Log in

View Full Version : Emissions Testing With a Tune



ledzilla
10-08-2013, 12:28 PM
I know I had read some posts recently about some of us with tunes failing emissions testing, but for the life of me I can't seem to find them now. I just failed testing earlier today, and I'm not thrilled with this (apparently the diagnostics for the O2 sensors are turned off in OBDII). I can't afford a tuner, and I can't afford to drive all over the country, paying to have people reset my tune to stock and then put it back to custom. In this respect I kind of wish I never moved into my own place. Rent is killing me.

So what everyone else been doing? Are there any easy resolutions that an ill-funded, overworked twit such as myself my be able to take advantage of?

vkirkend
10-08-2013, 12:32 PM
If you have an SCT tuner with your original tune you can reload the original tune and get your car to pass. If not you will have to purchase an SCT from one of the vendors here with a base tune regardless.

RF Overlord
10-08-2013, 12:39 PM
^^^what vkirkend said^^^

Or go find Zack...he'll fix it for you.

MM2004
10-08-2013, 12:40 PM
I know I had read some posts recently about some of us with tunes failing emissions testing, but for the life of me I can't seem to find them now. I just failed testing earlier today, and I'm not thrilled with this (apparently the diagnostics for the O2 sensors are turned off in OBDII). I can't afford a tuner, and I can't afford to drive all over the country, paying to have people reset my tune to stock and then put it back to custom. In this respect I kind of wish I never moved into my own place. Rent is killing me.

So what everyone else been doing? Are there any easy resolutions that an ill-funded, overworked twit such as myself my be able to take advantage of?

Your sig says you have 410's and a Zack tune. Do you not have a handheld?

Our Vendors on the site can mail tunes to you that can be uploaded from your computer to the handheld then to your MM.

Or as Bob said, hollar at Zack.

Mike.

ledzilla
10-08-2013, 12:56 PM
I actually drove all the way to Zack's house and had him do the tune. I moved to a new place since I had the tune done, and I've put quite a few extra miles between myself and Zack in the process. I don't have a tuner, as I mentioned, nor can I afford to purchase one at this time, as I had also mentioned. This is why I'm trying to find some kind of alternative. If I hadn't had to waste money on a new alternator, and if I didn't need to hold on to cash for plate renewal and insurance (both due this month), I'd try to get hold of a tuner.

MM2004
10-08-2013, 01:00 PM
I actually drove all the way to Zack's house and had him do the tune. I moved to a new place since I had the tune done, and I've put quite a few extra miles between myself and Zack in the process. I don't have a tuner, as I mentioned, nor can I afford to purchase one at this time, as I had also mentioned. This is why I'm trying to find some kind of alternative. If I hadn't had to waste money on a new alternator, and if I didn't need to hold on to cash for plate renewal and insurance (both due this month), I'd try to get hold of a tuner.

You should talk with Zack then, and see about maybe meeting him 1/2 way or something?

Without a handheld, this makes it damn difficult to accomplish.

Good luck!

Mike.

RacerX
10-08-2013, 01:03 PM
You can't change anything without having access to a xcal. Talk to Mo and see if he can work some kind of magic.

Mr. Man
10-08-2013, 10:40 PM
Does your State do tailpipe tests? I have the same issue as you and NJ allows for a tailpipe test as a last resort. You may have to go to a private shop.

TAKEDOWN
10-09-2013, 12:22 AM
Here we go again... not good!

da'law
10-09-2013, 01:29 AM
They stopped using the tailpipe set up last year.
Led,
If Zack did your tune, he will fix the problem so you can pass emissions. Unless you moved to the north pole your Sig says DuPage County. At the very farthest point of the county your an hour and a half away from Zacks. If you split the difference and meet Zack half way that is 45 minutes.

Zack won't leave you hanging, not his style.




Does your State do tailpipe tests? I have the same issue as you and NJ allows for a tailpipe test as a last resort. You may have to go to a private shop.

