engine tuning

S

Sammie

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Hi, my car failed the NCT due to high exhaust emissions of HC. I've been told that some mechanics can tune the engine down so emissions are lower. they can measure it on the same machine as to the one the NCT people have. does anyone know of any mechanics? I heard that it only costs €20.........??? anyone heard of this?
 
Just wondering did you get this sorted or are you still trying to find answers? I'm open to correction on this but the problem you have can only be fixed with older type cars, around the early 90's and older. There was a "screw" on top of the engine that could be turned to make the car run leaner or richer. If yours is a newer car then I think the cat converter is the only way of getting the emissions sorted. However , maybe it can be sorted with a diagnostic computer that can reset the emissions for the engine. I'm not sure on that one. If you have an older car, you might be better off with a mechanic from that era who will know what to do, otherwise it's a motor technician you need who knows about computers on newer cars!!!
 
thanks for that.

how much would it cost, my car is 1991 starlet, and do you know of any decent mechanics.....
 
It depends where you are in the country.........I'm in Galway. There are guys with mobile units. These can be quite expensive I think. You might find one in the golden pages. If you give your location maybe someone on AAM might be able to send you in the right direction for your area. The machine is called a "gas bench", I think, so any mechanic with one should be able to do what you need.
 

i'm in Dublin.

Who are "AAM"........?

Why is it so expensive, are they not just tuning the engine??? I heard it was only €20.....?

thanks for your help. Do you know anyone in Dublin who can do it?
 
Sammie said:
Who are "AAM"........?
Click to expand...
AAM = Ask About Money.... this website.

"Just" tuning an engine would still require them to tune it properly and using professional equipment, like the gas bench mentioned, together with labour will make costs slip higher.

The €20 version would be a guy with a screwdriver, randomly turning a screw until your car sounds different. I'm sure you could find a mechanic who would happily do this, but I'm not sure it'd be a great idea.
 
Ok I understand.

Really what I'm trying to decide is, if i should just scrap my car or make the effort and get the engine tuned. It depends on the cost of it. It's a 91 starlet but the body is in great condition and all that is wrong with it is the rear supsension, easily fixed, and it's a bit somkey
 
I've had success with those bottles of emissions cleaners you can buy in any auto factors... main dealer's pre-test (yeah, I know how useless these are!) flagged emissions as a problem, so I dumped a bottle and a half of X-Clean or whatever it was called into the petrol tank and topped up with unleaded. NCT went fine. 1995 car I think it was...
 
Sammie DO NOT DO THIS
i have got 2 smokey starlets in through the nct without a problem.
adding this additives X-clean and such will not help especially on a high milage engine. as the engine wears with time holes come in the little pars around the engine and gunk builds up and fills these holes. if you add cleaner it will strip all this gunk that is keeping you engine less smokey.

is it a jap import? 1L or 1.3. Did they rev the engine at the test?
If they did rev the engine and its not a jap import they should not have! your car does not fall into the category for revving the engine.

tak you car out on the motor way and drive it in fourth gear and blow any loose ****e that is in the engine out by doing this!
has it been recently serviced? garages tend to overfill small cars as they just pour in and guess how much. starlet only take ~4L oil. if its too full then this will make it smookier
One last trick Parrifin oil, just like they use in the old tilly lamps available at any harware shop put a litle to half a tank so 1:20 in and this will bring your emmisions down. fillup after the test
 
If your emissions are high then you are using up more petrol than you need. You don't need to go to a main dealer to fix the problem. The mobile units are expensive because they go to you but if you can find a garage with a gas bench then it may not be to expensive. The job should be done in 20 - 30 mins top, unless there's a bigger problem than just the tuning!!!!!. However I wouldn't go scrapping the car just for the emissions problem, as the old saying goes they don't build them like they used to!!!!!
 

Hi, thanks for the reply. No it's not a Jap import and it failed on the HC emissions. it only has 4 gears.
 
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