# I Pit SMOG TESTS! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351 "2006-02-13T22:36:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/1 "2006-02-13T22:36:11Z")
I think smog tests are just legalized scams - forcing people to wait in long lines and pay needless fees, for tests on cars that are sometimes barely over a year old. I suppose in the “old days”, when factory emission standards were not as stringent, they might have made sense - but even my 1994 Saturn just sailed through its 11th smog test today. In an informal poll at work, not a single person had ever had a car fail a smog test, nor had they ever heard of a friend or family member who had a car that failed a smog test. I don’t doubt there might be a few vehicles out there that might be a roving pollution machine, but does that mean everybody has to go, every single year, for a test that - from my informal poll - clearly shows that nobody fails? So while we are forced to go through the motions and get that stupid smog test, year after year, we sit in traffic behind transit buses that belch up about 3 pounds of crap every time they step on the gas, and we sit behind garbage trucks and other huge vehicles that produce more smog in one day than my car has in 12 years. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/2 "2006-02-13T23:06:04Z")
Smog SMASH! ---
**Author:** ![Runestar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@Runestar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runestar)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/3 "2006-02-13T23:11:23Z")
At least here in Washington you don’t have to do the emissions test if your car is less then 5 years old. Cars 5-10 years old take the test every other year. Only cars older than 10 years have to take the test every single year. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/4 "2006-02-13T23:18:18Z")
> [@Runestar](#): > > At least here in Washington you don’t have to do the emissions test if your car is less then 5 years old. Cars 5-10 years old take the test every other year. Only cars older than 10 years have to take the test every single year. THAT I could live with! Here in Nevada, you get a one-year grace period on a brand new car - otherwise, you have to go _every single year_, no exceptions! ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/5 "2006-02-13T23:55:50Z")
I remember in Wisconsin we were required to do emissions testing every year. (Though they may have ended that, anyone know?) When I moved here I asked around about testing and just got blank stares. Nobody knew what the hell I was talking about. When I explained the purpose, it was usually met with an eyeroll and derisive snort. (Farm machinery is so heavily used in the state it outweighs auto emissions making it pointless to test a car.) So for everyone that has to go through this hassle, take heart in that we’re not testing a damn thing. Don’t worry, we’ll help keep pollution levels up. Your governments can’t stop the flow of air into their state, but charging you a buttload of money and time somehow keeps your air cleaner. IOW, yes, it’s a scam to bring in revenue. Of course, PA is worse as you’re required to actually have a mechanical inspection. That must be convenient. Any other states do this? I think Texas but not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/6 "2006-02-14T00:13:06Z")
As I work in a new car dealership , I see quite a few vehicles that can’t pass a smog test . Usually it is a sensor or something as stupid as no gas cap. Sometimes major engine work. In any case its usually a plus for my paycheck . 😛 – Got to make a living somehow . ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/7 "2006-02-14T00:15:07Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Of course, PA is worse as you’re required to actually have a mechanical inspection. That must be convenient. Any other states do this? I think Texas but not sure. I don’t think that’s worse at all. I’m all in favor of getting the unsafe cars off the street. Colorado doesn’t do it; Massachusetts used to. (And maybe still does.) When I moved out here from Mass., I was amazed to see cars everyday that wouldn’t last 30 seconds back east. I won’t complain about emissions tests, either. Anybody who remembers what Denver air was like 20 or 30 years ago should be grateful for them. Sure, the frequency could be rethought with the newer, less polluting vehicles, but in general it’s a useful program. ---
**Author:** ![rwhbyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@rwhbyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rwhbyu)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/8 "2006-02-14T00:25:43Z")
Here in Idaho, things are kind of funny. In Ada county, which is basically Boise, we have to get emissions tests every year. But just Ada county. All the other counties told the state to take a flying leap. So all the people who commute 45 minutes every day pollute our air by driving untested smog machines, and the people who drive 5 minutes have squeaky clean engines and all that. It just sucks balls. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/9 "2006-02-14T01:07:41Z")
Why am I hearing the respondents in this thread for the most part saying they’re all for clean air, so long as it’s on someone else’s dime? Increased emissions typically correlate to decreased mileage, such that it’s in the interest of your wallet as well as the environment to make sure your vehicle is running cleanly. If the smoke from large trucks and buses is upsetting to you, write to your legislator and seek tougher emission standards for those vehicles instead of citing them as an excuse to eliminate tailpipe testing. ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/10 "2006-02-14T01:23:10Z")
In Ontario vehicles 20 years or older are exempt. How fucking brilliant is that. I have to get my new car tested every two years while a fucking 86 Corolla can happily belch out its noxious fumes. Total scam that has done nothing to reduce emissions. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/11 "2006-02-14T01:32:56Z")
My car just failed a smog check I made while preparing to sell my car. The emissions are fine, actually. Well under the legal limits. What I failed was the visual test. It seems that the previous owner had installed a custom intake, which is a no-no in CA. Except, of course, that he passed smog checks plenty of times with it, so I guess I just got lucky and found a smog guy who actually bothered to look. And of course I don’t have the stock intake, so I either have to buy a new one or find one online used. Dear CA legislature: Please explain to me how failing someone for having an aftermarket _tube_ in their car, which otherwise passes all _emissions_ tests, helps to reduce emissions. I’m all for higher emissions standards, but this is fucking ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/12 "2006-02-14T02:47:31Z")
Minnesota used to have required emissions testing when renewing your license plate, but dropped it recently after they noticed that there were only a tiny few cars failing out of the hundreds of thousands tested. But they too, had an exemption for old cars. Seems to me that those would be most likely to be the polluting ones! ---
