spender1326

Another CA Smog Question

Allow my to start with, I have a 94ls Teg with 165k miles. I want some serious power upgrades. However, this is a street car / daily driver, in other word must be reliable and must be smog legal. I want to turbo, since most people feel that’s the best bang for buck. 250whp would be a nice target goal for me. However, there isn’t a CARB legal turbo kit available for that model year. Greddy’s is CARB legal for 96-00 (both b18b1 and b18c1).

In CA, it is legal to swap a car’s engine with a newer engine, but it must be approved by the smog referee. My question is if I could swap in a JDM B18c1 (obd2), get approval from the ref, and then turbo the engine? Is this legal? The dilemma is that I would have a turbo that is CARB legal for the engine but not the car.

Anyone out there have an answer for the question?

Before someone says don’t do this, just switch cars, let me say that I have already looked at the economic equation for these questions and a swap seems to be the best option. I paid $3300 for my car and in order to get into a GSR that’s 96+, it would be something like $6000 and that GSR engine has 100K+ miles on it. A GSR swap would be about $4000 including harness, labor, maybe even lsd and I have an engine with about 40k.

Thx for the information

NoBottleJustThrottle

naughty smog.
instead of going to all that trouble, just lay down a couple bills, and be done with it.

Wes V

After long talks with the local Referee, here is what I'd recommend;

Swap in a 94/95 USDM B18C. Then install a turbo system that is legal for that engine, not the chassis. Try to get that through the Referee.

The reason that I say "try" is that the Referee I talk to said that he has NEVER seen an aftermarket turbo car pass the sniffer part of the test. Sure the parts pass the visual part of it, but (in my mind) without being able to legally change the fuel and timing maps within the ECU, you just can't get everything set correctly.

Now I know that others will flame what I've said, but just keep it in mind.

Wes

Rtype16

I know quite a bit about CARB in California. Believe me if a aftermarket turbo kit is approved by the ARB than the kit most likely went through some extensive testing. That don't just CARB approve everything just by looks. Almost no part is approved by looks. A lot of tests must be done to make a product legal.

Hybrid96EK

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rtype16 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know quite a bit about CARB in California. Believe me if a aftermarket turbo kit is approved by the ARB than the kit most likely went through some extensive testing. That don't just CARB approve everything just by looks. Almost no part is approved by looks. A lot of tests must be done to make a product legal.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree. If the kit won't pass the sniffer then I would be willing to bet someone dicked with the fuel setup, the ECU, or the boost.

Wes V

I'm well aware that the process taken to get ARB approval for a kit is extensive (and costly). That doesn't rule out the possibility that the company was testing a car that was "blueprinted", to get the best results.

As an example, if you have the money and time, it would be possible hand select a set of injectors that would work to your benefit.

I'm not pointing a finger at any company in particular. I'm just repeating what the Referee near me said.

If I wanted to run a turbo or supercharger, I'd get the Hondata S100 that is totally internal to the ECU. Then have it programmed for emissions. As I understand it, the Referee verifies that the ID marking on the ECU shows it's the correct one for the engine, but they don't look inside. Of course, this isn't legal.

I guess the question should be; is there anybody out there has installed a legal kit and would be willing to put it through the Referee.

Wes