This regulatory advisory is to help inform the end user on the proper reading and interpretation of opacity test results using currently available smoke meters for HDDVs.
NEW OPACITY STANDARDS
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has recently reduced the opacity standards for all HDDVs operating within the State of California. As of July 1•t, 2019, HDDVs greater than 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), must be tested annually in accordance with the test procedures set forth in Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Recommended Practice J1667 "Snap-Acceleration Smoke Test
Procedure for Heavy-Duty Diesel Powered Vehicles" as issued February 1996, and shall not exceed a smoke opacity percentage of (Table 1):
Table 1: Opacity Limits for the HDVIP and PSIP:
