Smog Legal Japanese engines? Inquire within.

[tknbkthrsdy4anfg]

Ok, first let me give you all some background information. I work for an emissions lab where people bring their euro market cars to be certified for the US. On a one off basis, this is really expensive, in the 10's of thousands of dollars. But, my boss said CARB may be able to issue an executive order that would cover SR20's if its handled correctly.
So my questions to you with SR's is...
1. Has anyone taken their car to a smog station and had it sniffed? If so, how close is it? do you have any numbers?
2. Do SR's have evaprative systems? i.e. a charcoal canister etc...?
3. Is anyone interested in possibly paying a reasonable amount to have their cars able to be street legal so you arent freaking out every two years when smog comes around?

The reason I want this is because I want to SR my car, and not have to freak out when smog comes around about finding someone, not to mention rules are getting harder about fudging a smog test and penalties are getting higher. Also I dont want to have to worry about getting my hood lifted if I get pulled over. This wont just apply to SR's it would probably be possible to do RB's and CA's also, as long as the chassis is USDM.

Hope some of you are interested.
Thanks



List as of 8:30 AM PDT 5/29/07
Name (Forum, user name), Car year, engine [possible problems]
If your name isn't red I need your email address.

1. Nate (Zilvia, driftsub), 95, S14 SR,
2. Pablo O (Zilvia, ?) ?, ?
3. ? (Zilvia, xrockoutx) 89, Black
4. Oscar H (Zilvia, ?), 90, Redtop SR
5. Dave (Zilvia, Drift Freaq)S13, RB25DET
6. Yuri (Zilvia, Yuri), 89, Redtop SR
7. Chris M (Zilvia, ?) 93, ?
8. Danny C (Zilvia, ?), 93, ?
9. Danny C (Zilvia, ?), 96, ? [OBDII]
10. Jeffery C (Zilvia, ?), 95, Redtop
11. Tim R (Zilvia, timtiminy), ?, ?
12. Cameron (Zilvia, cmcdougle)95, RB20DET
13. Phil (Zilvia, coreansurfer)95, RB25DET
14. John Y (Zilvia, ?), S13, Blacktop
15. Tua H (Zilvia, ?), S14, Redtop [possible OBDII]
16. Chue H (Zilvia, ?), S14, blacktop SR [possible OBDII]
17. Xue H (Zilvia, ?), S13, Redtop SR
18. Gabriel A (Zilvia, Gabriel25), 97, ? [OBDII]
19. Brandon G-L (Zilvia, ?), ?, ?
20. Marshall J (Zilvia, ?), 96, ? [OBDII]
21. Tim M (Zilvia, delphis), 89, non-turbo [maybe a problem]
22. Kevin (Zilvia, KenshinS14sks), S14, ?
23. Kyle S (Zilvia, ?), 92, Redtop
24. Alex (Zilvia, Buntavy), 95, ?
25. Gavin (Zilvia, ?), ?, ?
26. Johnny P (Zilvia, ?) 89, Blacktop
27. Shawn W(Zilvia, hkss14sr20det) 95, S14
28. Mike (Zilvia, WISH ONE), ?, ?
29. Jesus F (Zilvia, ?), ?, ?
30. Javi R (Zilvia, ni5mo240), 91, Blacktop
31. A wei (Zilvia, wei240) 92?, ?
32. AJ (Zilvia, aj1356), 95, S15
33. Anthony T (Zilvia, lmananT), 92, Blacktop
34. James (Zilvia, ?), 90, Blacktop
35. Bua (CL)
36. Charles R (Zilvia, R-1chuk), 95, S14 SR
37. Richard R (?), 95, RB25DET
38. Will (Zilvia, Willow), 95, blacktop
39. Brian C (Zilvia, flipzide), ?, ?
