Can I pass emissions with O2 simulators?

[ChrisV990]

Quick question... I've done a ton of research but can't seem to find any concrete answers.

I was planning on purchasing O2 simulators and a Secondary Air Pump simulator from these guys...

http://e36-electronic.com

My question is this... Will I still be able to pass emissions if I do? Here in Oregon emissions seem pretty laid back. All they do with OBDII cars is plug their diagnostic tool into the car and make sure everything is good. If I remember correctly there isn't any tailpipe test and there's also no underhood inspection or anything.

That being said, is there any chance of passing emissions with the simulators? The car is a daily driver so it has to be able to pass emissions unfortunately.

Just looking to see if anyone has passed emissions with these simulators or if it's just not possible.

[hide1]

For your states inspection my understanding is, yes. So long as you don't have CEL and the OBDII diagnostic doesn't throw anything, which the SAP sim & o2 sim is designed to prevent.

No visual, no tailpipe sniffer.. the other 49 have it so good. CA STAR inspection has dyno test, tail pipe sniffer, gas cap testing, OBD port, engine bay and lift visual, cameras with people at the state air resource board watching to ensure the car being smogged on paper matches the car on the dyno. I heard even if you pass they still compare it to other cars of your year, make, model in their database to see if youre out of range =|

[technoMyviolet3]

My buddy just passed Maryland emissions fine with them. Not sure how our tests compare to Oregon though. We get a diagnostic, im pretty sure a tailpipe test (IIRC), and they "check" for cats with a mirror. I would think as long as you aren't throwing any codes, you should be good to go.

[ChrisV990]

Man it sounds like some of these other states have it bad!

I can't recall for certain if they have tailpipe tests here for OBDII cars but I don't remember them doing that last time. I know for 100% certain they don't do any underhood, dyno, or cat inspections with OBDII cars.

I was planning on running an AA track pipe and headers hence my need to get rid of the secondary air pump and the O2 sensors.

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My buddy just passed Maryland emissions fine with them. Not sure how our tests compare to Oregon though. We get a diagnostic, im pretty sure a tailpipe test (IIRC), and they "check" for cats with a mirror. I would think as long as you aren't throwing any codes, you should be good to go.

How did he pass the test if he had no cats and they check for them?

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For your states inspection my understanding is, yes. So long as you don't have CEL and the OBDII diagnostic doesn't throw anything, which the SAP sim & o2 sim is designed to prevent.

No visual, no tailpipe sniffer.. the other 49 have it so good. CA STAR inspection has dyno test, tail pipe sniffer, gas cap testing, OBD port, engine bay and lift visual, cameras with people at the state air resource board watching to ensure the car being smogged on paper matches the car on the dyno. I heard even if you pass they still compare it to other cars of your year, make, model in their database to see if youre out of range =|

Damn dude! That's friggin crazy! California sounds like they've got some seriously crazy emissions!

[ThreeD]

How did he pass the test if he had no cats and they check for them?

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Because they "check". It's pretty 1/2 ass

[ChrisV990]

Because they "check". It's pretty 1/2 ass

Gotcha! I guess I'm lucky here in Oregon that there really aren't any 'inspections'.

[bladerealm124]

Just watch out for the visual cat inspection if your state has one. Just went in with my car recently, if they are even remotely knowledgeable about cars they will know by the smell and by looking underneath. I got called out for it, played dumb, knew the guys sister so he passed me but kind of gave me a hard time. Good luck

[ChrisV990]

I am 110% certain there is no visual inspection for cats here. The guys at the emissions place seem completely clueless every time I have been in. I am in and out of there in less than a few minutes every single time.

[bladerealm124]

I am 110% certain there is no visual inspection for cats here. The guys at the emissions place seem completely clueless every time I have been in. I am in and out of there in less than a few minutes every single time.

In that case you should be fine. If you have an OBD2 scanner you can check out your readiness status if you want to be 100% sure before you go. Worthwhile investment if you don't. Cats should read in a ready state even when they're not there if the sims are working properly.

[RRSperry]

The real question you should be asking yourself is why?

What is your purpose in removing the emissions control equipment? You drive a 15 year old car, it's never going to be fast unless you go FI or engine swap. It's going to smell like ass, and pollute everybody's air for no real reason. (other than a few Hp, but you'll still be down at least 50 to my car with all emissions controls in place...)

[ChrisV990]

The real question you should be asking yourself is why?

What is your purpose in removing the emissions control equipment? You drive a 15 year old car, it's never going to be fast unless you go FI or engine swap. It's going to smell like ass, and pollute everybody's air for no real reason. (other than a few Hp, but you'll still be down at least 50 to my car with all emissions controls in place...)

The car is supercharged.

As for why, well for one I have SS replica headers and they won't fit with the secondary air pump.

The track pipe combined with headers should help me gain a little extra power once I mate it up to my catback exhaust.

[daniellihomes1]

Yes, In NY I pass no problem.

[kevinwilly]

The real question you should be asking yourself is why?

What is your purpose in removing the emissions control equipment? You drive a 15 year old car, it's never going to be fast unless you go FI or engine swap. It's going to smell like ass, and pollute everybody's air for no real reason. (other than a few Hp, but you'll still be down at least 50 to my car with all emissions controls in place...)

The REAL question is- why would you replace failed emissions equipment on a 15 year old car when for half the price you can eliminate it? I mean... if I was still running obd2 and my secondary air pump died, I'd buy a simulator for SURE. The o2 sensors on the far end of the cats I would probably keep, but it's not like they really do anything anyway- except let you know when your cats go bad.

