Ok so a friend and I are driving in Mo Val when a cop decides to pull me over. He said my exhaust is loud and asked me a couple question bout my VAFC. Anyways he pops my hood and takes pictures and inspects. Its an LSVTEC in a 93 coupe and well now I have to go to a smog ref next month. What are my options? Because he took pictures, does that mean I have to show up to the smog ref with that same motor? What are the exact reasons for the pictures? Or can I just swap a single cam in my car? I have a 92 CX motor laying around, can I put that in even though its an older motor? And also I heard that you can just skip the smog ref and pay a fine. How does that work? Basically.... what are ALL my options?


Modified by LSVTECoupe at 8:03 PM 9/27/2003


Modified by LSVTECoupe at 8:49 PM 9/27/2003

 

when da cop was unda yo hood. you shoulda ran his *** the f@ck ova.

 

that doesn't really help

 

just take the car to the ref and see what happens. Unless the motor is hot you shouldnt have a problem. Plus the new engine must have the same smog equiptment as your car does came from the factory with. It should pass unless smog emissions are past maximum limits for the motor and unless the motor is older than the car. Dont know how they deal with the vtec head though. But chances are good that you pass and get a BAR sticker.

 

I hardly doubt I will pass with an LSVTEC setup. I hear you can put a motor in your car as long as it is the same yr. or older... so does that exclude my 92 cx option?

 

Basically, from what I know about Smog Refs., your SCREWED. I take it your in Cali?

The LSVTEC engine, as far as I've heard, is ILLEGAL. The photo the cop took if shown to the Ref. will put you in a bind. However, motor wise, you may be saved if the Smog Ref. is thoughtful of a California code that states any motor, with ALL emission components of that year and make of motor, put into an OLDER chassis is STREET legal. You'll still have to get the motor smogged, but at least that code will keep the Ref. from just looking at your engine after popping the hood and shutting it right away...which means YOU FAILED.

ANYWAYS, not a lot of joyful stuff...Smog Refs. are a little more thorough about their motor swap wise guys and can fail you for just only having ONE piece of missing equipment (EGR valve, VTEC head on non-VTEC bottom end, etc.). Though, there is hope, I don't know of any smog refs. to refer you to personally, but a few may be able to help.

Good luck, and BE NICE and COURTEOUS as well as OPEN to questions when you go to the Ref. Explain you got pulled for a loud exhaust (ask for a printout of the actual decibel sound level produced...saves you in the future!) and you may get lucky with a Ref. who just wants all the Hondas in his shop out for the all too common loud exhaust tickets these days.

Food for thought...why don't Muscle cars not get ticketed for their motor work? Seems like the cops locally don't mind a pumping, thumping Mustang from 65 or a Harley sitting in the lot making its own noise pollution. Yet a Honda/Import with an exhaust and ALL modern emission components seems to get pulled every night. Oh well, this isn't Japan (I miss it there...)...

 

You won't be able to pass with an LS/VTEC or any other frankenstein motor. Head swaps are illegal in california. You could swap back in a single cam, but it has to be newer than your car and you have to have all the smog equipment for that motor. If you could get your hands on a full LS swap (ecu, longblock, exhaust manifold, cat, intake w/ CARB numbers for an LS motor) then you could get a BAR sticker for your car that would say acura 1.8L. I think going with a full LS swap would be your best bet because you could probably use most of your parts off your current setup. Then once you got your BAR stick put back in the LS/VTEC and cops won't know the difference cuz your bar sticker will say "1.8L".

 

how do I find out if my block is the same yr as my car? its a b18a but that could have came out of a 93, right? if thats correct, can't i just put a b20 head on it and put all my smog **** back on instead of swapping the whole motor out? Is the b20 head the same as an ls? also im kinda iffy bout that situation cause I have ctr pistons also.

 

can you have a block and a head from different years?

 

So far I read alot of conflicting stories.

You dont need a Newer year motor in your car you just need a motor that was offered in that year for that chasis. So If you had a '95 hatch and you put in a '93 D16Z6 it is legal since the D16Z6 was offered in that year but you need to install the SMOG equimpment offered on that motor. Infact if you want to have a hassel free swap do what I am doing.. I have a VX and swapping in a D16Z6 motor and I dont even need to REF it.

But keep in mind this also.. since you have an LS motor and Acura (on some years) have a California ECU so you will need to get that checked..