40. Ron R (?), S14, ? [OBDII]
41. Yee (Zilvia, Tani 160), ?, ?
42. Yee (Zilvia, Tani 160), ?, ?
43. Yee (Zilvia, Tani 160), ?, ?
44. Dave C (?), ?, ?
45. Aaron (Zilvia, Agent_S13), 91, ?
46. ? (Zilvia, S13Disco) ?, ?
47. Michelle G (Zilvia, DP_Michelle G) 90, blacktop
48. Charles N (Zilvia, s13 charlie), 91, redtop
49. Brandon E (NICO) 93, ?
50. Reid B (?) 89, ?
51. ? (Zilvia, apexhumper) 95, ?
52. John (?) 92, ?
53. Andwele H (?) ?, ?
54. Tobe (NICO) ?, ?
55. Hieu V (Zilvia, bustaV13t) 95, blacktop
56. Bruno (NICO) ?, ?
57. Jerry (Zilvia, w0nderbr3ad)
58. Mel (Zilvia, !Zar!) ?, ?
59. Jason L (Zilvia, Aoshi112), 91, Redtop
60. Ernie (Zilvia, s13poop), S13, ?
61. Brandon B (Zilvia, staticbzer)96, s14 sr20det [OBDII]
62. James L(Zilvia, StaticX27), 95, S14
63. Niko P (Zilvia, grnappletree14), 95, redtop
64. Earl (Zilvia, domo dorigato), 96, redtop [OBDII]
65. Adrian H (Zilvia, ronmcdon), 96, S14 [OBDII]
66. Amir (Zilvia, SDS13Coupe), 89, Redtop
67. ? (Zilvia, bfellini), 93, RB25DET [Silvia?]
68. ? (Zilvia, driftage240), 91, Blacktop
69. John K (Zilvia, ProjNightshade), 95, S14
70. Eric T (Zilvia, 8o8cpv35), 93, S14
71. John (?) ?, ?
72. John (?) ?, ?
73. Vu D (?) 90, Blacktop
74. Jose R (?) 95, S15
75. Naser (Zilvia, Cnile51), 91, Redtop
76. Abel (NICO) 95, S14
77. Jeremy F (FA, formulaJEREMY) 93, Red
78. Steve K (FA, steve shadows) 90, ?
79. Yer (Zilvia, swift_style) S14, ?
80. Alan(?, ?) ?, ?
81. Ed (Zilvia, NISMO240SXSE1 ?, ?
82. ? (Zilvia, akito) ?, ?
83. ? (Zilvia, initialrt) ?, ?
84. ? (Zilvia, gt3071r240)?, ?
85. Jason M (Zilvia, slapinfunk 96, ? [OBDII]
86. Mike (Zilvia, s13 coupe) 95, S14
87. Chris T (NICO, ?) ?, ?
88. Luis F(?, ?)?, ?
89. Matt (Zilvia, Ranger240)90, ?
90. Don (Zilvia, fullmetalx) 91, ?
91. ? (Zilvia, misfitsfreak81) 95, redtop
92. Jeremy (FA, fro20) 92, black
93. Patrick (Zilvia, ballr858) 93, Red
94. Scott (Zilvia, FaLKoN240) 91, Red
95. Derrick (Zilvia, S14tiger) 98, RB25DET [OBDII]
96. Jim (Zilvia, HKsilvia) 92, S15
97. ? (Zilvia, gigimow)90, ?
98. Rick (Zilvia, Double_R) 89, Black
99. Emmanuel (Zilvia, drifting_sil_eighty) 91, Red
100. Garrett W (Zilvia, drifting_sil_eighty) 89, Red
101. Ross (zilvia, rossfashow) 89, Red
102. ? (Zilvia, rb13ski) 89, RB20
103. Luis C (Zilvia, K's_silvia2.0) 91, Red
104. Alex (?,?)?, ?
105. George C (Zilvia, Kaneda774)89, ?
106. Max (Zilvia, infamax) 89, ?
107. Justin J (Zilvia, na3j nitsuj) 90, ?
108. Bryan G (Zilvia, El Ray)
109. Jordan (Zilvia, gsxrjjordan) 91, red?
110. Kendrick D(Zilvia, hispeed) 90, ?
111. Robert L (Zilvia, Kuroi) ?, ?
112. Jason E (Zilvia, ReLevent1) 92, ?
113. Kyle P (Zilvia, ?) 92, ?
114. Luke D (FA, Iknownothings) 89, red
115. Eric H (Zilvia, turboeic)96, RB20DET [OBDII]
116. Nathan W (Zilvia, drift_wood) 90, ?
117. Zack (Zilvia, gordonliu) 92, ?
118. Zack (Zilvia, gordonliu) 90, ?
119. Ethan (zilvia, roboticnissan) 90, Red
120. Teddy D (SR20Forums, Teddy) 90, Red
121. Jared C (?,?) ?, ?
     
