avoiding emissions, hypothetically speaking... Options

[enderswift]

say a person were to install a Japanese engine into a car, perhaps a celica. And say said engine didnt have an EGR system or the plethora of other US emissions garbage? How would one go around the emissions problem?

would it be possible to register the vehicle in a city that doesn't require testing? Even if thats not where you live?

thoughts please

[terbear4god4life]

lol.

[dgbldr]

My thoughts are that hypothetically I would not like one to be polluting the air that I breathe.

Perhaps the easier solution is for one to hypothetically move to a country that does not mandate air pollution standards, so that one might fully enjoy their car's lack of "US emissions garbage" and furthermore enjoy said country's dirty air, perhaps laced with the occasional asbestos dust and a plethora of other similar goodies

[Galcobar]

Happily, Japanese engines when properly maintained and tuned are as clean or cleaner than engines equipped for the North American market (maintenance and tuning obviously required equally for NA engines).

How your emissions standards works depends on your local laws. Some may base it purely on actual tailpipe emissions; others base it on the presence of specific equipment. It is possible to register it in a place other than your residence, but that also qualifies as insurance fraud.

This post has been edited by Galcobar: Oct 28, 2008 - 11:52 PM

[delusionz]

Come over to NZ where you can enjoy JDM GT-Fours and SS-IIIs because the country's too **** to produce anything they rather just close down factories and move them overseas and lay off workers.

(hypothetically speaking)

[enderswift]

ah didnt know that = insurance fraud

appreciate the replys (hypothetically)

[RickJamesBish]

Hypothetically speaking, this thread is worthless.

[Batman722]

Hypothetically speaking, this thread is worthless.

haha

if you swap into a 96+ celica then you have an OBDII car.
The inspection places plug in an OBDII port reader into the car and the computer tell it if the car is ok or not.
These jap engines aren't OBDII and you will not pass inspection/emissions for this car.

[hatchy_gt-s]

theres no way around an egr system except for re-doing the whole engine which would be very pricey

[99Celica]

so Beams (FWD version) can't legally be registered in U.S.?

[Galcobar]

Depends again on your region's testing standards. Where I live, it's all based on what comes out the tailpipe, with the caveat that 1988 or newer vehicles must have a catalytic converter and 1998 or newer vehicles not fail an OBD scan.

[enderswift]

how has everyone else been cruising in swaps then?

im just trying to think of every obstacle possible, to be as prepared as I can. Nothing wrong with that is there?

[Batman722]

it depends on the year of the car, 95 and under is generally no problem to get inspected, 96+ is much more difficult because of the OBDII issue. Some states are more lenient.

[lagos]

how has everyone else been cruising in swaps then?

im just trying to think of every obstacle possible, to be as prepared as I can. Nothing wrong with that is there?

It all depends on how strict your city is in enforcing the laws.
There are thousands of tuner cars in your area with modified exhausts and other items that that normally shouldn't pass emissions, yet they still drive around with a legit sticker in the window. Start hanging around with the locals and see if they know any shops that are tuner friendly.

[Agent21]

I find it easiest here in NC to get certified by the state as an inspector. Eliminates all these problems for a mere $150.

[D-Man]

^ LOL!! what a great idea! ^

how has everyone else been cruising in swaps then?

im just trying to think of every obstacle possible, to be as prepared as I can. Nothing wrong with that is there?

The best reply I've ever heard (and read closely when studying for the 3s swap) was this right here:

I believe that TECHNICALLY there is a federal law that states that you cannot install an engine into your car that is OLDER than the year of the car. In other words, you could install a 3rd gen or 4th gen 3SGTE into a 6th gen Celica and be okay, but TECHNICALLY you cannot install a 2ng gen 3SGTE into a 6th gen Celica. I say technically because I've never heard of any instance of this law actually being enforced and I'm not even sure if any agency is assigned to do so. That said, the only enforcement that you need to worry about will come on the State level, which varies from state to state.

Generally speaking, California is the most strict with some counties following the same procedures now, and the way the the laws are enforced are by the required vehicle inspection. The engine must pass the following tests:
Sniffer test at the tailpipe (engine runs clean). Almost any JDM engine in good running condition will pass this test.
Visual inspection for EGR. This is where most JDM engines fail since many do not have EGR. It seems logical that one could design a functional EGR system fairly easily that would allow you to pass.
OBD2 test. This is the really tricky one. On all vehicles 1996 and up a scan tool will be plugged into the OBD2 port to check for trouble codes and whatnot. ALL JDM ECUs, OBD1 or OBD2, will fail this test. The OBD2 JDM ECUs do not speak the same language as US-spec scan tools, so they will get a communication error and fail the test. This is the most troublesome of the tests performed since there is not any good solution to it at this time.

