Will bio-fuel reduce my emissions so i can pass NCT?

cold_filter

Ok, my car failed the NCT there was week, emissions should be .3% for CO2 anyway i was thinking if i put biofuel into it will that reduce the emissions enough that it will pass without any expensive mechanic work?

Biro

Probably not.

rebel.ranter

I put a car through the test for a friend that had a gas conversion carried out. It originally failed the test as they had it set up to measure for petrol. It went through the test a second time & passed, this time the test equipment was calibrated for gas. So there were two different levels acceptable. Not sure if this would be the case for Bio Fuel use too.
However I think you would be best off getting the car mechanically right before you start using Bio Fuel. I was reading up on it a few months ago & there were issues around simply just switching to Bio Fuel, various pipes had to be changed out etc. I'm sure you could look it up on Google for the specific details.
Have you had the car checked out by a mechanic yet or are you just assuming it is going to be expensive? What kind of car is it? It could be just an lambda sensor or a an airflow meter. Is the car regularly & properly serviced? i.e. are air filters new etc.

cold_filter

Its a 01 Fiat brava, my friend is a mechanic so he says it will probably be the catalytic converter and thats expensive, yep, everything else is fine, he will check the emissions on the car in his own garage before he does any work. the car past the emissions test while it was just ticking over but once the revs go up it failed

Seth Brundle

Get it diagnosed - its probably an O2 sensor or something relatively small

cold_filter

Ok forgive my stupidity, but do the nct centres not measure the emissions themselves by sticking something up the exhaust pipe or do they take the readings for the cars "computer"?

Seth Brundle

they stick a probe into the exhaust

Saruman

I heard a woman on the radio say she had hers converted to bio diesel or maybe vegetable oil and the NCT people were surprised as she had zero emmissions.
It depends on the fuel type i guess.

cold_filter

kbannon wrote:

they stick a probe into the exhaust

then how would changing a faulty senson on my car help?

Bard

It wouldn't.

Putting bio-fuel in it will certainly reduce the emissions, but if you want to put bio-fuel into your car you're going to have to convert the engine first!

rebel.ranter

cold_filter wrote:

then how would changing a faulty senson on my car help?

Hi, there are various sensors in the car's system: oxygen sensors, cam sensors, fuel pressure sensors, idle spped, airflow, etc. etc. etc.

These all feed back to the ECU (Control Unit). From here them the ECU can decide if the car is running too rich due the the measurement of CO2 in the exhaust or running at too high an idle for the idle sensor. So if one sensor is faulty then it could cause the car to run badly & hence fail an emissions test. The difference with probe that the NCT centre use is that it's not part of the car's system.

cold_filter

Bard wrote:

It wouldn't.

Putting bio-fuel in it will certainly reduce the emissions, but if you want to put bio-fuel into your car you're going to have to convert the engine first!

I have to disagree, listening to newstalk/today fm on the m50 the last couple of weeks they have had people on that say if you mix petrol with bifuel in a 90:10 split the car will work fine and it will reduce emissions, its only when you go above 10% will you need to adaprt the car

kdouglas

hardly any point using a 90:10 mix though??

cold_filter

Anything that will save me the fees of a new cat converter ill try!

BrianD3

From what i've read biodiesel produces more CO than fossil diesel and bioethanol produces roughly the same emissions as petrol

The fact that biofuels are said to be "carbon neutral" and far better for the environment has no bearing on the concentrations of gases coming from an exhaust.

Biro

BrianD3 wrote:

From what i've read biodiesel produces more CO than fossil diesel and bioethanol produces roughly the same emissions as petrol

The fact that biofuels are said to be "carbon neutral" and far better for the environment has no bearing on the concentrations of gases coming from an exhaust.

That would be my thinking too. @ the poster who heard the woman on the radio saying her bio-fueled car had zero emissions... the engine must have been turned off then, cause bio-fuel produces CO2.

dubtom

I have to get a nct every year, all I have ever done is pour a bottle of cleaner in with the fuel, give the car a little run and it's passed every time.That was in a 96 Camry with nearly 200K on the clock. My mechanic always insisted I arrive at the nct with a hot engine.

vorbis

yeah the biofuels save the co2 in the crop growing stage. When its been burned as fuel, it has to produce CO2.

techie

cold_filter wrote:

Anything that will save me the fees of a new cat converter ill try!

Get a bottle of Sprectrum D from a motor factors, fill the tank and add it, then drive the car with it in, and it should clean out the engine.

Worked for my brother who also has a brava!!