Lowtechprime
Retro Grouch
The only car of the 6 we own that needs to be smogged is my Wife's '99 BMW Z3 M Coupe... The recommended fuel for them is 91 octane, which we have always used. However, BMW didn't trust that you wouldn't put 89 in it, so they programmed them for 89 so they wouldn't detonate... A few weeks back, I had done a long awaited re-flash of the computer to reprogram it to only expect 91 fuel... Raises the hp, torque, rev limit, and removes the top speed limiter.... Also, the milage was slightly improved.. Unfortunately, 3 days later I got the notification from the DMV that it will have to smogged this year for registration . When you first re-flash, the device copies your original software so you can return it to the original setup. The literature that came with the reprogram device said there was a limit to how many times the computer can be reprogrammed (although they don't say how many times that is, and an internet search has provided no answers). Since I had just done it, I didn't want to de-flash if I didn't have to, and it isn't technically a 'performance' tune, just taking advantage of the proper fuel, I decided to risk it and just test it as is hoping it would pass. Sadly, it failed, but only by 3 points on the hydrocarbons.. That could be the Flash, or just that there are 151,000 miles on it, or the cats weren't
hot enough because the tech let it sit for like 10 minutes while he entered who knows what in his computer... The BMW's notoriously fail if the cat's cool off... We had done a major service on it not long ago, so there was nothing to really freshen up, so I decided to return the computer to stock and use my free retest to try again.. That was Saturday, they were closed on Sunday, so since I had Monday off, I re-flashed in the morning and took it to retest later that day. This time it passed, but only just by 2 points on the hydrocarbons, still however, no certificate because since I reprogrammed the computer it reset the OBD, there was not enough miles on it to test currently... (even though they had tested the OBD a day earlier) I did not know that was a thing... That was my free retest... So now, I have to drive it an indeterminate number of miles (I'm aiming for 100) and pay again for another retest.. Since it barely passed last time, I'm running a bottle of something called 'CataClean' through it as I put the miles on it... Give me my pre-1975, carbureted cars all day long, any day of the week.... This is not worth any imagined 'advantage' to a modern car.... How's that for a rant? Just had to vent, I feel slightly better now!
hot enough because the tech let it sit for like 10 minutes while he entered who knows what in his computer... The BMW's notoriously fail if the cat's cool off... We had done a major service on it not long ago, so there was nothing to really freshen up, so I decided to return the computer to stock and use my free retest to try again.. That was Saturday, they were closed on Sunday, so since I had Monday off, I re-flashed in the morning and took it to retest later that day. This time it passed, but only just by 2 points on the hydrocarbons, still however, no certificate because since I reprogrammed the computer it reset the OBD, there was not enough miles on it to test currently... (even though they had tested the OBD a day earlier) I did not know that was a thing... That was my free retest... So now, I have to drive it an indeterminate number of miles (I'm aiming for 100) and pay again for another retest.. Since it barely passed last time, I'm running a bottle of something called 'CataClean' through it as I put the miles on it... Give me my pre-1975, carbureted cars all day long, any day of the week.... This is not worth any imagined 'advantage' to a modern car.... How's that for a rant? Just had to vent, I feel slightly better now!