03mmmonroe
10-09-2013, 04:09 AM
I know I had read some posts recently about some of us with tunes failing emissions testing, but for the life of me I can't seem to find them now. I just failed testing earlier today, and I'm not thrilled with this (apparently the diagnostics for the O2 sensors are turned off in OBDII). I can't afford a tuner, and I can't afford to drive all over the country, paying to have people reset my tune to stock and then put it back to custom. In this respect I kind of wish I never moved into my own place. Rent is killing me.

So what everyone else been doing? Are there any easy resolutions that an ill-funded, overworked twit such as myself my be able to take advantage of?

If you do not have a hand held tuner then any ford dealer can flash your NA car back to stock tune using the IDS. Should be around 1 hour or $125. Your speedo will be off by 9 mph with your 4.10 gears but after driving 200-300 miles you will pass your state inspection. Then look at the purchase of a tuner.

Good Luck

Richy04
10-09-2013, 05:19 AM
If you can locate a spare stock ECU for your build, you can use that to pass, then swap the Zack Tuned ECU back in again. Maybe a member here has a spare they can lend you or sell you. Hopefully they don't notice the vin difference but who cares as long as you have a sticker on the window that is valid...

fastblackmerc
10-09-2013, 08:14 AM
If Zack did your tune without a held held tuner you'll need to go to the dealer as 03mmmonre mentioned or contact Zack to get it taken care of.

You'll really need to get a hand held tuner or you'll be in this situation every year.

Didn't Mrs. Denmark have the same problem?

Vortech347
10-09-2013, 11:10 AM
Just dealt with this. Put the stock tune on. Drive for 100-150 miles city and highway. Go to any auto shop or one where you have a friend and have them run their scan took to verify all systems are "ready". Once that is done, go back in and you'll past just fine.

I had Dennis send me a 100% factory file only adjusted for 4.10's so my speedo piss me off while I drive.

ledzilla
10-09-2013, 11:15 AM
They stopped using the tailpipe set up last year.
Led,
If Zack did your tune, he will fix the problem so you can pass emissions. Unless you moved to the north pole your Sig says DuPage County. At the very farthest point of the county your an hour and a half away from Zacks. If you split the difference and meet Zack half way that is 45 minutes.

Zack won't leave you hanging, not his style.

Yeah, I'll make it a point to PM Zack before the day is out. See what arrangements can be made. And yes, my sig still says Du Page, but I moved from one corner of the county with easy highway access to an opposite corner with not so easy access. In fact, I hate even trying to get to the highway now, it's so damned annoying.


If Zack did your tune without a held held tuner you'll need to go to the dealer as 03mmmonre mentioned or contact Zack to get it taken care of.

You'll really need to get a hand held tuner or you'll be in this situation every year.

Didn't Mrs. Denmark have the same problem?

No, Zack used a handheld tuner of some kind, just not sure which. I didn't bother to actually look at it. =P


If you can locate a spare stock ECU for your build, you can use that to pass, then swap the Zack Tuned ECU back in again. Maybe a member here has a spare they can lend you or sell you. Hopefully they don't notice the vin difference but who cares as long as you have a sticker on the window that is valid...

This sounds like an excellent backup plan in case I can't reach Zack or work something out.

And really, thanks everyone. Things have been exceedingly difficult for me on many fronts for the last several months and they aren't getting any better. All your suggestions have been greatly appreciated.

ledzilla
10-09-2013, 11:17 AM
Just dealt with this. Put the stock tune on. Drive for 100-150 miles city and highway. Go to any auto shop or one where you have a friend and have them run their scan took to verify all systems are "ready". Once that is done, go back in and you'll past just fine.

I had Dennis send me a 100% factory file only adjusted for 4.10's so my speedo piss me off while I drive.

My speedo has been ticking me off since I had my trans rebuilt in June (accurate up to 25mph, and over 60mph, have no idea how fast I'm going in between, using the tach to guess). Somehow I don't think I'll notice a difference with a stock tune temporarily.