**Author:** ![FyreFiend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/919ad9/32.png) [@FyreFiend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FyreFiend)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/13 "2006-02-14T03:48:49Z")
The reason the old cars are exempt is because it would be almost impossible to get them to pass todays tests. Not everyone can afford a newer car. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/14 "2006-02-14T05:00:04Z")
The exemption, as I understand it, is because of the catalytic converters. They only came onto the scene in the early '70’s and the testing today is based on them being installed. If a car had the converter factory-installed, it has to pass the test. If it wasn’t standard equipment, there was (maybe there is today?) no way to test the emissions. Therefore exempt. ---
**Author:** ![EnginNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ea924/32.png) [@EnginNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnginNerd)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/15 "2006-02-14T18:10:06Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Colorado doesn’t do it; Massachusetts used to. (And maybe still does.) When I moved out here from Mass., I was amazed to see cars everyday that wouldn’t last 30 seconds back east. Parts of Colorado do have emissions testing requirements. I think only Colorado Springs and Denver, however. Though, we’re supposedly phasing out emissions testing here in the Springs - thankfully, I might say. My last test, my car was something ridiculous like 1/1000 of the allowed level for one of the items. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/16 "2006-02-14T18:38:05Z")
Ok, normally, I just have wise-cracks and nonsense to contribute, but today, I want to offer something of substance. Just this last week in the New Yorker, there was (IMO) an astounding article. An article that can get you thinking about a lot of things around you in very different ways. In [THIS ARTICLE WHICH YOU SHOULD READ](http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060213fa_fact) Malcolm Gladwell, the author of “Blink”, discusses many things in society which follow “the power law” but which we still think about as if they follow a “normal distribution”. One of these things happens to be emission testing. Read that article. It might change your world view on a lot of things. Here is just a portion of the passage relevant to this discussion. . . > [@](#): > > In Stedman’s view, the current system of smog checks makes little sense. A million motorists in Denver have to go to an emissions center every year—take time from work, wait in line, pay fifteen or twenty-five dollars—for a test that more than ninety per cent of them don’t need. “Not everybody gets tested for breast cancer,” Stedman says. “Not everybody takes an AIDS test.” On-site smog checks, furthermore, do a pretty bad job of finding and fixing the few outliers. Car enthusiasts—with high-powered, high-polluting sports cars—have been known to drop a clean engine into their car on the day they get it tested. Others register their car in a faraway town without emissions testing or arrive at the test site “hot”—having just come off hard driving on the freeway—which is a good way to make a dirty engine appear to be clean. Still others randomly pass the test when they shouldn’t, because dirty engines are highly variable and sometimes burn cleanly for short durations. There is little evidence, Stedman says, that the city’s regime of inspections makes any difference in air quality. > > He proposes mobile testing instead. Twenty years ago, he invented a device the size of a suitcase that uses infrared light to instantly measure and then analyze the emissions of cars as they drive by on the highway. The Speer Avenue sign is attached to one of Stedman’s devices. He says that cities should put half a dozen or so of his devices in vans, park them on freeway off-ramps around the city, and have a police car poised to pull over anyone who fails the test. A half-dozen vans could test thirty thousand cars a day. For the same twenty-five million dollars that Denver’s motorists now spend on on-site testing, Stedman estimates, the city could identify and fix twenty-five thousand truly dirty vehicles every year, and within a few years cut automobile emissions in the Denver metropolitan area by somewhere between thirty-five and forty per cent. The city could stop managing its smog problem and start ending it. ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/17 "2006-02-14T18:38:39Z")
Of course, one of the more amusing side effects of emissions testing here is that Colorado has started to use mobile emissions testing vans. You drive past one a few times within a year, and they will supposedly send you a waiver so that you don’t have to take emissions test this year. That’s pretty cool. Before that, though, they erected cute little signs that supposedly measure your car, but just tell you how much you are emissing. They have pictures of happy little cars on them, and light up green if your car has low emissions, yellow if you have nhigher than normal ones, and red if you are driving some horrid smog-heap. But I don’t think they work. I drive past one on the off-ramp from southboung 25 to southbound Speer (did it last night in fact). I got a green smiling car telling me that my car was pollution free. Except I drive a modified rotary engine that chows down fuel by the bucketload. When I stomp the gas, I can see the huge cloud of black smoke pour out the back of my car. People driving behind me can smell the unburnt fuel, and I HAVE NO CATALYTIC CONVERTERS on my car. Pollution free? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/18 "2006-02-14T18:44:35Z")
Wow, I swear **Trunk** and I are not the same person! From his link: > [@](#): > > He proposes mobile testing instead. Twenty years ago, he invented a device the size of a suitcase that uses infrared light to instantly measure and then analyze the emissions of cars as they drive by on the highway. **The Speer Avenue sign is attached to one of Stedman’s devices.** I don’t think Mr. Stedman’s device is as good as he thinks. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/19 "2006-02-14T18:53:06Z")
> [@Necros](#): > > Wow, I swear **Trunk** and I are not the same person! From his link: Yeah, that was really funny. If I could summarize that article I cited as concisely as possible, it would be : many problems are really the result of a _few bad apples_. Instead of going after these FBA’s, we try to institute changes that apply to the whole orchard. We do it because of old paradigms and in some cases, a sense of “fairness”. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351/20 "2006-02-14T18:55:22Z")
I know many a person here in CA that have had their cars fail the tests. If I recall, our law is stricter in that area. In fact, my dad still has an 85 Honda Accord (hatchback, older than me, yet he SWEARS it will be a classic someday). A few years ago, there car wouldn’t pass smog here in CA, so he gave it to his friend in Nevada to keep. The car passed in Nevada with flying colors. Three years later, we bring it back to California where it passes smog just fine. Makes no sense, I tells ya. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-smog-tests/344351.md?page=2)