Quote:
Originally Posted by Tru2Chevy
The Ram should still need a visible smoke test, right?
- Justin
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Probably not.
My 97 2500 Ram with the CTD has a GVWR of 8800lbs (check inside the driver door), so I'm never going through inspection again and his 96 is likely the same.
Now you could still be subjected to a snap test if you get caught in a roadside check. A snap test is where they basically beat the **** out of the truck with it in neutral. They stand on the accelerator and take it to redline. While this is happening they have a meter at the tail pipe and measure opacity (how much light is blocked out by soot particulates emitted from the tail pipe). If the truck is stock or very close and in good running condition, its nothing to worry about. I just don't like some yahoo standing on the accelerator and running it up 2500-2700 rpms with no load.
I got caught in a roadside check in 2007 and they did the snap test on my truck and I was 8.96% opacity, so I only blocked out 8.96% of the light. Totally clean exhaust would be 0% and full blockage would be 100%.
At the time of the test it was a pilot program and opacity standards for heavy duty diesels (not even sure if my CTD falls into this class? I think its a medium duty) were as follows:
Pre 1973 = 70%
1974-1990 = 55%
1991 and newer = 40%
They were proposing (not sure if this was passed or not?)
Pre 1991 = 40%
1991-1996 = 30%
1997 and newer = 20%
So even under the newer standards I was well within the acceptable range. Now if you have the fuel turned up (bigger fuel plate, rack adjustment, injectors etc.) or are running a programmer on the newer trucks (with injectors etc.), you could find yourself in a compromised position. But even still you can fine tune this stuff to eliminate the smoke show if want or need to. That smoke is just unburnt fuel, it has little/nothing to do with the amount of power being made. And it can even be modulated by how fast your bring the rpms up and how much load is on the engine. I can be at 65 MPH and stand on the throttle and blow smoke easily, but if I roll the throttle in, the truck accelerates just as fast but only creates the slightest "haze" of smoke, not the thick black cloud that blocks out the sun.