Red coupe wrote:Just not everywhere checks actively.No visual inspection means no one notices as long as it passes the sniffer, NOT that it is legal. DOT is a federal agency, and a RWD turbo charged SR motor is not DOT approved.

Why is it not DOT legal, because it wasn't sold as OEM in any car in the US? I know there's no DOT statute dictating that "all cars must retain their OEM powertrains", so is it only because it's a powertrain that was never sold in any US car?

I didn't know they cared, I thought they really only cared about chassis and such due to US crash testing (or, for S15, lack thereof).

Not asserting either way, I'm just unsure.

by the book, illegal because it was never tested and cleared for sale in the US by the DOT/EPA.

for the average person, its only illegal if you live in the nazi state of california and their terrible emissions laws.

Jesda wrote:In Florida you can do whatever the hell you want.

No Srsly You Can.Saw A Tank On The Highway The Other Day....Just Cruising On The Shoulder With A Guy Wearing A Hawaiian Shirt.

HashiriyaS14 wrote:
Why is it not DOT legal, because it wasn't sold as OEM in any car in the US? I know there's no DOT statute dictating that "all cars must retain their OEM powertrains", so is it only because it's a powertrain that was never sold in any US car?

I didn't know they cared, I thought they really only cared about chassis and such due to US crash testing (or, for S15, lack thereof).

Not asserting either way, I'm just unsure.

You CAN swap, but it has to be to another DOT approved engine.

Couldn't tell you WHY they care, I don't write the laws....bu technically they do.

But as I said, as far as I see it... this thread is about the technical law, and being completely legal. Because if you really want to know what happens if you get pulled over in an S15 looking vehicle... Even in CA.... Probably nothing. In most cases you could get pulled over in a real S15, its not like the cop is going to say "OH MY GOD, THAT IS A JDM S15!". There are plenty of random cars out there and the police do not know all of them.

Red coupe wrote:You CAN swap, but it has to be to another DOT approved engine.

Couldn't tell you WHY they care, I don't write the laws....bu technically they do.

But as I said, as far as I see it... this thread is about the technical law, and being completely legal. Because if you really want to know what happens if you get pulled over in an S15 looking vehicle... Even in CA.... Probably nothing. In most cases you could get pulled over in a real S15, its not like the cop is going to say "OH MY GOD, THAT IS A JDM S15!". There are plenty of random cars out there and the police do not know all of them.

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I think your confusing people because your are stating your state laws. In Illinois you OBD1 cars never have to pass anykind of sniffer, or emmissions. In Florida i don;t think your have to pass any emmisions at all. But your right about the SR20det but you could always say it's a Sr20de and you got it out of a Sentra SER.

To the OP in florida im sure your could get away with a vin swap no problem. People do it with 95 and older R32's. They might get a speeding taicket, or whatever but never a insepection, as long as it's road worthy ie. seatbelts, turn signals, brake lights. But as you know it's very illegal and if you do get caught which would be very unlikley you would be in some deep s***. But make sure you swap the major ones. Dash, fire wall and door and it should be fine.

rc1honda wrote:\

I think your confusing people because your are stating your state laws. In Illinois you OBD1 cars never have to pass anykind of sniffer, or emmissions. In Florida i don;t think your have to pass any emmisions at all.

To the OP in florida im sure your could get away with a vin swap no problem. People do it with 95 and older R32's. They might get a speeding taicket, or whatever but never a insepection, as long as it's road worthy ie. seatbelts, turn signals, brake lights. But as you know it's very illegal and if you do get caught which would be very unlikley you would be in some deep s***. But make sure you swap the major ones. Dash, fire wall and door and it should be fine.

I think your confused, because DOT is a federal agency and they are the ones who sign off on the engine being OK for street use.

AGAIN, just because you can get away with it does not mean it is legal.Just because your state only cares to check with a sniffer for a smog certificate does not mean that your car is legal for all other reasons.

True but im not confused. By law i don't have to pass any sniffer at all or get anykind of smog certificate. I understand the engine might not be Dot legal but as far as the State of IL is concerned my car is legal. But if i get what you sayin is that if a DOT rep were to come and inspect my car it would be crushed reguardless of state law?

Vin swapping is a whiole different animal, and thats big time charges if you get caught but you have about 99.9% chace of getting away with it if you do it right.
Modified by rc1honda at 12:21 PM 2/4/2010

rc1honda wrote:if a DOT rep were to come and inspect my car it would be crushed reguardless of state law?

rc1honda wrote:True but im not confused. By law i don't have to pass any sniffer at all or get anykind of smog certificate. I understand the engine might not be Dot legal but as far as the State of IL is concerned my car is legal. But if i get what you sayin is that if a DOT rep were to come and inspect my car it would be crushed reguardless of state law?

Vin swapping is a whiole different animal, and thats big time charges if you get caught but you have about 99.9% chace of getting away with it if you do it right.

Modified by rc1honda at 12:21 PM 2/4/2010

I could make a set of tires for myself, and my car would still pass smog.This does not mean those tires are legal for road use. It is a separate issue.

A smog certificate is not the ONLY requirement for a car being road legal. It must conform to all DOT requirements. They may not actively check all the requirements, but that does not mean it is legal... just that it is not noticed.

They may not crush your car, but if it was noticed for some reason you would have to correct the situation before the vehicle could be registered for road use, and their may be other penalties involved as well.

TJcars2 wrote:So if that's the case, and not saying anyone should do this because it IS highly illegal and you'll goto prison for it, lets say you imported an s15 somehow and you put a different vin on the car from an s14 or whatever car you did your "conversion" on. If it was done carefully and wasn't detectable to the naked eye, would that keep your s15 from getting crushed?

Would that keep your face from getting crushed? NO. It wouldn't.

and in that "case," I'd tell you to GTFO of Nicoclub. cuz ur g@y.

Dittoz7 wrote:
No Srsly You Can.Saw A Tank On The Highway The Other Day....Just Cruising On The Shoulder With A Guy Wearing A Hawaiian Shirt.

That was me. Enterprise ran out of midsize cars and I didnt want an Aveo.

EpicNightMayor wrote:Would that keep your face from getting crushed? NO. It wouldn't.

and in that "case," I'd tell you to GTFO of Nicoclub. cuz ur g@y.

What did I do to you?

The SR is not illegal anywhere unless they get into your hood.Broken hood latch cable, no hood pop.i doubt cops would stay there while you some how open the hood lol.Secret hood cable hidden and your safe.LOL