DeLorean annual safety check results (Europe)

[Tomcio]

Hello,

Just a quick info for anyone wondering if a DeLorean can pass today's emissions standards.
Just had my DeLorean vin 6149 smog tested and my results were so good that they thought the machine actually broke. So they asked me to wait around so they could run some tests on the testing machine ;) The testing machine was confirmed good and accurate and the results were absolutely 100% correct!
Here's a printout of the test:

62156

The important values are CO% and HC ppm.
Passing values are:
CO up to 0.50%
HC up to 100 ppm
As you can see from the printout my correctly maintained DeLorean (no engine mods) got 0.00% CO and 0001 ppm HC.
My lambda is 1.025 (lambda 1 means perfect air-fuel mixture)
The test was done at idle with outside temperature around 0°C / 32°F
As you can guess I got a perfect PASS ;)
Other parts of the car were tested as well - shocks, brakes, tires, lights, suspension components, etc. My car was actually called "amazingly PERFECT"
I am proud!

Rolling resistance - metric values (approximate imperial values):
Front: Left 0.07 kN, Right 0.03 kN (Left 15 lbf Right 7 lbf)
Rear: Left 0.14 kN, Right 0.10 kN (Left 31 lbf Right 22 lbf)

Breaking force:
Front: Left 1.61 kN, Right 1.47 kN (Left 362 lbf Right 330 lbf)
left-right difference 9%
Rear: Left 2.54 kN, Right 2.52 kN (Left 571 lbf Right 566 lbf)
left-right difference 1%

Allowable left-right difference: <30%

Combined breaking force: 8.14 kN (1830 lbf)
Maximum gross weight allowed: 1600 kg (3527 lbs) based on breaking performance

Suspension (shock performance) - traction:
Front left: 57%
Front right: 72%
left-right difference: 15%

Rear left: 82%
Rear right: 81%
left-right difference: 1%

Total weight (with driver): 1122 kg (2474 lbs)

All those tests were done with a 120 kg (265 lbs) guy behind the wheel. His weight caused the difference between left and right values.
My car seems to weight pretty much exactly 1000 kg (2200 lbs)! wow!

Thank you for your attention

[Bill6298]

Hi Tom, thanks for posting this. I had no idea the inspection process was so detailed in Europe.

[mr_maxime]

Total weight (with driver): 1122 kg (2474 lbs)

All those tests were done with a 120 kg (265 lbs) guy behind the wheel. His weight caused the difference between left and right values.
My car seems to weight pretty much exactly 1000 kg (2200 lbs)! wow!


How is this possible? That's about 500lbs lighter than it should be

[Tomcio]

Hi Tom, thanks for posting this. I had no idea the inspection process was so detailed in Europe.

Hi Bill!
You have no idea, really.
The process looks like this:

There are three stations that the car has to go through. They are as follow:
Station 1 - Brakes and suspension
First the car is rolled onto rollers where the rolling resistance and brakes are checked. Next it rolls onto little platforms that vibrate like crazy and this is how they check the shocks and determine the traction and weight of the car.

Station 2 - Steering and everything underneath the car
They roll the car onto metal platforms (one under each wheel) mounted in the floor and head under the car. The platforms then move in, out, they twist fore and aft all while a technician is under the car looking at the suspension components looking for anything abnormal, any play, or movement that shouldn't be there. Next they do an inspection of everything they can see from below the car. They look for rust, loose bolts, leaks and anything else that is out of the ordinary. Once that part is done the car is rolled forward to the last station

Station 3 - Smog, lights and accessories
First they do the smog check. Next they check that all lights are operational including turn signals, reverse lights, fog lights (rear fog lights are required in Europe), licence plate lights. They also check the alignment of the headlights and adjust them if necessary (I set my headlights by myself and never let them get near my car with a screwdriver :) ) They also check the horn, wipers and windshield washers - they usually skip one because.. c'mon ;)

At this point they confirm that the VIN on your registration is correct and write down the odometer.