But if the car is otherwise in good shape, there's not going to be smelling like ass as you claim, and it won't pollute even one molecule more than a car with the SAP and post-cat sensors in place. Except, arguably, for the first 30-60 seconds when you start the car because the SAP is not running.

And you're not going to gain a single horsepower by eliminating any of it, either. Because the DME doesn't use either of those systems to determine anything. So it's really about a cost thing.

[hide1]

I would pull the SAP in a heartbeat if I could pass visual. Only one aftermarket header supports it and I would not pay the price to replace a broken pump or check valve if not needed. It only works for the first 2 min. and when ambient is cold (<55 deg?).. I don't see the fuss really.

[ChrisV990]

The REAL question is- why would you replace failed emissions equipment on a 15 year old car when for half the price you can eliminate it? I mean... if I was still running obd2 and my secondary air pump died, I'd buy a simulator for SURE. The o2 sensors on the far end of the cats I would probably keep, but it's not like they really do anything anyway- except let you know when your cats go bad.

But if the car is otherwise in good shape, there's not going to be smelling like ass as you claim, and it won't pollute even one molecule more than a car with the SAP and post-cat sensors in place. Except, arguably, for the first 30-60 seconds when you start the car because the SAP is not running.

And you're not going to gain a single horsepower by eliminating any of it, either. Because the DME doesn't use either of those systems to determine anything. So it's really about a cost thing.

I couldn't agree more. Two of my 02 sensors (post cat) are bad and I see no point in replacing them at almost $200 for a pair. On top of that my stock cats have 200k miles on them and are going bad as well (I can tell from the rotten egg smell) so why would I waste tons of money on cats and O2 sensors when I can just buy a simulator and install a track pipe? Then I never have to worry about forking over money for cats and O2 sensors again.

As for his 'polluting everyones air' comment, that's just stupid. If you're so concerned about air pollution you probably ought to be riding a bicycle and not driving a BMW to begin with.

[kevinwilly]

As for his 'polluting everyones air' comment, that's just stupid. If you're so concerned about air pollution you probably ought to be riding a bicycle and not driving a BMW to begin with.

Alright. You lost me here.

There's being OVERLY concerned about pollution, and then there's just being a cheap prick to the environment. BMW's do not pollute more than any other car, generally.

Honestly, there's no excuse to be driving around without a catalytic converter on your car. It DOES smell like shit and it does make a HUGE difference on the amount of pollution that your car puts out. High flow cats are only a couple hundred bucks and should last for 150-200k miles if you keep your car running correctly.

And you WILL fail a visual inspection if you don't have one. Here in NC there's no emissions test besides the OBD2 check, so you can get by without the SAP and such... but as part of the SAFETY inspection they look for holes in the exhaust and you WILL get caught if you try and pass that without a cat on your car. Not sure how it is where you live, but just be warned.

When I made my earlier comments I didn't realize you were getting rid of the cat. When you said "track pipe" i assumed you meant exhaust system, not "test pipe".

I entirely disagree with running those on the street. I ride a motorcycle a lot of the time, and drive with my windows down MOST of the time. I hate cars that have no cats or have dead ones. Disgusting. AND bad for the environment.

But if you have a working car and just want to get rid of faulty sensors, I still say that I see no problem running the simulators.

[ChrisV990]

I didn't mean to imply BMWs polluted more than any other car out there. What I was saying is that that guys comment suggested that I stop polluting everyone's air. I had mentioned that if he was so concerned about air pollution he shouldn't even be driving a car at all.

There is no visual inspection here in Oregon, this I know for a fact. Not on OBDII cars at least.

I ride a motorcycle as well (Aprilia) but I don't ever thing I've smelled a car with no cats. I guess it's a personal choice. I could get high flow cats but even those things are expensive. The AA track pipe would bolt right up to my SS replica headers and provide much better flow from the headers all the way to the tailpipe.

Being that my car is supercharged I think that I might actually get some decent gains from it. I smell old muscle cars without cats all the time (I have several friends with classic muscle cars) and they don't smell bad to me at all. I guess my nose just isn't that sensitive.

Anyways... My question has been answered. Just wanted to know if people were able to pass emissions with O2 simulators and it appears people are able to pass so I guess I'll take my chances. Didn't mean for this to turn into a discussion about removing the cats so my apologies.

Thanks for all the answers guys. I'm going to give the simulators a try.

[theblazer07]

Quick question... I've done a ton of research but can't seem to find any concrete answers.

I was planning on purchasing O2 simulators and a Secondary Air Pump simulator from these guys...

http://e36-electronic.com

My question is this... Will I still be able to pass emissions if I do? Here in Oregon emissions seem pretty laid back. All they do with OBDII cars is plug their diagnostic tool into the car and make sure everything is good. If I remember correctly there isn't any tailpipe test and there's also no underhood inspection or anything.

That being said, is there any chance of passing emissions with the simulators? The car is a daily driver so it has to be able to pass emissions unfortunately.

Just looking to see if anyone has passed emissions with these simulators or if it's just not possible.


I bought their O2 simulator and installed it. After about 50 miles all systems showed up as "ready." Then, while running a short errand the CEL came on and was throwing P0140 (O2 Sensor circuit no activity detected) codes! WTF! I need to pass emissions on Monday, I can't afford any more tickets for expired registration! So I had about 20 miles of driving without codes and where all systems were ready. Please Help!