Bringing C02 option 911 to California?

IndyCal · 04-13-2019, 12:23 PM

I am looking to bring a 1988 911 into California from out of state. It has the C02 US (not C03 California) emissions option.

Am I going to have a problem passing California Smog, either visual (sticker or equipment) or getting the car to pass without California emissions equipment? I am not familiar with the specific differences between US and California emissions equipment for the 1988, and if this would be a show stopper.

Thanks in advance for the advice and experience sharing.

porschenut · 04-13-2019, 12:28 PM

All 911s built after about 1978 were 50-state compliant. I'm not certain of the exact year but it was around there.

Ronbo · 04-13-2019, 12:36 PM

Years ago I brought an out of state '88 911 into California. It passed smog easily and registration was a non-issue.

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autojack · 04-13-2019, 04:21 PM

If it still has the original catalytic converter, there's every chance you will need to replace it before it will pass. Happened with my 88 that I bought from Atlanta when I lived in CA.

Giannisocal · 04-13-2019, 05:21 PM

Question for @autojack and @Ronbo.
I recently bought an out of state 1988 with a air cone filter and I need a CA smog test cert to get it registered. Based on your experience with CA emission testing, do I need to replace the air cone filter with an OEM airbox?

Ronbo · 04-13-2019, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giannisocal

Question for @autojack and @Ronbo.
I recently bought an out of state 1988 with a air cone filter and I need a CA smog test cert to get it registered. Based on your experience with CA emission testing, do I need to replace the air cone filter with an OEM airbox?

I'm not even close to an expert, but I believe that you will need to put the OEM airbox in UNLESS your cone filter intake has a CARB compliance (EO) number.

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autojack · 04-13-2019, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giannisocal

Question for @autojack and @Ronbo.
I recently bought an out of state 1988 with a air cone filter and I need a CA smog test cert to get it registered. Based on your experience with CA emission testing, do I need to replace the air cone filter with an OEM airbox?

I'm not sure, my 911 air box was stock. My old Integra had an AEM cold air intake, and that had a CARB sticker right on it. When I moved to CA it had no trouble passing smog.

Giannisocal · 04-13-2019, 05:43 PM

Thanks for the replies. I guess I need to reinstall the stock airbox before for testing.

autojack · 04-13-2019, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giannisocal

Thanks for the replies. I guess I need to reinstall the stock airbox before for testing.

The bulk of opinion about this is that the stock air box is fine and really not restrictive at all. The real issue as far as the air intake goes is the barn door air flow meter. Replacing that with a modern MAF sensor system would be the place to see some improvement. My car had a K&N filter in the stock air box, and after doing some research I decided to just chuck it and put an original paper filter in.

Quicksilver · 04-14-2019, 04:50 AM

Yes the stock airbox will need to go back on.

The one other thing that you should do is reconnect the brown wire under the driver's seat at the DME. That connection is California specific. Connecting it retards the timing 4° to reduce Nox emissions.
It might pass with it disconnected but why chance it?

Quicksilver · 04-14-2019, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by autojack

The bulk of opinion about this is that the stock air box is fine and really not restrictive at all. The real issue as far as the air intake goes is the barn door air flow meter. Replacing that with a modern MAF sensor system would be the place to see some improvement. My car had a K&N filter in the stock air box, and after doing some research I decided to just chuck it and put an original paper filter in.

Jerry Woods (and Bruce Anderson) tested MAF systems and found ZERO horsepower from them. The AutoAuthority MAF was good for minus 5 HP. Jerry Woods has quite the dyno room and is respected as about as good a Porsche dyno facility as exists. (I got to watch Jerry do a 750 HP pull on a 935 motor that was going into a Sebring winning car! Lots of noise and lots of glowing metal!)
They very specifically said that Porsche didn't leave anything on the table in the 3.2 with the specific exception of 20 HP in the exhaust. (And they called the MAF a "cash flow device")

The barn door AFM is a common target of people looking for power but it just isn't a restriction.

There are a couple situations where you might want to look at a MAF.
- If you have heavily modified a motor and especially if you have increased the displacement you can exceed the capacity of the AFM.
- I would really like to see the performance of a MAF tested at various altitudes. (Pikes Peak test anyone?) The stock altitude compensation is simply a switch that is triggered at altitude (3000' or 3500'?). I would expect that there must be some real room for improvement there.

porschenut · 04-14-2019, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

There are a couple situations where you might want to look at a MAF.
- If you have heavily modified a motor and especially if you have increased the displacement you can exceed the capacity of the AFM.
- I would really like to see the performance of a MAF tested at various altitudes. (Pikes Peak test anyone?) The stock altitude compensation is simply a switch that is triggered at altitude (3000' or 3500'?). I would expect that there must be some real room for improvement there.

Technically I believe it's 1,000 meters which is a bit over 3,000 ft. After 30 or 40 years though, I wonder how many of those switches still work. Those of us in Denver drive around in the nearby mountains at 7k-12k in altitude, and if I can't have a turbo, a MAF might be the next best thing.