Some states do only a sniffer test which is usually passed easily.

Some states do a sniffer test AND an OBD2 test which of course causes problems on vehicles '96 and up as outlined above.

Some states, especially in the south and west, have no inspection at all.

How to beat the OBD2 inspection.

There are a couple of ways to get around an OBD2 inspection engine swap:
- Do your engine swap on a vehicle '95 or older (getting harder all the time since '95 cars are now 13 years old!)
- Some states actually have an exemption that you can achieve by attempting to "repair" the problem a number of times and showing receipts that you spent a certain amount of money to do so.
- In other states, it's possible to find a shop that will "help you out", whatever that means.
- Some people obtain a legal address in another county or state that does not have OBD2 inspection and they register the vehicle there.
- Keep your USDM engine, ECU, and harness in storage, and every time you need to do the inspection, swap in your old engine, ECU, and harness. Then swap back. (Some people actually do this).
- Run the JDM engine using an OBD2 USDM ECU. This is only possibly on a handful of swaps, one good example being the 2JZGTE VVTi swap into an IS300 or GS300. The IS300/GS300 ECU and harness is very similar to that of the 2JZGTE VVTi, so you can use the stock USDM harness and ECU to run the engine, with a piggyback or standalone and some good tuning. A number of people have passed emissions this way.
- Do your engine swap using a USDM engine that is OBD2 (not many great options)

How to beat the EGR Visual Inspection.

- Use an engine that has EGR
- Install an aftermarket or custom EGR system
- Find a shop that will help you out

Hope that helps!

-Doc

You can find the thread here:
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=60495

[enderswift]

good stuff, exactly what i was looking for. thanks alot D-Man. That was much better answer than rickjames provided.

[D-Man]

good stuff, exactly what i was looking for. thanks alot D-Man. That was much better answer than rickjames provided.

Dude....

Last night for dinner i had some enchilada's. Nice and spicy just like i like. a massive portion of rice and beans; and of course i had chili smotherd all over my cheesy beef and jalapeno/hobanero pepper enchiladas. Drinking choclate milk with it for some reason Well anyway, This morning, as you can imagine; I went to the bathroom and the toliet cryed before i was done. The damn cat ran out after i launched the first wave. Now... that mess, that woke up my wife, (and made her chase me with the lysol air freshner ) That steaming bowl of sh!t has more knowledgeable advice than RickJamesBish.

[samir0189]

good stuff, exactly what i was looking for. thanks alot D-Man. That was much better answer than rickjames provided.

Dude....

Last night for dinner i had some enchilada's. Nice and spicy just like i like. a massive portion of rice and beans; and of course i had chili smotherd all over my cheesy beef and jalapeno/hobanero pepper enchiladas. Drinking choclate milk with it for some reason Well anyway, This morning, as you can imagine; I went to the bathroom and the toliet cryed before i was done. The damn cat ran out after i launched the first wave. Now... that mess, that woke up my wife, (and made her chase me with the lysol air freshner ) That steaming bowl of sh!t has more knowledgeable advice than RickJamesBish.

LOL, oh boy, you can always count on D-man for ridiculously hilarious posts.

[RUNNIN-LOW]

good stuff, exactly what i was looking for. thanks alot D-Man. That was much better answer than rickjames provided.

Dude....

Last night for dinner i had some enchilada's. Nice and spicy just like i like. a massive portion of rice and beans; and of course i had chili smotherd all over my cheesy beef and jalapeno/hobanero pepper enchiladas. Drinking choclate milk with it for some reason Well anyway, This morning, as you can imagine; I went to the bathroom and the toliet cryed before i was done. The damn cat ran out after i launched the first wave. Now... that mess, that woke up my wife, (and made her chase me with the lysol air freshner ) That steaming bowl of sh!t has more knowledgeable advice than RickJamesBish.

haha i wounder where you come up with these!!!!HAHA my co-workers and them are always asking why i am lol!!! i always say come read d-man work haha!!!!! they all know d-mans work!!!!