Stranger in the Black Sedan
10-09-2013, 01:16 PM
Having someone who's not a dealer "tune" your car without you having a licensed handheld was a really bad idea. The only good solution is get an Xcal from an SCT dealer w/ a real tune, and then you have the ability to put it back to stock as-needed. Being in the dark w/ a custom tune and no ability to un-do/re-load it it is not a situation I'd want to be in. Paying a Ford dealer to put your car back to its stock tune is wasting money that would get you part way to buying an Xcal and a real tune.

fastblackmerc
10-09-2013, 01:26 PM
having someone who's not a dealer "tune" your car without you having a licensed handheld was a really bad idea. The only good solution is get an xcal from an sct dealer w/ a real tune, and then you have the ability to put it back to stock as-needed. Being in the dark w/ a custom tune and no ability to un-do/re-load it it is not a situation i'd want to be in. Paying a ford dealer to put your car back to its stock tune is wasting money that would get you part way to buying an xcal and a real tune.

+1!!!!!!!!!!

EMAS
10-09-2013, 02:18 PM
Having someone who's not a dealer "tune" your car without you having a licensed handheld was a really bad idea. The only good solution is get an Xcal from an SCT dealer w/ a real tune, and then you have the ability to put it back to stock as-needed. Being in the dark w/ a custom tune and no ability to un-do/re-load it it is not a situation I'd want to be in. Paying a Ford dealer to put your car back to its stock tune is wasting money that would get you part way to buying an Xcal and a real tune.


And where are you going to get that stock tune, if not from Ford? The way the tuner works is that it saves a copy of the tune that is in there now then installs the custom one. W/o a stock tune on the vehicle an Xcal won't have a stock tune to save. Though hopefully the custom tune would have all the emissions monitors turned on and thus no need to return to stock fro emissions testing.

Stranger in the Black Sedan
10-09-2013, 02:19 PM
An SCT dealer can hopefully load a stock base tune on your Xcal based on your processor code. I have SCT Advantage and it has a base tune for the different processor codes.

Vortech347
10-09-2013, 02:23 PM
You're better off finding another ECU vs the cost of paying the dealer to re-flash it to factory spec.

martyo
10-09-2013, 06:42 PM
You're better off finding another ECU vs the cost of paying the dealer to re-flash it to factory spec.

Won't the PATS system will keep the car from cranking?

Kennyrauder
10-09-2013, 08:05 PM
I just sold my Marauder 2 weeks ago to a dealer as i traded for a 2011 Harley f150. Call me as I think I still have a stock tune in my X CAL. Kenny 705 264 0234 7 yes i will sell for cheap. Kenny. Good Luck!!!!

Vortech347
10-09-2013, 09:46 PM
Won't the PATS system will keep the car from cranking?

True. But your tuner can turn the pats off.

fastblackmerc
10-10-2013, 03:19 AM
I just sold my Marauder 2 weeks ago to a dealer as i traded for a 2011 Harley f150. Call me as I think I still have a stock tune in my X CAL. Kenny 705 264 0234 7 yes i will sell for cheap. Kenny. Good Luck!!!!

How is he going to get the tune out? The tuner is locked to your Marauders VIN.

martyo
10-10-2013, 05:24 AM
True. But your tuner can turn the pats off.

Of course, but I thought his point was to get back to stock without the services of a tuner. My point being a processor swap is not, unfortunately, a plug and play fix.

Vortech347
10-10-2013, 08:11 AM
Of course, but I thought his point was to get back to stock without the services of a tuner. My point being a processor swap is not, unfortunately, a plug and play fix.

True. I kinda forgot about PATS in my first post. The dealer can re-program the pats to match everything else with another computer. Had to do that a few times with the swaps I've done. But I have a "hook up" at a dealer and he does it for $40. With what a walk in will pay its probably not worth it.

Mr. Man
10-10-2013, 01:09 PM
Is it possible to get a tune with all the nannies on so as to pass inspection that would still give you a performance gain?