Your best bet is just to take it there and see what the ref says then go back to get it fixed.. Is there anywhere on your ticket that states you have to go to court and show the correction? I would think the cop just noticed your engine doesnt belong in your car and he doesnt know its an LS-Vtec. so get it legal and your safe.

And yes LS heads are same as B20 heads and as the other person posted a LS-Vtec is not going to pass

 

yeah i do have to go to court later.... but he told me i have to go make an appointment with the state ref. first.

 

Is there anyway to find out the yr of a block? Like i said before, I have a b18a block... can i use that? I know i can use it if its a 93 but what if its like a 90? I was thinking about putting a different yr head, ls or b20. do you think they will care that its different years? and also, should i pass with ctr pistons and that setup explained before even with all the stock stuff on there?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LSVTECoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah i do have to go to court later.... but he told me i have to go make an appointment with the state ref. first.</TD></TR></TABLE>

So if you change the motor then they will use the pictures they took against you. So go to ref and pray he/she is nice. Just explain that you didnt know it was illegal and your willing to do what is needed to make it all legal to the judge. I hope you did have your smog equimpment and your cat installed?

 

I figure i have to change the valve cover anyways since it has the moon cuts for the cam gears, so i figure i'll just put an ls head on it... but i still need to know if the head has to come from that exact block or can it be different years? and also how will i find out if my block is a 93 or like a 90?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LSVTECoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">can you have a block and a head from different years?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i dont think so...the year of the head is on the casting above the header spot

as far as Bar stations here in socal ..there is definetly no love for hondas ..my best advice to you is to put a stock motor back in the car as if it was stock
i know its a bitch and alot of work is involved but you will get through this inspection

 

Dude anycop who wants to check under your hood must have a warrant with exception to Chp

or better yet try changing the owner ship on the car to someone that does not live with you and is not a member of your family ...

then try and get the inspection waived telling them you sold your car

 

the head has a year on it.. and the block has a serial number.. but is it illegal?

 

the only motor i have available is a 92 cx motor and i have a b20 head which is the same as an ls. I can either put the b20 head on it and try to pass but will they care if the head is from a different year as the block? and if i put the cx motor in, will they hassle me and ask me why the motor is not the same as in the pictures?

 

i would seriosly look into that ...i dont think the cops and bar stations got that **** dialed in like that ...im sure its more or less a streetracing unit ..trying to waste more of our tax dollars

 

anybody else?

 

i would:
put the old LS head back on, and paint the valve cover red. get a bar sticker saying "acura 1.8L". they cant really check the year of the block. they'll take your word on it (or a receipt most likely). after u go to court, just put the vtec head back on. its gonna be a pita, but you'll have a bar sticker as a result, and u wont get any **** for it in the future

 

do they actually send the pictures that the cops took to the smog referee?

 

ttt

 

well this is my plan.... i plan to use the same ls block i have now, ( I don't know if its a 90 or 93) hoping its a 92-93 block cause thats obd1, and putting a b20 head since its the same as an ls, using an ls manifold and fixing all the smog stuff. do you think they'll care if the motors a 90 or if it was a 93 cause i have no idea. as for the head, its a newer head than the block but i can just say its a replacement head right? do they have a way of telling if its from a b20 or an ls? can i use all the smog equipment from my current car (air box, charcoal canister etc?) plus i have ctr pistons but i plan on using a thicker head gasket.... what do you guys think? i need help

 

first off lets set some **** stright
1. in the state of cali you MUST HAVE A MOTOR THAT IS THE SAME YEAR OR NEWER IN YOURE CAR&gt;
2. You only need to get youre car bar certified if it has more displacment then the stock motor. ex (if you have a 93 vx motor and swap to a 94 dx motor youre ok)
3. all of this "ref's are bitchs, refs wont pass honda's ****" its Bullshit. If you have all of the right the stuff and ur motor passes emission's, then they have to pass it. Just make sure everything that is not stock has a carb number on it that is for the motor you swaped in.

im in the process of geting a bar sticker right now too. after calling and makeing an apt at the ref's station i asked one of the tech's what i can do to make mine and his life easier he said, make sure youre car looks like it came from the factory with that swap, try and have all stock parts on the motor and make sure it runs clean, if you do that we will both be lovin life. now if youre swap is chanky and haggard as **** there not gona be inclined to work with you, just make the extra effort and do everything you can