This section is applicable for vehicles which are tested using a simulation of the environmental test cell approved under the provisions of § 86.162-00(a).
(a) The Administrator may select up to five emission data vehicles (one emission data vehicle for small volume manufacturers), including vehicles submitted for running change approval, each model year for any manufacturer undergoing the spot checking procedures of this section.
(b) Testing conducted under this section (including testing performed in an environmental test cell) will be considered as official data as described in § 86.091-29 and used in determining compliance with the standards. Such testing must comply with all applicable emission standards of subpart A of this part. Retests for the purpose of emission compliance will be allowed using the procedures described in § 86.091-29.
(c) Spot check procedures.
(1) Subject to the limitations of paragraphs (a) and (d)(2)(iii) of this section, the Administrator may require that one or more of the test vehicles which use a simulation rather than actual testing in an environmental test cell for air conditioning emission testing be submitted at a place the Administrator will designate for air conditioning emission testing in an environmental test cell as described in § 86.160-00. The Administrator may order this testing to be conducted at a manufacturer facility. All manufacturers which use a simulation instead of environmental cell testing must have access to an environment test cell meeting the requirements of § 86.161-00 to perform this testing.
(2) An air conditioning emission test will be performed as described in § 86.162-00 in a full environmental test cell.
(i) The results of the original simulation test and the full environmental test cell required in paragraph (c)(1) of this section are compared. In order to pass the spot check, the test results must pass both the following two criteria:
(A) The NOX emission results of the simulation test must be at least 85% of the NOX emission results of the environmental chamber test.
(B) The fuel consumption of the simulation test must be at least 95% of the fuel consumption of the environmental chamber test.
(ii) If either of two criteria of paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section were not met, a retest is allowed. The manufacturer may elect to conduct either a retest of the simulation procedure or the environmental chamber testing. In order to pass the spot check, the test results must pass both the following two criteria using the retest test result.
(A) The NOX emission results of the simulation test must be at least 85% of the NOX emission results of the environmental chamber test.
(B) The fuel consumption of the simulation test must be at least 95% of the fuel consumption of the environmental chamber test.
(iii) If either of the two criteria of paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section were not met, a second retest is allowed. The procedure not selected for the first retest must be used for the second retest, yielding two test results for each procedure. In order to pass the spot check, the test results must pass both the following two criteria using the average test result for each procedure:
(A) The NOX emission results of the simulation test must be at least 85% of the NOX emission results of the environmental chamber test.
(B) The fuel consumption of the simulation test must be at least 95% of the fuel consumption of the environmental chamber test.
(iv) If the spot check criteria have not passed after any of the initial test, the first retest, or the second retest the spot check is considered failed.
(d) Consequences of failing a spot check.
(1) If the emission results of the testing using the environmental test chamber passes all the applicable standards, those test results may be used to obtain a certificate of conformity.
(2) The Administrator will allow up to 60 days for the manufacturer to supply additional data addressing the correlation of the simulation with a full environmental test cell.
(i) If that data prove to the satisfaction of the Administrator that the simulation produces results that correlate sufficiently with the environmental test chamber, the Administrator may allow the continued use of the simulation.
(ii) Otherwise, the Administrator will determine that the simulation fails to meet adequate correlation levels with full environmental testing. As a consequence of this finding, all future air conditioning emission testing on the population of vehicles represented by the failing-spot-check test vehicle (which may include past model year configurations) will be conducted using an environment chamber or a different (or corrected) approved simulation procedure.
(iii) For each vehicle that fails a spot check, the Administrator may select up to two additional vehicles to test for the spot check that do not count against the five vehicle limit of paragraph (a) of this section.
(e) EPA will monitor the aggregate results of spot check testing and full environmental test cells. If EPA determines, based on such aggregate results, that any simulation (other than the AC1 and AC2 procedures described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section for the 2000, 2001, and 2002 model years) is producing test results consistently below those from a full environmental test cell, EPA may review its approval of the simulation.
[61 FR 54899, Oct. 22, 1996]