jeff p

will the hks twin power ignition give any benefits to a stock FD . I was thinking that this unit would help with passing the calif smog test since it will give a hotter spark and burn fuel better. need some advice before spending $500 plus on something that will not give any benefits. my FD is stock right now with auto trans. but i will be adding a dp, catback exhaust, and efini y pipe when i replace the egr valve. all other reliability mods have been completed. car runs great and passes smog without any problems.

J.S.J

I think about the smog test criteria, something like 15 & 25 mph and 2,500 Rpm. Not much load on the ignition system so the stock system should do fine. Adding a down pipe and a cat-back is fine just keep the stock parts around. I wouldn't put 500 into the ignition system for that reason.

twokrx7

iTrader: (1)

Why replace the egr valve? Mine was not functional, it came from Mazda with a gasket that blocked off one of the ports. There's so much inherent egr in the motor design, no egr valve is needed to pass emmisions. EPA finally allowed Mazda to delete it in 95.

J.S.J

The EGR may not play much of a part in the overall emission question, however if its not there it will matter a lot in a smog inspection. If it like mine its there and the valve works but the passages are blocked by carbon. Again since the tests via smog inspection are so narrow in scope and the operation of the EGR is in that same narrow scope it might be the difference in a pass or fail concerning Nox readings. The valve doesn't rob power potential of the engine and the later cars didn't have one as someone said earlier. The fact it's not there in later engines may be fine for that year due to overall programing of the ECU. Remember smog techs have to be real **** or risk a big fine. You can remove everything after the test, just keep it handy.

Herblenny

iTrader: (13)

I have one of those HKS thingy and you know, it makes a difference.. I was pretty amazed.. and few others who tried it also said the same.. $500.. Yeh.. its expensive..

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Yes, it definitely works (got rid of my breakup at high rpm), but in emissions??

A tip I got was to try this: you know that company STP tha tmakes all sorts of things for cars? Fuel treatment, octane booster, injector cleaners etc etc? They make something called Dry Gas. Buy two bottles, run your car until there's a 1/4 tank left, put the 2 bottles of the dry gas in (it's supposed to be some kind of pure alcohol, so it burns clean), and basically your emissions should be incredibly low. Or so I've been told.

overkill

IMO, buy the HKS TP for your car if you are running higher than stock boost levels. Other than that, save your money.

J.S.J

I found with a ported engine, empty pre-cat my system ran rich as expected but any boost over 3 psi and WOT would break up/misfire. I found the system to be too rich and leaned it out a bit (still rich emission wise) using a AFC/map tweaker and it runs strong. My fuel mileage has jumped to 14 mpg or so from 8 mpg. I still maintain 8.8 to 9+ 02 voltage boosting. My idle 02 voltage is lean/accounting for the air pump. I am in the process of getting a Ca. smog and am going to get a pre-test next week. The smog guy couldn't get a constant RPM reading. Since the system is a waist spark with a twist he must have inputted the TAS machine incorrectly. He a bit of an *** and wouldn't listen to my input. Mechanics ether like life or hate it. This guy hates it.

jeff p

thanks for the replies. the only reason i am going to replace the EGR valve is because the check engine light is on and won't clear (code 16 ) . I think the electrical wires to the valve are cracked from heat. I was thinking the HKS twin power would help over time with smog due to a hotter spark and a cleaner fuel burn. I noticed the rx7 store sells the xs ignition for cheeper than the HKS twin power what do you guys think.

Howard Coleman

iTrader: (6)

the stock FD ignition works A1 up to around the 380 rwhp area. that assumes you have the right heat range plugs and good primary ignition wires.

beyond that number you want a 87-88 Turbo 2 leading coil and an ignition amp. i run the later-model Jacobs Rotary Pro Pak from Ari. he makes 700 hp w it. that's good enough for me.

i seriously doubt an ignition amp would help you and you'd get more benefits w the money spent elsewhere at your state of tune.

good luck,

howard coleman

Kento

I think you need to read over some of the replies again...

As long as your plugs and wires are in good condition, installing an HKS TP will do nothing for your emissions test. Its benefits are only realized at the higher pressures of WOT/high boost.

jeff p

thanks everyone for the replies. I think I'll hold off on the twin power. since I won't be running over the stock boost. I'll spend my money on other things like hard pipes and maybe a stock mount I/C later on. thanks again

Black97VR4

The easiest way to pass emissions is to slip the guy a twenty. No, I'm not joking. Probably cheapest way too with our cars.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Huh? You're saying this and you live in VA?? You wanna PM me some details about where this is possible?? It doesn't look like my FB is gonna pass emissions... no way in hell lol

Black97VR4

I don't know how much help I can be since Winchester is in Frederick county and probably further than you're willing to travel. Hell out here most places don't do emissions at all. Just have your lights working, plates on, and a good windshield and you're set.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Yea I was wondering if Winchester even requires emissions...cuz I know it's not in Fairfax County, right? I just don't know if it's possible to fake emissions in VA, unless someone lets you put a totally diff car on the dyno (you obviously need to supply the car that'll pass emissions at that...)

J.S.J

"The state does not plan to require tailpipe-emissions inspections outside of Northern Virginia, which already has them, said Bill Hayden, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Many people consider the tests burdensome."



Region back on bad-air list

BY REX SPRINGSTON
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Apr 16, 2004


1996, JOE MAHONEY/RTD
The Richmond area is going to have to work harder to help people breathe easier.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency yesterday put this area - and many others across the state and country - on its list of regions that violate a tough new limit for ozone.

Regions on the list have three years to develop plans for reducing ozone, the main pollutant in smog.

Possible measures for this area include tougher controls on industries, increased calls for carpooling and even a special program that shoots an infrared beam across roads to detect badly polluting cars.

Some people consider a spot on the bad-air list to be a black eye for a region and an impediment to growth.

Smoggy regions
The EPA says these areas have ozone levels high enough to cause health problems.

Richmond: Richmond, Hopewell, Petersburg, Colonial Heights and the counties of Henrico, Hanover, Chesterfield, Charles City and Prince George.

Hampton Roads: Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg and the counties of Isle of Wight, Gloucester, James City and York County.

Northern Virginia: Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William.

Roanoke: Roanoke, Salem and Roanoke and Botetourt counties.

Fredericksburg: Fredericksburg and the counties of Spotsylvania and Stafford. Winchester: Winchester and Frederick County.

Shenandoah National Park: Parts of Page and Madison counties.

But being on the list can lead to benefits, said Donald S. Welsh, administrator of the EPA's mid-Atlantic region. Children miss many school days and adults miss many workdays because of asthma attacks and other problems linked to ozone. A mandated air cleanup could help reduce the missed time.

"Healthier citizens are more productive, so we think there are benefits to the economy," Welsh said in an interview.

Nationwide, all or part of 474 localities, inhabited by 159 million people, violate the new ozone limit, the EPA said.

Richmond's deadline for cleaning its air is 2010. If the region fails to clean up, it will be subjected to increasingly tough pollution controls, the EPA says.

The federal government could withhold highway money from regions that do not adequately fight smog, but that penalty is rarely imposed.

In addition to putting the Richmond area on the bad-air list, the EPA added Hampton Roads, the Roanoke area, the Fredericksburg area, the Winchester area and even a portion of Shenandoah National Park.

The park is often fouled by pollution that blows in from power plants to the west and from cars in the Shenandoah Valley.

The Richmond area and Hampton Roads were on the bad-air list in the 1990s under an earlier, less-stringent ozone limit. Both were removed in 1997 after toughening controls on new industries and encouraging car-pooling, among other things. Now they are back on.

Northern Virginia, which has the state's worst traffic and smog, never got off the old list, so it remains on.

The EPA defined the smoggy Richmond area as Richmond, Hopewell, Petersburg, Colonial Heights and the counties of Henrico, Hanover, Chesterfield, Charles City and Prince George.

The old list did not include Petersburg and Prince George, and it included only the western portion of Charles City. The EPA added those areas after considering such things as growth and traffic patterns.

A return to the list means the Richmond area must continue tough air-pollution requirements for new and expanding industries. The region will probably continue sales of "reformulated" gasoline, a cleaner-burning fuel that costs a few cents more per gallon.

Other local measures remain to be determined. They could include a "remote sensing" program that uses an infrared beam to detect polluting cars, state officials say.

The state does not plan to require tailpipe-emissions inspections outside of Northern Virginia, which already has them, said Bill Hayden, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Many people consider the tests burdensome.

Virginia should benefit this spring and summer from an EPA requirement that old, coal-fired power plants install new pollution controls in the eastern half of the country. That program is designed to reduce pollution that blows across state lines.

"We believe that will take care of a lot of the pollution problem statewide," Hayden said.

The cleaner-running plants include the decades-old Dutch Gap power plant in Chesterfield County, for years one of Virginia's biggest air polluters.

Donna Reynolds, community-relations director for the American Lung Association of Virginia, said she favors tougher controls on industries, more support for mass transit, increased car-pooling and the use of cleaner-running cars by the state government.

"There are many things we can do . . . to be more creative," Reynolds said.

Steve Haner, a Virginia Chamber of Commerce vice president, said the ozone crackdown could "add to the cost of doing business" for a lot of companies.

"It'll make it hard to expand at a time when everybody has got their fingers crossed hoping that manufacturing will thrive."

Virginia businesses have spent billions to clean up in the past 20 years and now will have to spend more, Haner said. "As you reach one benchmark, they set a new benchmark."

James W. Dunn, president of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, said, "Until we see [the region's cleanup plan], it's really hard to comment on how onerous this is going to be."

Pamela Irwin, clean-air coordinator for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, applauded the ozone crackdown. "In the long run, this is going to improve health, air quality and the environment."

Ground-level ozone - not to be confused with "good" ozone in the upper atmosphere - is a toxic gas that can impair breathing and damage crops. Repeated exposures to high levels may cause permanent lung damage, the EPA says.

Ozone is formed when pollutants from cars, factories, power plants, backyard barbecues and other sources cook in the sun in spring and summer.

Overall, the nation's air has gotten cleaner in the past 30 years, the EPA says. The tough new limit was imposed because researchers found ozone can cause health problems at levels once considered safe.

The EPA created the tougher limit in 1997, but court challenges delayed enforcement.

The Winchester and Roanoke areas went on the bad-air list with an asterisk. Those regions violate the ozone limit, but they have voluntarily begun early cleanup plans to avoid harsh federal edicts down the road.

A region violates the new ozone limit if its fourth-highest reading in three consecutive years averages 85 parts per billion or more.

During 2001-2003, Hanover averaged 94 ppb, Charles City 91, Henrico 90 and Chesterfield 86. Those are the only localities in the region with ozone-monitoring machines.