hope this is of help......jim in sd

My '83 528e just failed CA smog last week. I've got 275K on the odo which stopped working about three years ago. It was running kind of rough so I put new silvers (gapped at .40) in about two weeks ago and after that it ran great. Unfortunately I couldnt resist putting my foot in it a couple of times when I was tooling down the 5 freeway and a Mustang pulled up next to me. Well, after that I picked up a slight hesitation from a dead stop, especially when cold. I suspect Ive got a bit of carbon build-up now but I dont know whether that was a factor in my failing the test. Here are the details...

Both speed tests had passing results for HC's and CO's but my problem was with NO at 15mph...

15mph NO(PPM) [Max allowed 1236] [avg. 475] [Measured 1374]

25 mph test was fine

It was kind of a cold day for San Diego that day (60 F) and I didnt try any tricks like stuffing a rag in the tailpipe to heat up the cat. (dont know if that will have any effect on NO anyhow)

Its got a cat that is about two years old (bought new last time around) and it passed with flying colors in '99 after about 400 dollars and three or four visits to a smog mechanic and a couple more to the test only station!

What I'm trying to do is avoid going to a repair station and paying for something I might be able to do myself to bring that level down a few notches and into passing range.

I'm gettin' ready to replace the cap, rotor, and wires but I dont know if that would have any effect on the NO level.

Thanks in advance...

And Happy New Year!