OT: I think it’s time to let go of my audi…sniff….

[Coronita]

The turbo if it is an issue would be surprising considering I only run synthetic for the past 16years and the car has a turbo timer that leaves the engine running for two minutes after turning off the ignition so that the oil can cool without cooking the turbo. I was running a boosted chip though. The KO3 aren’t exactly known to last that long under a lot of boost. Car has about 110k miles.

And Brian, most cars these.days are moving towards turbo to meet cafe emission rules. So forcing people to drive newer cars is forcing people to go more from an n/a engine to those that are turned and as you say less reliable.

[ucodegen]

[quote=FlyerInHi]It’s not a scam. Some countries like Germany don’t allow old cars at all.

We should develop sensible public transit. You don’t want old cars belching out pollutants in dense populated area. Move out in boonies if you don’t want to smog your car.[/quote]actually it is a scam.. and Germany does allow old cars as well as Japan.

It is a scam because the test is a two pronged goofball test that does not test what really matters;
1) For pre OBD-II, the test is more realistic, BUT a person who knows how to build injection systems is not allowed to, and not allowed to build a system that is more efficient. It must be as Factory delivered it (If you think that is good, say “Volkswagen did not intent to deceive” 1000 times followed by “The US Manufacturers know best” another 1000 times). The oxygen sensor feedback system was invented by Volvo in 1970s (Lambda Sonde)along with 3-way sensor. Think back to what the US manufacturers were using .. carburetors without feedback control. Original sensor research was around 1960s.
2) For OBD-IIs, many just to the check on the engine diags – looking for error codes and a brief under-hood and tailpipe and that is it. If you believe that this is best .. repeat what I recommend you say in #1 1000 more times.

Though it should have been, it was never really about smog. If it was, it would ONLY be the dyno test. Pre dyno, the inspection and matching factory config made sense. Post dyno, it really doesn’t. There are a lot of skilled people out there who can build an emissions compliant full feedback system, just the type of people that may get employed by a manufacturer.

The average age of cars in Germany is now 8.8 years. 451,000 cars are older than 30 years – of these 314,000 use historical number plates, which give amongst others tax and insurance benefits to older cars in original condition. (Mercedes leads the way in the old-timer rankings.)

http://www.best-selling-cars.com/germany/2014-germany-total-number-registered-cars-german-roads/

[ucodegen]

@flu – if the steam from the exhaust has a ‘funky’ smell combined with a bit of an anti-freeze smell, it is getting into the cylinders and being burned. If it is just an anti-freeze smell, then it is post combustion. With the way turbos are designed, the water jacket is outside of the bearings and you will not leak into the exhaust. You would get water in the oil before leaking into the intake or exhaust. See http://www.sjmautotechnik.com/trouble_shooting/turbo.html

[Coronita]

[quote=ucodegen]@flu – if the steam from the exhaust has a ‘funky’ smell combined with a bit of an anti-freeze smell, it is getting into the cylinders and being burned. If it is just an anti-freeze smell, then it is post combustion. With the way turbos are designed, the water jacket is outside of the bearings and you will not leak into the exhaust. You would get water in the oil before leaking into the intake or exhaust. See http://www.sjmautotechnik.com/trouble_shooting/turbo.html%5B/quote%5D

Holy sheet. Where did you find this website? Thanks…

[Coronita]

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[Hobie]

Since we are armchair mechanics 🙂 here is a different theory:

I listened again to the video and heard a small popping upon decel. Do you have headers?

If you are not having a significant drop in water level, and oil level is not dropping either then that popping may be afterfire.

Afterfire is not backfiring but unburnt fuel in the exhaust. Then I remembered you have a performance chip in it. Could that be causing it to run rich? Or at least delay in the injectors cutoff??

The kicker is that it is not consistent. Seems to have larger plume at first ( idling longer ) then less. hmm. ( Pass compression test then turbo seal is my bet)

There are some guys that feel the synthetic oils due to their more slipperiness can get past seals causing leaks. More of a long shot here as your car probably speced a certain oil due to the turbo anyway.

[FlyerInHi]

ucidegen, you’re reading my comments too literally.

Germany doesn’t ban old cars. But they have a regime that makes owning old cars costly and inconvenient. At some point, buying new cars is more practical.

California smog program is also practically about inspection and inconvenience, and to dissuade people from tinkering with their cars. Without smog inspection our air would be dirtier for sure. I think it’s worth the costs/benefits.

Not everyone should be a car “enthusiast.” If you’re really rich, you don’t care about costs. If you’re middle class you may give up the hobby if you have other priorities. If you’re poor, then being a car “enthusiast” is not practical. For everyone, you should not drive a car on public streets that doesn’t run clean (there are already exceptions for race cars, etc)

A lot of people are upset with smog testing because they used to tinker with cars in their youth. It was a different time back then.

[Hobie]

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[Coronita]

[quote=Hobie]Since we are armchair mechanics 🙂 here is a different theory:

I listened again to the video and heard a small popping upon decel. Do you have headers?

If you are not having a significant drop in water level, and oil level is not dropping either then that popping may be afterfire.

Afterfire is not backfiring but unburnt fuel in the exhaust. Then I remembered you have a performance chip in it. Could that be causing it to run rich? Or at least delay in the injectors cutoff??

The kicker is that it is not consistent. Seems to have larger plume at first ( idling longer ) then less. hmm. ( Pass compression test then turbo seal is my bet)

There are some guys that feel the synthetic oils due to their more slipperiness can get past seals causing leaks. More of a long shot here as your car probably speced a certain oil due to the turbo anyway.[/quote]

I went back to stock so the pop is always with stock

[FlyerInHi]

I should add that for a guy like flu, smog testing is not a hardship. He has other cars and he can put the Audi in non-op while he fixes it.

[Coronita]

Hey. I just thought of something techies. If I disconnect the power cable to the by passvalve, the valve will stay open to the wastegate. This would cause the wastegate to stay open and vent the exhaust gas out to the exhaust rather than the turbine. If a turbo doesnt spool, it shouldn’t leak right?

Hmm. I think I am qualified to work for VW.

[Hobie]

Actually Brian, Flu’s car is actually not contributing to the smog problem. It’s the non-visible stuff that is bad.

[Hobie]

Good idea! Might throw a code, no biggie.

[Coronita]

[quote=Hobie]Good idea! Might throw a code, no biggie.[/quote]

Actually that it might be a big deal if cel goes on because I think the smog test does a obd2 scan

[Coronita]

[quote=Hobie]Actually Brian, Flu’s car is actually not contributing to the smog problem. It’s the non-visible stuff that is bad.[/quote]

Funny part is my miata is a worse offender and it passed easily.

[Author]

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