122. Young P (Nico, 180fan)89, black
123. ? (Zilvia, redsuns3838) 96, S14 [OBDII]
124. Pete (Zilvia, Petex) S13, Red
125. Brandon (?, ?) S13, Red
126. Matt F (Zilvia, uthemofo) S13, Red
127. Darius (Zilvia, Darius_tii) 97, S14 [OBDII]
128. ? (Zilvia, s14slide)?, ?
129. Mike (Zilvia, ixfxi) 90, black
130. Luis B (SR20, 91hatchsocal) 71, ? [Z-car]
     
131. Luis B (SR20, 91hatchsocal) 91, ?
132. ? (Zilvia, skylindrftr) 90, Red
133. ? (Zilvia, spitfire7) 91, Red
     
134. Eldridge M (?,?) 92, Red
135. ? (Zilvia, sileighty83) ?, ?
136. Skylar S (Zilvia, TheSquidd) ?, Red
137. Rusty E (NICO, rustest86) ?, ?
138. ? (SR20, 96_b14) 91, Black
139. George S (Zilvia, georgesal) 90, black
     
140. Jason C (?,?) 91, Red
141. Nash (Zilvia, panama DRIFT) 91, ?
142. Enrique (240forums, NISMOlvr) 92, Black
143. ? (FA, rusted180) ?, ?
     
144. Won C (?,?) ?,?
145. ? (Zilvia, RB S13) ?, ?
146. ? (Zilvia, Paseo654) 92, ?
147. ? (Nico, Jeyded) ?, ?
148. David J (Zilvia, zenki-217) 95, ?
149. Alistair S (FA, ?) S13, ?
     
150. Brian C (?, ?) 97, S14 [OBDII]
     
151. Andy Mc (Nico, Whiplash Willy) 90, Black
     
152. Richard (240sxforum, rabit1132kid) 95, ?
     
153. Steve D (240sxforum, rexbo) ?, ?
     
154. ? (Zilvia, usdmsilvia) ?, ?
     
155. HT (?, ?) ?, ?
     
156. ? (Zilvia, Jay Dee M) ?, ?
157. ? (Zilvia, duffman1278) 89, Red
158. ? (Zilvia, xblack240x) ?, ?
     
159. William S (NICO, JustinStrife) 90, S14
160. Hugo S (?,?) 93, Red
161. Marc P (Nico, ?) ?,?
     
162. Glenn N (Zilvia, ?) 90, Black
163. Glenn N (Zilvia, ?) 93, Red
164. Chris S (Zilvia, icedoutsoulja13) 91, ?
165. Jimmy Mc (?,?) (3, ?
166. Steve T (Zilvia, Turkey22) 91, Red
167. ? (FA, tricorp) 98, ? [OBDII]
168. Mike D (Zilvia, bullitt4110) 89, ?
169. Noah S (?, ?) ?, ?
170. Darren O (Zilvia, DoriftoPnoy) 97, S14 [OBDII]
     

[Flybert]

Of course people are interested and yes, SR's use a charcoal canister. Just start listing prices and what kind of parts people would have to run to make it legal. Would you have to run stock injectors, MAFS, BOV, ECU or would you have to have a stock SR because that's no fun. Or is it solely based off of passing a smog test and the parts don't matter? There are people around the country that pass smog with SR's so I'm sure it's possible.

[pablo180]

This is one of the main reasons why I sold my SR powered S13.
Out of curiosity, which emissions lab do you work for?

Also, have any exective orders been issued in the past? If so, for what cars?

Pablo

[tknbkthrsdy4anfg]

Well I know people around the country do, but I am talking about a CARB executive order.
I dont know what its going to take, I am just trying to guage interest and to have facts and not opinions to give to him.
thanks for replying though

[soreballz]

I've heard of SR's passing the sniffer test with no cat. Not sure how true that is, though.
And yes, I'm sure LOTS of people would be interested in this just so long as its 100% legit (rather than some loophole that won't be open for much longer like the propane idea).

[TheTimanator]

Originally Posted by tknbkthrsdy4anfg

1. Has anyone taken their car to a smog station and had it sniffed? If so, how close is it? do you have any numbers?

not in california, but I've pasted mine in TN so have many others.
Our standards aren't quite as strict but there have been a few people on the boards that said the sniffer test just fine...but only failed when they popped the hood.

