Aircare

[Percy]

I have just done a search for aircare and did not find what I was looking for, any advice for aircare? Anything I should do to my van to help, we have been doing our regular maintenance, but wondering if I should get a tune-up/put in an additive to help clean etc? I currently drive a 94 L400 and typically run Superstore diesel. Most of our driving is in the city have not been on the highway in a few months for any long stretches. Please advise.

[thedjjack]

Warm up the engine and it should pass no problem.

[tonydca]

Just did mine last week; EGR blanked off - I didn't point it out, but no problems.

They do an opacity check (looking for particulates); mine does mostly urban driving and out of a max. allowable reading of 30, with a claimed overall vehicle average of 3.5, mine got just over 5. Piece o' cake.

Testing guy there says "O those little Japanese diesels *always* pass..."

What a joke. Tax dollars well spent (again).

[Profister]

I am not sure how you performed a search and what you were looking for but this subject was discussed more then once and a simple search returns this:
http://www.delica.ca/forum/aircare-numb ... ht=aircare
http://www.delica.ca/forum/aircare-ques ... ht=aircare
http://www.delica.ca/forum/wvo-aircare- ... ht=aircare
No special procedure required.

[Percy]

Anything I should do to my van to help, we have been doing our regular maintenance, but wondering if I should get a tune-up/put in an additive to help clean etc?

This is what I was searching for, but it appears from the comments that I do not need to do anything to my vehicle to help it pass other than making sure it is running correctly and is warmed up. Thank you for the advice.

[Percy]

So after worrying about Aircare (I have not been part of the process over the last 11 years), it turned out to be very easy. My L400 van got a .63 opacity, I believe the number they got for fuel economy to be a bit a high but the rest of the numbers were in the green on the low end. There really is nothing to worry about with these vans as long as you maintain them. The Aircare guy was telling me that he wishes that NA would bring over more of these good engines that are in Europe and that it is too bad that these Vans are not offered in NA. Anyone know why Mitsubishi does not bring them to NA? Thanks to the people who responded and said that there was nothing to worry about, there truly is not anything to worry about with the Delica.

[jessef]

Anyone know why Mitsubishi does not bring them to NA?

Politics.

Same reason why we don't get 99% of the european/asian vehicle market here in North America.

Even in central/south America, they get a lot more options.

[FalcoColumbarius]

...Thanks to the people who responded and said that there was nothing to worry about, there truly is not anything to worry about with the Delica....

Wow. That's quite the testimony.

I got good marks at AirCare, too. They projected my wagon to be a major polluter but she didn't even rate, perfect score... probably because they projected a bad score I ended up looking really good. Mind you I do tune the engine.

Falco.

[solanoid]

Percy,

I think its a conspiracy, the north american manufacturers want us to buy their junk. The last thing our economy needs is for people to have vehicles that actually last more than seven years. Not to mention that gas is more expensive, and less efficient, this all ads up to more spending and a healthier capitalistic economy.

When I tell people that I am spending 11,000$ on a 15 year old yehicle they think Im crazy, I could buy a brand new jeep for a couple of thousand more, but when you factor in dependability, mpg, resale value, etc. I think its an easy choice.

Puttin a down payment on my deli tomorrow! wicked!

Aaron

[mararmeisto]

Anyone know why Mitsubishi does not bring them to NA?

Politics.

Same reason why we don't get 99% of the european/asian vehicle market here in North America.

Even in central/south America, they get a lot more options.

Agreed. It has a lot to do with a VERY protectionist market. If better cars can't be sold in the domestic market (i.e. foreign cars in our market), there is nothing to force the domestic market to produce a better car. Humans are lazy, and if an environment exists that doesn't force an increase in quality, then quality WILL NOT increase.

Our crappy selection also has to do with the PERCEPTION that diesel is 'dirty' - the reality being that diesel engines are less polluting compared to gasoline engines (less carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide). The real issue with diesel is the fact we can see the exhaust more readily than a gasoline engine (because the particles are physically bigger), so we think it's 'dirtier'. The reality is very much different. Coupled with some of the latest diesel 'advancements', BMW's BluePerformance and Mercedes BlueTec for example, a diesel engine actually produces less NOx as well, meaning it is all-around cleaner than a gasoline engine. I say "latest advancements" because they are new to our market - Europe has been after the automotive makers for at least the last decade.

Why do JDMs (and from what I'm discovering a surprising number of European cars) from the late '80s and early '90s have AWD? Because the market demanded it. Why don't NAMPOS? Because we wanted more power - to heck with control, we want more power! Why do even low-end model JDMs have more 'options' than contemporary NAMPOS? Because the market demanded it (or the government in the case of safety features like airbags), while over here we only expect options to be in the more expensive cars.

The reality is, if your JDM is properly tuned and maintained, you should have ABSOLUTELY no problem passing AirCare. Actually, from what I understand, if you have a properly tuned and maintained NAMPOS, you shouldn't have a problem passing AirCare.