New guy in the Bay Area Cali
 

Hi all!

New member from San Jose for those in the Bay. I've been a big car guy most my life. Owned an FC3S, a Integra DA, " biggest regret of my life btw " an SE3P "RX-8" Both the Mazdas' have been tracked at ThunderHill raceway and Laguna but have been sold. I have a 4Runner to get my motorcycle to the track now.. But enough about me.. More about the car!

Just got my NA about a week ago, mostly stock except for some questionable wheels " could be worse I suppose." a yellow 91/92 for a steal: $700! Albeit it was cheap for a reason. I'm having the worst time trying to pass smog. Recently I just did...

-the oil; Amsoil synthetic "leftover from my RX-8"
-RacingBeat spark wires + NGK iridiums plugs
-OEM filters, fuel, air, and oil.
-PCV valve and o2 sensor
-Motul synthetic flushed and fill trans/diff fluids.
-Oh and I seafoamed the engine prior to above.

And still nothing.. It failed so hard, state refs wanna fine me; cause that s**t cray. " see what I did there? :naughty: the jay z in Paris song? Nothing? Alright then.. Moving on!

Got a new Magna Flow 50 state cat coming in and hopefully I can start enjoying the car legally.. You know, not that I've been driving it or anything.. :D

I was going to take some real pictures but due to certain circumstances.. this is the best I can do for now. I'll have better pictures soon though.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373091562

And wait for it.. Keep waiting.. Boom.. :facepalm:


https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1373091562

Welcome to the site Jwind, thanks for joining up!

Cali environutjob commies and their emissions...

Srsly?



Jwind, I gotta admit, that's one of the most impressive failures I've ever seen. I mean, I honestly can't remember ever seeing a Miata go that far over on all six criteria.

There is more wrong with your car than just a cat. What mods have been done to it?

Yeah, the HC and CO means you're running rich. NO should be taken care of by the cat, but I "think" you can also have elevated NO if your timing is too advanced.

Anyway, assuming it's unmolested, a new NBO2 + Cat + Check Timing should get you there.

Oh yeah, welcome to the site.

No smog checking in Texas -- you just have to put up with heat and Baptist cowboy wannabes.

Thanks guys!

I haven't done anything yet. Actually wanted to start off with suspension upgrades, sways, coilover, an actual rollbar etc, but looks like I have take the exhaust route now.

While I was knocking out the maintenance, nothing really stood out as modified. Many parts looked well worned, as if the 2 previous owners hadn't bother to change a darn thing. So one could say the motor probably is on its way out then? I was planning on going with a 1.8 turbo or MSM swap after the chassis upgrades " Why else miataturbo.net right? lol "

I'll have to search up a DIY for timing adjustments then, seems like the only thing I haven't tried yet. Thanks everybody! Oh, and I did drive the car hard before handing it over to the smog inspector too. Hopefully its that cat and the timing.

Lol... Sounds like a similar situation I was in when I bought my 94 miata back in dec/jan (although my smog wasn't nearly as bad as yours)....

Smog guy and others indicated that my cat was going. i ended up doing basic maintenance on it first, and still failed (barely)...And then I went with colder plugs, dicked around with the timing, ran the lowst grade fuel, and dumped about 6-7 bottles of the red bottle Heet fuel additive in...And drove like a mad man all the way to the smog place... I barely squeaked by the third time around. But with your emissions, I don't think that would quite work :)

I always wondered that if you buy a car in CA and don't plan on using it in the road, besides filing for NPO, is there anyway to completely take it off the radar from the DMV,,,

I'm sort of jealous though. You paid like $700??? Down in where I am in SoCal, $2k is about what i was seeing, and my condition was a POS....



Anyway, good luck to you on getting it to pass smog...

Don't feel too bad though, most Miatas here are floating around $4k.. and thats for a 90-93. NB's are asking $7-$9k.

I do have a race motorcycle thats Registered Non-op, I still gotta pay annually, but that is the only thing if memories serves right.