[wootwoot]

Lets just try and get e85 going as well. 105 octane for the streets and easily passing sniffer would be nice. Ive never understood the visual test. If you pass the sniffer and have all the other required equipment, why the f does it matter?

[tknbkthrsdy4anfg]

Well in california there is alot of extra laws the other states dont have I dont know all of the specifics but I do know
You cannot have a breather,
if you modify the engine such as an intake, exhaust, chip, ignition parts etc, it has to have a CARB sticker.
the evaporative system must be intact.
you cant have any disconnected vacuum lines.
your timing has to be within a tolerance of factory spec
your gascap has to hold pressure...
um thats all I can think of.

The cars we have issued E.O's for are
Porsche 959's (mostly)
McLaren F1's
various ferraris and lambos
A few different non-diesel mercedes and BMW's
and alot of different smaller Harley Davidson manufacturers as well as chinese, thai, korean, italian and indian scooter manufacturers.
and also aftermarket companies such as nology.
It would be 100% legit, CARB E.O. in hand if it works out, the biggest factor right now I think is getting enough people in California interested.

[ae13bravo]

I would not think twice about paying $400 to have a legit sr20. Hell I would pay that amount every two years just not to worry about cops popping my hood.

[tknbkthrsdy4anfg]

Originally Posted by ae13bravo

I would not think twice about paying $400 to have a legit sr20. Hell I would pay that amount every two years just not to worry about cops popping my hood.

What do you mean?

[BigVinnie]

Originally Posted by tknbkthrsdy4anfg

Well in california there is alot of extra laws the other states dont have I dont know all of the specifics but I do know

I'm sick of these fucking "when the sr becomes legal threads"... It's never going to happen. The engine is outdated EPA/DOT will not care to pass it. Companies like motorex fucked any other company that thought they could legalize/register JDM engines.

Simple facts in California, the engine has to pass the visual inspection that means charcoal canister, EGR/BPT, and everything else that goes with smog emissions. To all you turbo guys that will never happen you all get ride of that shit to run a much more sufficient boost. There are less and less turbo charged cars on the road to date first off because of tree huggers, and secondly everyone is screaming that we are having an oil crisis.
The EVO, SUBY,SRT-4, chevy Cobalt (super charged) and the newly released GT-R are one in many that are turbo charged and they aren't mass produced for consumers there only for a select few that have the mucho denero....
SR20det was an abundant engine in the U.K, most of europe and Australia. We Americans need to deal with the fact and stop pouting that it will NEVERbe legalized. EPA/DOT doesn't want a crap load of us people running around with these engines and neither does the insurance institute for public safety.
Face it never gonna happen. There is way more lobbiest that actually have this thing called money to stop the legalization of this type of shit from happening.. I'm 28 years old. I live in California, and I see one of these fuckin threads show up atleast once a year. I will still say to this day....NEVER GONNA HAPPEN

[cmcdougle]

Originally Posted by BigVinnie

I'm 28 years old. I live in California, and I see one of these fuckin threads show up atleast once a year. I will still say to this day....NEVER GONNA HAPPEN

Can I kick you in the pants when we pass?

[BigVinnie]

Originally Posted by cmcdougle

Can I kick you in the pants when we pass?

How about I kiss you with my knuckles when you DON'T pass.
Tree huggers don't even allow the Greddy turbo kit for KA to be legal, what the fuck makes you think you will get an entire JDM engine to pass. The sr is almost an 18 year old engine. Sorry to say technology only gets better and the sr is tooo OLD....

[GSXRJJordan]

the biggest problem isn't interest... it's the fact that since SRs arent legal anyway, NOBODY has a stock SR with all the emissions crap intact (yes, we all know some lame guy with a stock SR, its just a generalization). Also, no SR parts have CARB stickers because the SR isnt CARB legal - that comes later. It's an excellent first step, and once we start talking numbers I think a lot of people will get on board, but a bunch of us will still be dodgin those vis inspections.

