running high on CO2

[atn_chargers]

I ran an emission test on my vehicle and the HC is kinda high...but the CO2 is really high. I know that HC is caused by incomplete combustion (could be plugs or something like that). But my CO2 is pretty high. Some guy I talked to said that the higher the CO2 is, the better the engine is running. Is that true? And if it is, explain how.

[smockers83]

CO or CO2? That's carbon monoxide or dioxide? Don't think emissions tests look for CO2, but I wouldn't really know, we don't do that crap here. If it runs, is registered, and is insured, it's good.

I had my vehicle tested by the EPA last year (voluntarily; for pay, too). These were my emission results.

Carbon monoxide .71157 g/mi (the standard is 3.4)Non-Methane Hydrocarbon .055744 g/mi (standard is .075)Nitrogen-Oxygen compounds .03173 g/mi (standard is .05)

Something to compare yours to.

[atn_chargers]

Its CO2 which is carbon dioxide. We don't really for CO2 here...so it passed emission.....But since it got a high reading anyway...i was just curious.

[pfarmer]

I ran an emission test on my vehicle and the HC is kinda high...but the CO2 is really high. I know that HC is caused by incomplete combustion (could be plugs or something like that). But my CO2 is pretty high. Some guy I talked to said that the higher the CO2 is, the better the engine is running. Is that true? And if it is, explain how.

Typically the higher the CO2 in a given vehicle is related to the fuel used and how much you burn of that fuel. Likewise high SO2 levels follow the same concept, high sulfur fuel and how much you burn.

In the case of CO it is more of an indication of combustion efficiency. High NOX levels is an indication of large amounts of air being injected into the hottest part of the flame front, hence the use of some form of overfire air. In an vehicle this would mean purposely having a little less than ideal combustion followed by the addition of air to complete the combustion in a later stage. This can be tricky in a piston driven engine.

As you can see if you reduce your combustion air you can reduce your NOX but that tends to raise your CO.

Now what is missing is the effect of the catalytic converter. Since two of the functions are conversion of CO to CO2 and HC to CO2 and water then if you have high levels of CO2 FROM the catalytic converter you have an indication of possibly incomplete combustion which causes higher levels of CO and/or hydrocarbons TO the catalytic converter.

It sounds like you may be running a little bit rich with fuel or you have improper burning cause possibly by ignition problems. Another question comes up, are you using any oil?

Perry

[atn_chargers]

No it's not eating up any oil. I think I'm just going to bring it to the dealer and see what they have to say about it.

[pfarmer]

No it's not eating up any oil. I think I'm just going to bring it to the dealer and see what they have to say about it.

I mentioned oil since that can drastically change things even if you don't see the result of the burn beyond just a drop on the dipstick.

Perry

[atn_chargers]

So you're saying different types of oils makes the engine run differently?

[pfarmer]

So you're saying different types of oils makes the engine run differently?

You may or may not notice much difference if you are burning some oil. It can however drastically affect your emissions.

Perry

[infinitgkid]

So you're saying different types of oils makes the engine run differently?

Well sure, you try putting vegetable oil in your motor and see how that turns out...

Sorry, I couldn't help myself

[pfarmer]

Well sure, you try putting vegetable oil in your motor and see how that turns out...

Sorry, I couldn't help myself

Vegetable oil actually burns fairly cleanly. Obtaining it however can be very emission intensive.

Perry

[tollboothwilley]

How many miles do you have on your G?

If you have 50-60K miles then I would recommend changing the spark plugs. (just my 2 cents) Cost is minimal and it can only help with this and performance. (I wouldn't change if you have less than 50K miles though)