My CA smog journey - 2008 E92 M3 w/Akrapovic Evolution exhaust

[nholmes]

Originally Posted by PandaM3

yes this... no mention of doing the drive cycles either... I was expecting to just do this and additionally flash my ESS tune to one that doesn't turn off the readiness.

Do you have O2 spacers on your catless x pipes that allows you to run a tune that doesn't turn off readiness?

I picked up an M3 World x-pipe and it doesn't look like it:

Originally Posted by PandaM3

There's another thread on this forum with someone that relocated their 2ndry O2 sensors using a long J shaped spacer... the pictures in his post aren't too clear how everything is placed or oriented... but he is able to run without primary cats, no CEL, no software needed... last he posted he had over 100 miles with no CEL... maybe that could be the solution.

I saw that. Looks cool, but too much of a hassle for me.

[jahn_baakus]

Originally Posted by Mason2005

I never had to reinstall a OEM tune. I just put my stock xpipe back on which takes 30 minutes, drove the car for 50 miles and passed no problem with the stage 2 ESS tune.

I couldn't tell if the whole drive-cycle procedure would work quickly or not. After installing my cats and driving with the ESS tune for a bit (over 50 miles) and failing readiness, I decided to remove a variable and simply return to the OEM tune.

[s14_kev]

If I run catless / HFC x-pipe without a tune, I should just have to install the OEM x-pipe and get it smogged without doing the drive cycles? I guess what I'm asking is that the drive cycles were necessary because the ESS tune messed with the O2 sensor readiness state and the x-pipe itself did not, correct?

I do not mind the CEL light.

[jahn_baakus]

Originally Posted by kevin///mlee

If I run catless / HFC x-pipe without a tune, I should just have to install the OEM x-pipe and get it smogged without doing the drive cycles? I guess what I'm asking is that the drive cycles were necessary because the ESS tune messed with the O2 sensor readiness state and the x-pipe itself did not, correct?

I do not mind the CEL light.

Good question. I contacted AJ from ESS and got this answer:

"If the car only has NA tuning, then it will pass emissions even with the ESS NA ecu software. The problem is your Akra x pipe. They have positioned the secondary O2 sensors before the cats and this will never pass. You need a OEM x-pipe."

My problem is that based on some other advice, I re-flashed to OEM with the Akra xpipe in place and went to try smog before the CEL showed up. Total fail. Once re-flashed I think readiness was cleared so drive cycles were necessary. I don't think it mattered if I had the ESS tune or OEM at that point.

[s14_kev]

Originally Posted by jahn_baakus

Good question. I contacted AJ from ESS and got this answer:

"If the car only has NA tuning, then it will pass emissions even with the ESS NA ecu software. The problem is your Akra x pipe. They have positioned the secondary O2 sensors before the cats and this will never pass. You need a OEM x-pipe."

My problem is that based on some other advice, I re-flashed to OEM with the Akra xpipe in place and went to try smog before the CEL showed up. Total fail. Once re-flashed I think readiness was cleared so drive cycles were necessary. I don't think it mattered if I had the ESS tune or OEM at that point.

Awesome, thanks! So if you had just swapped the X-pipe and left the ESS tune you probably would have been fine without the drive cycles.

[jahn_baakus]

Originally Posted by kevin///mlee

Awesome, thanks! So if you had just swapped the X-pipe and left the ESS tune you probably would have been fine without the drive cycles.

Lol. Yep, it appears so..

[techwhiz]

I was just perusing the forums and ran across this thread.
This is what e90 335 members go through once they switch downpipes.
You can get an 02 sensor "emulator". Not much more than a variable resistor.
I don't need the hassle so I kept my downpipes stock.

The whole drive cycle stuff is strange.
After re-flashing my ECU before smog I drive for a while.
I have the Carly OBDII reader and I use the torque app on android and it gives active readiness and drive cycle status.
I just go in when all the lines are green.

[aus]

Originally Posted by techwhiz

I was just perusing the forums and ran across this thread.
This is what e90 335 members go through once they switch downpipes.
You can get an 02 sensor "emulator". Not much more than a variable resistor.
I don't need the hassle so I kept my downpipes stock.

The whole drive cycle stuff is strange.
After re-flashing my ECU before smog I drive for a while.
I have the Carly OBDII reader and I use the torque app on android and it gives active readiness and drive cycle status.
I just go in when all the lines are green.