[yaba94070]

Originally Posted by GSXRJJordan

the biggest problem isn't interest... it's the fact that since SRs arent legal anyway, NOBODY has a stock SR with all the emissions crap intact (yes, we all know some lame guy with a stock SR, its just a generalization). Also, no SR parts have CARB stickers because the SR isnt CARB legal - that comes later. It's an excellent first step, and once we start talking numbers I think a lot of people will get on board, but a bunch of us will still be dodgin those vis inspections.

ya i dn;t know to many people eather who have a SR20 and kept it stock...

[zugoi]

im sure if theres an easy way to make their SR carb legal with eo numbers all sr owners will be interested.

[WilloW]

I would like to know more about this.

[dirtdiggler666]

it kinda makes me wonder ok my car is not sr its stock ka. but when i bought it to change ownership you have to smog it, and i had to go to a test only gov station and yes im in cali. well i took it their it passed with no problems, so i took it have and started to take it apart to build it. and noticed that it dident have a stock muffler it was a stright thru pipe type of muffler then i took off the cat and their was no hunnycomb shit it was stright thru. hummmmm that just makes me wonder

[sr20drifter1]

I live in VA and I have a '98 blacktop S13 Sr20det. I took it to a gas station to have it inspected. It failed the first time.When they changed the O2 sensor, it passed without any problem. I always take my car to the same guys to have it inspected.I'm completly street legal.

[g6civcx]

This thread is great. Keep up the good work and fight the system.

I'm leaving the SR for the LSx platform, and this is one of the primary reasons for my doing so.

Originally Posted by sr20drifter1

I live in VA and I have a '98 blacktop S13 Sr20det. I took it to a gas station to have it inspected. It failed the first time.When they changed the O2 sensor, it passed without any problem. I always take my car to the same guys to have it inspected.I'm completly street legal.

With all due respect, you are incorrect. VA has a very strange way of interpreting the legal code. "Standard make" should mean "OEM-equivalent"; however, the police and courts interpret the term to mean "originally equipped from the factory".

I'm in the same boat as you are though. We pass state inspection with no problems, but our cars are still not federally legal.

I hope we could have a more intelligent legal system, but that would be asking for too much.

[Cashizslick]

^ Thats the thing - California is where the problems for SR owners are . . .


In most other parts of the country, if it says Nissan on the motor, its considered legal.

[steve shadows]

Originally Posted by Cashizslick

^ Thats the thing - California is where the problems for SR owners are . . .


In most other parts of the country, if it says Nissan on the motor, its considered legal.

Technically According to FEDERAL EPA standards it is not legal anywhere.

CA is just overactive, like really hyper about smog regulations and have their own dedicated beuracracies for it.

[xrockoutx]

Though it doesn't help much, my blacktop passed the sniffer test with flying colours in Reno, Nevada.

[projectRDM]

Problem is, you're dealing with a community of very limited funds and very high ignorance. I'd say 75% of current 240SX owners don't care to spend the money for something tangible, and don't understand the benefits or the pitfalls of failing/passing legally when they can just throw change at a dirtball emissions tester and forget about it. These kids simply do not care about the fact that an SR swap of any kind is still illegal, no matter how cool it is. I think you're going to have a hard time proving that it's a viable option for an EO number and that it will benefit those drivers in the long run, especially since they'll have sold their cars or stuffed them into a tree and moved on to the next thing when you finally have something solid formed. Good luck but don't get your hopes up too high.

[Wei240]

this thing is analogous to legalizing/importing jdm stuff like skylines,
most people would want it, yes, but most are broke/cheap
unlike those mclaren, lambo, porsche, harley owners

but go for it, see what you can find/do, maybe this thing can work out...

there was a couple people here that works for emissions/smog centers, they should have alot of numbers for you... if they're willing to share...

[PhilthyS13]

I really don't think an SR will pass CA emissions, cat or not. I don't think sr's have an egr, which is one reason the visual component is required on a test. I don't think any jdm cars have an egr for that matter. The egr lowers CO2 levels, so when my car was on the sniffer (with a cat), the CO2 was off the scale. Plus, every 240 I know of is getting those damned Test Only notices. Maybe you can weld two cats together (some cars come with two).

On a side note - I was reading the uk sr20 fsm and I think the UK sr's have an egr, which might make passing easier. It might be easier starting from there.

