So with the weather getting better I decided it was time to bring my R32 back to life and get it on the road. I needed a saftey(“sold the car” to my parents for cheaper insurance) and a E-test. Saftey I got when the Mechanic at a local shop was kind enough to inspect my car on my driveway(passed). Second I needed an e-test. When I asked people around they told me an rb25 in an r32 gts would fail and that I need a fake one. After asking around and getting quoted anywere from 150-300 I decided that It is wortHh it to risk 40 dollars to actually see if it passes or fails.
Heres when it happens. I took the car to Crappy tire on leslie and major mack after an oil change, rad flush, engine flush, injector cleaner, and 94 sunoco gas. Waited for my car to get tested and it failed.
-------------------2500 rpm-------------------------idle
limit reading Result limit reading result
HC ppm—300------642-------FAIL-------300-------582----------Fail
CO %-----1.5------4.17------FAIL--------1.5-------3.22---------FAIL
NO ppm—N/A------N/A-------N/A--------N/A-------N/A----------N/A
----------RPM------2315-----Valid--------RPM------1023---------Valid
----------Dilution----14.2-----Valid--------Dillution—13.1---------Valid
Overall test result: FAIL
So this just killed my mood. They calmly told me it failed and suggested I pay 150 to find what the problem is and too see if I can get a conditional pass. Then they show me the paper and I saw how my car was marked as a 2.0. I asked them why would it be a 2.0 and they told me once you run it as a “hot rod” it dosent matter about the engine size. I disagreed and told them they had to rerun my car as the 2.5 it is and they did so after calling the drive clean center. Here were the second results.
--------------------2500 rpm-----------------------idle
---------limit------reading----Result-----limit--------reading-----Result
HC ppm–300-------51--------PASS-----300----------126--------PASS
CO %----1.5-------0.28------PASS------1.5----------0.18-------PASS
NO ppm—N/A------N/A-------N/A-------N/A----------N/A--------N/A
----------RPM------2428------Valid------RPM---------1077-------Valid
----------Dilution—14.5-------Valid------Dillution------13.0-------Valid
Overall test result: PASS
So they apologized and asked me if I “leaned my car” so I told him no im harry potter and I used magic to turn the HC ppm and Co to happiness powder(my exact words). The managers said “maybe” the guy doing the test “screwed up”. My question is, How the fuck could a car fail so bad the first time and not 30 minutes later pass with flying colours?
Obviously he fucked up somehow one of the two times, the readings aren’t even close to the same. The engine size they use wouldn’t change the reading either, just the limits…
I’ve seen crazy numbers like that after fuel treatments…so there was probably some injector treatment chemical still in there that got flushed by the time they ran it again.
SHK
this is a exactly why people were complaining about the e-tests years ago when they were first introduced, brand new cars were failing these test alot of the time, re-test and their fine… anything could be wrong though, could still be your car, leaky headgasket would do it , bad injector, valve guide seals, anything really
The first time the cat was cool, and yes they will get a visit from MTO, becarefull driving, if MTO pull you over and run your plates they can see the results of the test, and would think you paid to get a fake test!! KEEP both print outs in the car.
I know a gentlemen who owns a shop here in town and hes been doing my etests for years and its very simple… rev the car to high and it fails. Cars like integra’s require a shift from 2nd - 3rd… dont do it right and it fails.
There are many variables that come into play with different vehicles and if not tested correctly it fails.
They ran it in second gear both times. You can tell by the RPM. If he ran it in third then the rpm would be lower on the second test. How long was the car sitting before you went to test it… like did you run a tank of gas through it because I have seen bad gas produce results like this.
He could have leaned it by hooking the second probe into it and leaving it out on the ground. But I doubt it because the dilution is only 14.2, It would be upwards of 20 if they did.
To tell you the truth guys, this has happened to me twice before, I have had a car fail for no reason then pass 20 minutes later with nothing done to it. We couldn’t explain why it happened either time. Maybe the machine didn’t zero properly? I dunno, I wouldn’t be too concerned about it. If you really think they are up to something take your car somewhere else and get it tested and compare the numbers.
The only other thing I could think of is that they screwed up when they entered the GVWR or tightened the straps down insanely tight and added too much preload. But I doubt it.
Btw. it should be tested as a hot rod if the car came with a 2.0 and now has a 2.5. Its right in the standard operating procedures.