What's this Torque app in Carly?
I have the full version, but I'm on iOS. I don't see it on the in app section of the app. I see DPE, iDrive and Service Reset.
Thanks.
.

[Shredicus]

Originally Posted by aus

What's this Torque app in Carly?
I have the full version, but I'm on iOS. I don't see it on the in app section of the app. I see DPE, iDrive and Service Reset.
Thanks.
.

Torque is a separate app entirely that uses OBDII readers as well

[nholmes]

Torque is android only IIRC

[///MPower15]

Originally Posted by jahn_baakus

Good question. I contacted AJ from ESS and got this answer:

"If the car only has NA tuning, then it will pass emissions even with the ESS NA ecu software. The problem is your Akra x pipe. They have positioned the secondary O2 sensors before the cats and this will never pass. You need a OEM x-pipe."

My problem is that based on some other advice, I re-flashed to OEM with the Akra xpipe in place and went to try smog before the CEL showed up. Total fail. Once re-flashed I think readiness was cleared so drive cycles were necessary. I don't think it mattered if I had the ESS tune or OEM at that point.

So test pipes + oem x-pipe and a tune will pass smog? Or do you have to bolt back on the primary cats as well?

[s14_kev]

Originally Posted by ///MPower15

So test pipes + oem x-pipe and a tune will pass smog? Or do you have to bolt back on the primary cats as well?

You won't pass with test pipes, you need the OEM cats regardless of what tune you're running.

[Godchild14]

The same thing happening to me right now i have Akrapovic Exhaust and I failed state inspection in NY in need to put backs the CATS does anyone have the cats for sale

[nholmes]

Originally Posted by Godchild14

The same thing happening to me right now i have Akrapovic Exhaust and I failed state inspection in NY in need to put backs the CATS does anyone have the cats for sale

I see a few x-pipes for sale in the marketplace...

[aus]

So if one were to put the stock X-pipe back on and then flash to stock tune, would we still need all this crazy driving cycles?
.

[jahn_baakus]

Originally Posted by aus

So if one were to put the stock X-pipe back on and then flash to stock tune, would we still need all this crazy driving cycles?
.

I don't know which tune you have, but if you're NA with an ESS tune, I'd try putting the stock cats back on and checking for readiness, maybe give it a day or two before reflashing and doing drive cycles. AJ at ESS said NA tunes should be fine.

In my case, my sensor readiness was cleared when I did the first re-tune. The drive cycles were required to get sensor readiness back relatively quickly as my registration/smog date had already passed.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by aus

So if one were to put the stock X-pipe back on and then flash to stock tune, would we still need all this crazy driving cycles?
.

The drive cycle must be completed if you have a CEL or have cleared errors, so yes, you would have to do the crazy drive cycle thing

It seems like the only way to pass OBD emissions without installing/uninstalling the oem mid pipe every year is to run the ESS HFC midpipe which they guarantee will pass emissions with their tune

I wish test pipes could be 'made' to pass OBD but it seems there's no way to do that

[Grail05]

2 weeks ago was my second smog since owning the car for 8 years and passes everytime...

Also this is why i use BMW WHAT APP TO CLEAR my codes cause u can select which code to clear...

[briancl]

Originally Posted by Sean05

2 weeks ago was my second smog since owning the car for 8 years and passes everytime...

Also this is why i use BMW WHAT APP TO CLEAR my codes cause u can select which code to clear...

What exhaust setup are you running?

[haparide]

2010 e90 M3....Just thought I would post something related to this after reading through this thread.
I have a stage II BPM tune with test pipes, and an AFC intake. Well I was due for smog this month so I decided to throw the cats back in and drove it for about 4 days (no drive cycle followed just regular driving). Checked my CarlyforBMW app today and got green lights across the board on the "since last DTC" tab. However when I clicked on "since last drive cycle" tab I got a few red x's saying incomplete (don't recall which ones).
Long story short.. the drive cycle results didn't seem to matter. The car passed no problem. So... 1. no reflash back to OEM software was required and 2. Yes you need your cats back in to put them in a ready state. This was my experience today in the San Diego area. standard OBDII test. Hope this helps people with their emission tests and mods. Cheers

[joe6mt]

Hi, sorry to bring up the old thread, I just recently sold my car in San Diego. with full bolt on and tuned. ( cold air intakes, resonated high flow cat, exhaust, uprev tune ) I took it in to a tuner shop and ask if they knw any one would do Smog without actual inspect the car. Bang $350 flying color, he took a pics of my VIN, told me come back the next day. Done also car is registered in CA.