Vortech347
10-10-2013, 01:53 PM
Is it possible to get a tune with all the nannies on so as to pass inspection that would still give you a performance gain?

Yeah. You gain the performance in the Fueling/Timing tables.

Some tuners turn off certain things because a majority of their customers do certain things. A lot of stang tuners will almost always turn off the rear O2's because deleting cats is so common.

As long as you inform your tuner you want all of your factory emissions to be "ready" you'll be good.

Cheeseheadbob
10-10-2013, 02:48 PM
Am I missing something here? I had three tunes available in my car via a toggle switch under the dash. All were Lidio tunes and I could switch to the 89 octane tune if I thought I got some bad gas. I also had a valet tune. I went through two full emissions tests in Maryland with absolutely no problems. The techs plugged right in and stuck the sniffer in my tailpipes and I passed with zeros or next to no emissions across the board. :confused:

Stranger in the Black Sedan
10-10-2013, 02:51 PM
each state is different. I pass MD emissions w/ tunes I do myself w/ SCT pro racer package and an Xcal3. I also passed MD emissions with other tuners' tunes that probably had the rear o2s turned off (I don't have them turned off anymore since I believe in keeping stock cat configuration). As the years go by it's getting tougher in places to pass emissions. Give it time and I'm sure we'll be hit w/ that here. What starts in CA eventually makes its way to the far reaches of the US (and that is not always a bad thing)

RF Overlord
10-10-2013, 03:11 PM
Cheesehead, the problem is in states that don't sniff anymore and just use the I/M monitors (like MA). Because they're state agencies, they don't care whether your car actually puts out less (or more) pollution than a stock car, they only care whether all the monitors say "ready".

What we need is someone who can jiggle the monitors so they always all say ready.

Stranger in the Black Sedan
10-10-2013, 03:12 PM
MD doesn't sniff, they scan it, but it soudns like they aren't scanning for as much as some more stringent states are, based on other peoples' complaints of their tunes failing, that would pass here.

Vortech347
10-11-2013, 08:12 AM
Am I missing something here? I had three tunes available in my car via a toggle switch under the dash. All were Lidio tunes and I could switch to the 89 octane tune if I thought I got some bad gas. I also had a valet tune. I went through two full emissions tests in Maryland with absolutely no problems. The techs plugged right in and stuck the sniffer in my tailpipes and I passed with zeros or next to no emissions across the board. :confused:

That is how it was here. However my state updated to a much deeper reading OBD machine similar to what California uses. They used to only scan for DTC's that are emissions rated.

dohc324ci
10-11-2013, 08:56 AM
Had a similar scenario bought my 06 Mustang with a preloaded tune. Only remedy is to pay ford to return to stock then purchased an xcal3 from Bama to setup for my mods.

ledzilla
10-11-2013, 10:10 AM
Ok...

Got hold of Zack, and he's giving me some help.

The whole problem is that the tune put in my car turns off the O2 sensors, or turns off the monitoring in OBD, or maybe even both, not completely certain. Illinois apparently changed the way they check when you go for emissions testing just a couple months ago, so it failed my car because the OBD wasn't reading the O2 sensors. So I have to put a nearly stock tune back in so the test equipment will read correctly and then I can put the custom tune back in afterwards.

So it looks like as soon as I'm able after all this mess is cleared up, I will be purchasing my own tuner so I can be ready for next time.

Vortech347
10-11-2013, 11:17 AM
Ok...

Got hold of Zack, and he's giving me some help.

The whole problem is that the tune put in my car turns off the O2 sensors, or turns off the monitoring in OBD, or maybe even both, not completely certain. Illinois apparently changed the way they check when you go for emissions testing just a couple months ago, so it failed my car because the OBD wasn't reading the O2 sensors. So I have to put a nearly stock tune back in so the test equipment will read correctly and then I can put the custom tune back in afterwards.

So it looks like as soon as I'm able after all this mess is cleared up, I will be purchasing my own tuner so I can be ready for next time.

Make sure you do about 100 miles worth of driving that includes freeway and stop 'n go.