Just register the car in an area where smog is not required (except when selling the car). That would be in a gray area on this map:

http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/ftp/pdfdocs/program_map.pdf

I thought about doing that, but it still won't stop some overzealous law enforcement officer from ruining my day with a ref ticket. I keep hearing that they're going to change this law, but it hasn't happened yet.

As far as legalizing the sr20 - I don't think it's gonna happen any time soon. We're all too poor to shell out the cash for that. And if I had that kind of cash, I'd have a BMW.

[Chasmoore04]

Originally Posted by PhilthyS13

Maybe you can weld two cats together (some cars come

Or 5 like the Impreza STi.

[misfitsfreak81]

Originally Posted by PhilthyS13

I really don't think an SR will pass CA emissions, cat or not. I don't think sr's have an egr, which is one reason the visual component is required on a test. I don't think any jdm cars have an egr for that matter. The egr lowers CO2 levels, so when my car was on the sniffer (with a cat), the CO2 was off the scale. Plus, every 240 I know of is getting those damned Test Only notices. Maybe you can weld two cats together (some cars come with two).

On a side note - I was reading the uk sr20 fsm and I think the UK sr's have an egr, which might make passing easier. It might be easier starting from there.

Just register the car in an area where smog is not required (except when selling the car). That would be in a gray area on this map:

http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/ftp/pdfdocs/program_map.pdf

I thought about doing that, but it still won't stop some overzealous law enforcement officer from ruining my day with a ref ticket. I keep hearing that they're going to change this law, but it hasn't happened yet.

As far as legalizing the sr20 - I don't think it's gonna happen any time soon. We're all too poor to shell out the cash for that. And if I had that kind of cash, I'd have a BMW.

YES, the sr does have egr, as long as it wasnt removed prior to being shipped over here. Yes most people remove them as soon as possible befor swaping there motor in. CO2 has nothing to do with exhaust testing. that is carbon dioxide, the same thing that every human on earth exhales. you are thinking of CO which is carbon Monoxide, the stuff that wrecks the ozone. as far as the sr being legal, im not sure, ive never heard of an illegal motor. its the extra emissions crap that the motor and car either has or doesnt have. take for example the rotory, probly the dirtiest motor ever produced, but brought within emissions standards by all of the extra parts. they put sr's in some of the domestic nissan vehicles and the block/head design is very close if not exactly the same. therefore i would have to argue that the motor its self is not "illegal"

good luck with this though. i think that instead of putting the pressure on the auto lovers who modify their cars, that CARB should be pressureing the auto manufactures to find an alternate fuel source that is less poluting. why make it harder for people to do what they love to do. luckily i live in an area of the country that is very lax on the whole emissions thing. you could run an open down pipe as long as its not too loud and nobody would say shit. we as a community need to stand up for our rights to modify our cars as we see fit. if we dont then there will be versions of CARB in every state someday and that day would put a serious hurt on the industry and lifestyle that we all love so much.

mike

[cmcdougle]

Originally Posted by misfitsfreak81

YES, the sr does have egr, as long as it wasnt removed prior to being shipped over here. Yes most people remove them as soon as possible befor swaping there motor in. CO2 has nothing to do with exhaust testing. that is carbon dioxide, the same thing that every human on earth exhales. you are thinking of CO which is carbon Monoxide, the stuff that wrecks the ozone. as far as the sr being legal, im not sure, ive never heard of an illegal motor. its the extra emissions crap that the motor and car either has or doesnt have. take for example the rotory, probly the dirtiest motor ever produced, but brought within emissions standards by all of the extra parts. they put sr's in some of the domestic nissan vehicles and the block/head design is very close if not exactly the same. therefore i would have to argue that the motor its self is not "illegal"

good luck with this though. i think that instead of putting the pressure on the auto lovers who modify their cars, that CARB should be pressureing the auto manufactures to find an alternate fuel source that is less poluting. why make it harder for people to do what they love to do. luckily i live in an area of the country that is very lax on the whole emissions thing. you could run an open down pipe as long as its not too loud and nobody would say shit. we as a community need to stand up for our rights to modify our cars as we see fit. if we dont then there will be versions of CARB in every state someday and that day would put a serious hurt on the industry and lifestyle that we all love so much.

mike

We're going to end up paying for the changes the manufacturers make anyway.

[irax]

if you want I have a friend with a completely stock SR with emissions on it, ill direct him to this link.