Cheers,

V/r,

Joe

[///M Roger]

Originally Posted by jahn_baakus

I want to share the process I just went through getting my 2008 E92 M3 with aftermarket exhuast (Akrapovic Evolution) smogged in NorCal in case it'll help anyone else. I didn't see anything too reassuring in other posts and I have bad news - ultimately I needed to install my OEM cats. It took me a month before things were sorted. I was close to just selling my car here it goes..

Overall advice: if you fail smog with a setup like mine - get OEM cats installed, return to OEM tune, buy an OBDII scanner, and do 3-5 drive cycles. The drive cycle steps at the bottom of this post are what I ended up following - each time I finished a drive cycle or got interrupted, I stopped, turned the engine off, and then started the sequence again. For the o2 sensor readiness, I didn't wait for a cold start between drive cycle attempts. Check OBDII readiness each drive cycle. Once you pass OBDII readiness you can stop doing drive cycles and go to the smog shop.

Full details:

* June 2016 - November 2016:
- install various stuff on my car including an Akrapovic Evolution exhaust and ESS tune.

* December 29, 2015:
- I return from out-of-the-country travel and realize my registration renewal requires CA SMOG! ARGH I thought I did SMOG last year but clearly have a bad memory.

* December 30, 2015:
- after checking in with my shop, I go into the smog check assuming my Akrapovic Evolution system, ESS tune, and cleared codes will pass CA SMOG. Hahaha.. nope. FAIL FAIL FAIL!!
- Smog check VIR: NOT READY OBDII
- Trouble Codes: P-420/P-0430 - Catalyst system efficency below threshold bank 1 and bank 2

* December 31, 2015 - January 6, 2016:
- email my shop and ESS asking for advice and recommendations to pass smog

* January 6, 2016:
- ESS gives me OEM tune and modified tune files

* January 7-18, 2016:
- install OEM flash with full Akrapovic Evolution system still in place
- after initial OEM flash, drove to the smog shop to get tested before the CEL showed up and promptly failed smog (monitors not in a ready state).. duh.
- perform "drive cycles" shared on the forum, go to smog shops for OBDII readiness scans.. fail 100% of the time.

* January 19, 2016:
- pick up OEM cats and xpipe from a forum member.

* January 22, 2016:
- OEM cats installed, ESS tune re-installed using ESS E-Tune software.
- Drive cycle completed
- Smog pre-check fails

* January 23-26, 2016:
- OEM tune installed
- different drive cycles completed each night on freeway/lonely roads (20 mile drives each time)
- Still fail readiness checks when I check in with some smog shops

* January 28, 2016:
- get an Innova 3030 Diagnostic tool, O2s monitor readiness fails upon initial test
- got for a final late night drive cycle
- back home with the car pulled into the garage, one final test of the night.. PASS

* January 28, 2016:
- completed CA smog

Here's the drive cylce from BMW I followed to the best of my ability Jan 23-27.. it took me about 7 attempts before my monitors were ready:

Charge Accounts
In order to complete "oxygen sensor heating", "oxygen sensor", and "catalytic converter" system tests, vehicle has to be driven in a fashion similar to "OBD Drive Cycle":
- First drive constantly with road speed between 20 to 30 mph for approximately 4 minutes
- Then, drive constantly with road speed between 40 to 60 mph for approximately 15 minutes. (some vehicle coasting time should be included)
- The diagnostic sequence will be interrupted if one of the following conditions occurs:
-- Engine speed exceeds 3000 RPM, or
-- Driving speed exceeds 60 mph, or
-- Large fluctuations in acceleration are requested

In such a case, stop the vehicle, turn engine off and start the drving cycle again.

I'm going through same thing with smog readiness craziness, but no resolution yet, I'm seeking if anyone has any more tips. Been catless for 2 years, first smog check is now due, so then put cats back on and cleared the OBD readiness monitors quickly except for ONE: O2 READINESS. I've driven over 1000 miles, and did this same drive cycle for several times, I still cannot clear O2 READINESS. I'm going crazy and my registration is paid but overdue with no sticker.