Emissions Tuning Fundamentals: Third Party Lab Considerations

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Third Party Lab Considerations

06.12

00:00	If you're planning on lab testing, first you'll need to find a lab.
00:04	CARB does have a published list but it's very outdated, some labs no longer are open and some have lost their approved status.
00:11	Also many of the labs listed won't actually rent time at all because they're there solely for OEM use and some require bookings weeks or even months ahead of time.
00:20	SEMA Garage's two labs on the other hand are geared specifically towards the automotive aftermarket and they specifically cater to people like ourselves.
00:28	They understand that most people either need certification testing periodically for various tunes or products that they want to bring to market and perhaps a day or two of R&D testing here and there for tricky items.
00:40	When it comes down to equipment in approved labs, some will only have two wheel drive dynos and some don't offer particulate measurement.
00:48	Before engaging a lab, make sure that they have all that you need based on the testing required for your particular project.
00:54	One caveat is that some vehicles are approved for conversion to two wheel drive to facilitate testing on a two wheel drive dyno.
01:03	Regulators understand that there is a shortage of available all wheel drive dyno emissions facilities.
01:09	Conversion isn't approved for all vehicles because some don't operate in a normal road going fashion unless all the wheels are moving normally.
01:17	Regulators will want to know exactly how the conversion is being performed and its impact on vehicle operation.
01:23	Because some OEs got caught manipulating emissions testing by detecting they were on a two wheel drive dyno, regulators are looking out for that sort of thing.
01:32	Next, once you've chosen a lab, you need to decide between one of two paths.
01:36	R&D testing would be an extension of what you've been doing yourself in house but with lab grade equipment.
01:42	You can perform the same testing that's used in certification but without that information being provided to the regulators.
01:49	This is helpful in case your current calibration doesn't work quite as well as you'd hoped.
01:54	During R&D, you're also allowed to have your own data logging equipment hooked up to record engine and transmission data.
02:00	That may seem like a given but this is strictly prohibited during certification testing so that's a huge benefit of R&D testing.
02:08	During R&D testing, you can also choose to perform standard testing or modal testing to gather more helpful data.
02:15	Modal testing gives you real time and recorded emissions data that you can review and correlate with your powertrain data logs.
02:22	This allows you to see what the engine and transmission was doing and how the driver was moving the accelerator and what the emissions outcome was at each moment.
02:31	Modal test results also include a test summary.
02:34	If you perform standard testing without modal data, that summary is all you're going to which shows if you passed or failed on each specific emission such as carbon monoxide or NOx based on vehicle specific mileage and allowed limits.
02:49	The summary has helpful information but if any category failed without the modal data log, it's quite hard to guess what engine conditions were present when the poor emissions occurred.
02:59	Without knowing the exact moments during the test where emissions were poor, you don't really know where your tune needs to be adjusted.
03:05	With that in mind, if you're going to do R&D testing, we'd strongly suggest modal testing.
03:11	Technically modal test results are slightly different from standard test results.
03:16	And this is due to how the samples are processed but typically the summary results are within a few percent of certification style testing.
03:23	So, to be clear, if you're going to R&D test a calibration, we'd recommend getting all the data by running modal tests.
03:30	See where the biggest spikes of each emission occurred, match that up with your powertrain data log and then get to work on the required improvements.
03:37	The easiest way to sync up data logs is by vehicle speed.
03:41	The tests all start from a stationary position and the drive traces have to be followed.
03:46	Not only can you line up the start of the tests this way, you'll also get to a point where you see the speed trace and know which drive cycle you're looking at.
03:54	Hopefully you're labelling your data logs well anyway but the point is the drive cycle should be followed precisely in the lab.
04:01	That makes comparing the results of one calibration iteration to the next valuable.
04:06	You should be seeing emissions changes caused by your calibration changes with few external factors.
04:12	If emissions are unacceptable on your first test, make changes and try again.
04:17	During R&D you don't have to go through most of the prep steps required for certification so you can run most of the tests one after another.
04:25	Of course, you can't do the cold start portion of an FTP75 test twice back to back without letting the vehicle cool.
04:32	You can run hot 505 portions of the FTP75 test over and over until you get it right though.
04:38	During R&D modal tests you can stop in the middle of a test if you see something has gone poorly and there's no sense completing that cycle.
04:46	While using a lab reduces external factors massively, take care to observe driver behaviour.
04:52	On some vehicles, driver behaviour won't make much of a difference as long as it's within reason.
04:56	On others, a driver being a bit less smooth with their accelerator pedal inputs can cause emission spikes that you wouldn't get otherwise.
05:04	This is part of the process, without robot drivers we have to accept this variable and do our best to work with it.
05:11	Great drivers are very smooth and very consistent.
05:14	This is hugely beneficial when you want to see the outcome of your calibration changes without additional factors skewing things.
05:22	Let's finish up by reviewing emissions lab considerations.
05:25	Start by picking a lab with current approval from the regulators that you need to satisfy.
05:30	You'll also need to make sure the lab can handle all the measurements required for your particular project.
05:35	While lab R&D is not required to pass certification testing, it does give you increased confidence that you'll pass before attempting certification.
05:44	If you perform R&D testing, we suggest requesting modal data so that you can correlate live emissions with powertrain data that you collect yourself.
05:52	This way you can see exactly what was going on when any of the spikes of emissions occurred.
05:57	Focusing on hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen will get you to success on many gas and diesel projects but sometimes carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide spikes can cause failure so don't forget about them.