good luck...it is likely that they will check your car over very carefully.

The engine sounds so modified and has a lot labor invested (along with the Gross Polluter), that I would seriously consider getting a spare engine and swapping it out for smog checks. I guess it depends on how bad you really want to keep the car in its modified condition.

OTOH, you are allowed one grace smog check (two years) before you either have to remove the car from the state or junk it. Though, I'm not sure this grace period is applied to modified engines though...

I suppose you could permanently register the car out of state too.

Does not sound good, I wish you well

Drew

 

[Steve D]

I would call Don at Hilltop Automotive, Daly City. He might be able to help.

Dion

 

[hondatech_v1.0]

It would help to know what on the test the car failed for....
Post your test sheet or post exactly what the readings are (HC@15mph=--)