If everything checks out ok you get a stamp and you're good for another year.
Brand new cars have their first check after three years, then two years and every year after that.

I really like that the process is so detailed. That way I know that I haven't missed anything and that my car is safe.

PS. Bill, how is 6298 doing? ;)

[Tomcio]

How is this possible? That's about 500lbs lighter than it should be

Part of it is the fact that some of my interior is still not done. I have no carpet, no center console and no rear wall. That's probably a good 100 lbs. I once had my car on a scale when it was all stock with full interior and the weight with 3/4 of a tank of gas was 1130 kg or 2490 lbs. I'll check the weight again once the interior is all complete. Still, the car is way under 2800 lbs I kept hearing about and maybe that's why my car can constantly run 0-60 mph in exactly 8.00 seconds and not the 10.something I kept hearing about ;)

I did not do anything to make the car lighter. To the contrary, I've probably made it heavier. Once the epoxy was stripped from the frame I had the entire frame dipped in molten zinc which added some 12 kg or 26 lbs to it. Then it was powder coated - one layer of primer and one layer of top coat. I don't know how much weight the powder coat added.

We'll see once the car is fully assembled.

[Ron]

I am proud!
:thumbup:

[Riley88]

amazing , I personally know mine wouldnt pass but luckily in the state I live, they dont do anything for that, and there isnt even an inspection if its registered as a classic.

[Tomcio]

amazing , I personally know mine wouldnt pass but luckily in the state I live, they dont do anything for that, and there isnt even an inspection if its registered as a classic.

Riley,

If I were to register my car as a classic over here I would only need to have it inspected once. During that one inspection they check the VIN and confirm that the paperwork is correct and they do a basic inspection to make sure the car is safe to drive on public roads. The registration is then issued with no expiration date and no further inspections are required. A classic car doesn't have to conform to local regulations but it has to be safe. This means that it can have red blinkers, no rear fog light, US style horrible sealed beam headlights and so on, but it has to have a safe suspension, steering and braking system. No smog check is done on classic cars.
The problem with that is that once the car is registered as a classic there are some rules that you have to follow - limited number of miles driven in a year, can't drive it to work, can't do any modifications to the car, can't cross any borders unless you get a permit. Not for me, I use my car as a car and I do make some improvements. So, I'd rather have my car inspected every year to be sure that it is running correctly and that it is safe.

If you know that your car wouldn't pass, why don't you make it right? I wouldn't feel right driving a car that I know isn't right. They made those rules to make sure that we are all safe out there on the road and not to make our lives more difficult.

This is what my car currently looks like:
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It was meant to pass... I made sure it does... with my own hands :cool1:

[David T]

Here in the USA we complain about an inspection system that is much weaker and getting worse every year. For instance, in New Jersey they no longer do ANY safety inspection. They only check emissions and paperwork. It used to be one of the more stringent inspection States, no longer. I also understand the UK has a very stringent inspection called the MOT. Because the Delorean has fuel injection and was a pretty advanced system, especially for it's time, the PRV can run very efficiently. You are right, an owner should try to make the car as safe and reliable as he can. Even a "classic" is no good if it can't take you out for a ride and not get you back home safely.

[Riley88]

Riley,

If I were to register my car as a classic over here I would only need to have it inspected once. During that one inspection they check the VIN and confirm that the paperwork is correct and they do a basic inspection to make sure the car is safe to drive on public roads. The registration is then issued with no expiration date and no further inspections are required. A classic car doesn't have to conform to local regulations but it has to be safe. This means that it can have red blinkers, no rear fog light, US style horrible sealed beam headlights and so on, but it has to have a safe suspension, steering and braking system. No smog check is done on classic cars.
The problem with that is that once the car is registered as a classic there are some rules that you have to follow - limited number of miles driven in a year, can't drive it to work, can't do any modifications to the car, can't cross any borders unless you get a permit. Not for me, I use my car as a car and I do make some improvements. So, I'd rather have my car inspected every year to be sure that it is running correctly and that it is safe.

