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RE:air pump debacle



To all those who are in contention about the presence of air pumps:
True-Air pumps introduce air (oxygen) into the exhaust to complete
combustion.  False-Air pumps were never used with catalytic converters.
I removed my first air pump from a Ford Fiesta I owned in high school.
I had the perception that this would greatly improve performance.  It
did not and for the most part street driven vehicles do not benefit from
having their emissions equipment removed.  Catalytic converters perform
their job best when a properly operating air pump is installed.  Lets
keep the air pumps installed so we can all breathe easier when our tops
are down!
Some Alfas do have EGR. I owned a 1981 Spica equipped Spider that had
California specific emissions.  An EGR system was fitted on this car.
EGR systems exist to reduce NOx emissions which are created at extremely
high temperatures.  Reduction of cylinder temp/pressure will reduce
these emissions and this is accomplished in several ways: 1. retard
timing.  2. lower compression ratio.  3. Introduce exhaust in to the
intake.
Supposedly Spica was a solution to strict emissions standards; an
elegant solution at that.  I read somewhere that the throttle response
on a Spica injected car was quicker then late model vehicles with
electronic fuel injection.

A Savage

1977 Spider
1999 Venture (Big Alfa Parts Hauler)

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