You may have seen the PZEV badge on Subaru vehicles driving around the city recently. If you have seen it, and you’re wondering just what it might be, then this blog is for you.
PZEV stands for Partial Zero Emission Vehicle. What does that actually mean? Well it means that even though the Subaru PZEV car will run with regular unleaded fuel, the car is designed to offer serious smog reducing qualities, and benefit the environment. The car was developed to meet the air quality regulations of the state of California, where the most strict rules on air emissions exist. To get a PZEV badge on a car, the model must meet the Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV) standard for tailpipes, requiring zero evaporative emissions.
Why do I need it?
Getting a car with a PZEV badge helps you dramatically reduce your carbon footprint. The best advantage to the Subaru PZEV cars is that while they have revamped the cars to be more eco friendly, they have also not cut any corners in ensuring that the cars perform well.
The Subaru PZEV cars still give the driver the exceptional safety features in every Subaru car. These cars still have Subaru’s reliability and affordability to them. They don’t feature any complicated technology, making them perfect for the everyday average driver who wants to simply decrease their carbon footprint.
How does it work?
The ability to reduce the smog-forming emissions from the car comes from changes made in four key areas in the car.
The first was introducing a larger and finer mesh of catalyst-lined passageways in a Subaru PZEV catalytic converter. The entire length of the mesh is surrounded by precious metals, and the role of those medals is to change the molecular structure of emissions as they try and pass through the metal
Fuel injectors close tighter than the regular injectors you’d see in a non-PZEV car, which is to prevent evaporation emissions from fuel leakage. The dual-filtration air-intake system has been updated in the PZEV to remove the gap in the dual-filtration air-intake system that can allow for emissions to escape when the engine is off. This new system have a charcoal canister to absorb these evaporation’s quickly and efficiently.
In the PZEV cars, Subaru also addresses the problem of emissions in cold start weather conditions. By adjusting the programming in the Engine Control Module they were able to delay ignition timing, which makes the exhaust gas warmer, which helps everything else warm up faster (including the converter), which helps reduce emissions.
How do I get one?
If you’re asking yourself that question, come down to Subaru of Niagara. The PZEV badge is on the 2017 Crosstrek, Impreza, Legacy, Outback and Forester. Come down to see us and we’ll help you find what works best for you.