If you know that your car wouldn't pass, why don't you make it right? I wouldn't feel right driving a car that I know isn't right. They made those rules to make sure that we are all safe out there on the road and not to make our lives more difficult.

This is what my car currently looks like:
62168
62169
62170
62171
62172

It was meant to pass... I made sure it does... with my own hands :cool1:

My car would not pass the smog section due to no catalytic converter, thats it.

[Tomcio]

My car would not pass the smog section due to no catalytic converter, thats it.

Ahhh, got ya. Well, this engine runs so clean that if you tune it correctly and the O2 sensor is working you might just pass. The catalytic converter isn't really doing much in my case anyway ;)
You might install a cat too and help the climate a bit. It will not have any effect on performance... I've checked it and it causes absolutely no restriction.

[MrChocky]

Ahhh, got ya. Well, this engine runs so clean that if you tune it correctly and the O2 sensor is working you might just pass. The catalytic converter isn't really doing much in my case anyway ;)
You might install a cat too and help the climate a bit. It will not have any effect on performance... I've checked it and it causes absolutely no restriction.

Maybe so. I've done a lot of searching, and can't find a definitive answer on this in California. It seems to me that all cars must have a catalytic converter, no matter what, even if
it's registered as a classic car. There's complications here regarding after market units too, in a recent law. In CA, as it seems in many other states, cars too can be
registered as classic/vintage etc, but as mentioned earlier, there's then restrictions on how much you can drive them, etc.

Like most people, I'd rather have a car that's both safe and passes all the tests.

[vwdmc16]

In Ca all original emission equipment (or C.A.R.B. approved replacements) must stay on any car 1968 or newer (but only 1976 and newer is smog inspected).

I have a 1975 volvo 242, engine swapped with a '87 Ford mustang V8, no emission equipment on it at all here in CA. Technically not legal but nobody checks, pretty sad that's the newest car you can get away with doing that.

There are also some counties here where you only need to smog a vehicle once until you sell it to another owner, therefore are you could get away with removing all smog equipment, putting in any engine you want, and no one is going to check until you sell the car to another person in the state.


And to the OP that is fantastic that your car runs so clean but I gotta call BS on the weight of the car, no way it's that light. I've weighed a few cars here and nothing was below 2700lbs even without a passenger seat, louvers, spare tire and carpets. I wish these cars were 2400lbs stock.

[mr_maxime]

I think someone might be making some weighing errors and taking out driver weight too many times. If you add the driver weight to the "recorded" weight, you get around 2700lbs. I drove over a truck scale at my last job and it was about one me heavier than stock curb weight.

After seeing the pictures there's no way it could be that light.

[Tomcio]

And to the OP that is fantastic that your car runs so clean but I gotta call BS on the weight of the car, no way it's that light. I've weighed a few cars here and nothing was below 2700lbs even without a passenger seat, louvers, spare tire and carpets. I wish these cars were 2400lbs stock.

Thanks! Yeah, it runs perfect and I'm very happy and proud because not long ago this car was in pieces and all those pieces were in cardboard boxes. See pix below.
I'll check the weight once the car is fully assembled.


I think someone might be making some weighing errors and taking out driver weight too many times. If you add the driver weight to the "recorded" weight, you get around 2700lbs. I drove over a truck scale at my last job and it was about one me heavier than stock curb weight.

After seeing the pictures there's no way it could be that light.

The weight that the machine reports is the weight that it sees. So, it was the total weight that was on the sensors including everything (driver too). It might be that their machine is off but that would be surprising because all that equipment has to be calibrated. Don't know...

Now you guys got me curious. Once the weather improves a bit I'll visit a place where they have a very accurate weighting station. I wonder...
On the other hand, when I imported the car to Europe they took all measurements of the car during the first inspection. Length, width, height, weight and everything else. At that time the car was 100% complete and stock. The weight they got back then was 1130 kg or 2491 lbs. without the driver and about half a tank of gas.
Do I have a slim version? DMC 11.5? ;)

I will report back when I have the weight checked.

This is what my car looked like not long ago:
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