Is Your Car Prepared for Smog Testing?

Most counties and states have laws laid down that control and limit the emission from vehicles. For this purpose, smog tests are often conducted at the initial registration of a vehicle. It is also important to have your car regularly smog tested, as it will ensure your car remains in an efficient and non-polluting condition.

This approach saves fuel and keeps your surroundings comparatively less polluted and healthier. Any emission-related problems with your car can incur huge expense, and repairs for adhering with emission limits can be extremely time-consuming.

In order to pass a smog test you need to consider and follow a number of strategies.

Let’s take a look at some of these strategies.

Warm up Your Engine

Car engines pollute the most when they are cold. Cold engines need a high proportion of fuel and most of the clean air components work inefficiently until they have warmed up. Make sure to drive for at least 15 minutes before you take your car to the emission testing station. If you have to wait for the test, it’s better to let the engine idle rather than shutting it down completely.

Clear the ‘Check Engine’ Light

In case your car is displaying the ‘check engine’ light, you are likely to fail the smog check. You need to diagnose the problem and fix it before you go for the test. A faulty oxygen sensor is one of the most common causes of this.

The oxygen sensor monitors unburned oxygen from the exhaust. It allows the amount of fuel burned during combustion to be measured. A faulty sensor will not provide the correct oxygen content in the exhaust gas, causing inefficient engine performance with resulting pollution and excessive fuel consumption.

Change the Oil

Fresh oil can help your engine pass its smog test. The engine of your car relies on a system known as Positive Crankcase Ventilation. This draws harmful fumes from hot oil in the engine crankcase and feeds the fumes into the engine’s air intake system. If the oil you are using in your car is heavily contaminated and you pay little heed to regular oil changes, these harmful fumes can lead to a smog test failure. So, make sure you have the oil changed at regular intervals, and immediately prior to the smog test.

Check out on Tire Pressure

If the smog test in your county or state includes driving the vehicle on a rolling dynamometer, it’s recommended to check the tire pressures before you take the vehicle to be tested. Low tire pressure increases the rolling resistance of the car. This needs the engine to work harder, thus burning more fuel and causing higher exhaust emissions. Make sure to check the pressures always when the tires are cold.

Give your Car a Tune Up

Cars that are new enough bit need emission testing usually do not require extensive tune ups. However, you can still make improvements in a few areas. Replace or clean the spark plugs, PCV valve, air filter, and spark plug HT leads. Any of these items, if dirty or not correctly functioning, will have an impact on the ability to burn the fuel charge efficiently. This may then lead to a failure in the smog test.

Clean the Fuel System

Auto part stores have an array of fuel additives designed to clean the fuel system. You should consider adding a fuel cleaning additive to you tank of fuel at regular intervals. Always consider doing this before the smog test by running a full tank of fuel through your engine prior to the test. Experts argue over the effectiveness of these additives, but most say that Top Tier gasoline can help to keep the fuel system clean and emissions lower.

Avoid Disconnecting the Battery

When a vehicle has its battery disconnected or drained, the onboard engine management system will fail to perform self-testing. The engine management system is essential to pass an emissions test, as it will report if it’s not ready for the testing.

Resetting the ‘readiness monitor’ needs a series of steps to be taken. However, if you drive your car normally for around a week, after replacing the battery, you will be absolutely fine. Just make sure to include both highway driving (steady speed) and city driving (low speed) as part of your routine.

Avoid Wet Weather

The older models of vehicles are usually driven on a rolling dynamometer in the course of smog testing.

Wet tires can cause slippage during the rolling test and cause the dynamometer to inaccurately measure the engine performance.

Drive train torque and engine power mis-measurement are possible causes of a failed emissions test. We are not saying that you cannot pass a smog tests on a rainy day but you need to ensure that the smog machine has a ‘dry tires’ mode. This ensures that the tires of your vehicle are dried before the test.

You should now be more aware of ways to ensure you pass the smog test inspection. Paying attention to all of these aspects will allow you to present your vehicle for smog testing with a high degree of confidence that it will pass the test.

This information is shared by Premier Plates. We have over 55 million private plates available with prices starting from £49.00