Legality of sr20 swap

[collk88]

im just curious as to what the legality issues are with the sr20det engine swap. i live in ny and i havent noticed my car being tested for emissions when i get it inspected, but i could be wrong. if i were to do this swap, i cant beleive that the idiots that do the inspections would notice that the engine is any different than any other nissan engine by looking at it.

[240dreamer]

it's definitely not a legal swap...i live in Iowa so there's no emissions testing here. But i have heard of people being inspected and cited for having an illegal motor in their car. They're starting to train police to recognize which engines should be in each car. I don't know if they'd be able to really tell though...there's a lot of engines in this world...

[quiksilvia]

a, its bright red, b there are certain things in cali, at least, that u have to have, it will pass the tailpipe test if its running well, but the visual, u have to $know$ someone, as someone said bout a week ago.

[civicto240]

i always thought that as long as the engine is the same year or newer than your car, it is legal. i may be wrong, but thats what i heard. btw im in jersey...so maybe its a jersey thing.

[Meantime]

Nope. Not legal in NJ either. Not legal in the U.S., period, except for "off-road use" and other specific designations.

However, as long as it passes inspection in NJ, the cops couldn't give a flying fig. And as for them being able to tell an SR20 from a KA24, forget it. There's just not the same emphasis/persecution of "smog" policy here as there is in Cali. Not yet, anyway.

Now the inspector did look under my hood when I took the S13 to be inspected...ostensibly for "tampering" listed on the crip sheet...however, I don't think she looked for a turbo, I think my obnoxious rattling timing chain guide had her worried the motor was about to blow up. The reason I say so is because when she turned back after looking under the hood, she yelled over, "What kind of car is this again?" Not exactly someone who would strike me as being able to recognize an SR on sight.

Bottom line is, get the SR to pass and you should be fine. That will be the challenge.

[spec-v5150]

i always thought that as long as the engine is the same year or newer than your car, it is legal. i may be wrong, but thats what i heard. btw im in jersey...so maybe its a jersey thing.

that holds true IF the engine was made in that car in the US.

[GoTbOOsT]

I did hear that the SR20DET wont pass the emission test... hmmm

And the thing with cops knowing which engine to look for thats just way too unpractical. Number 1 cops wont bother to memorize which engine is supposed to be in all the cars. Number 2 it would cost too much money to train cops to recognize engines... I think if they do make cops learn its stupid...

[spec-v5150]

Do a search. i have read of SR20's passing

[Nismo_Freak]

An SR20 can pass the sniffer in stock form with a cat provided all the emissions equipment is hooked up. Upped boost creates excess hydrocarbon and nox emissions.

The test is taken at full warm-up at 2000 rpms I believe.

[collk88]

i could be wrong but i dont think they do emissions testing in ny. the other thing is how is the sr20 any different than say the 300zx or supra tt engines in the us? its not like there are not turbocharged engines in the U.S.

[240dreamer]

if there's no emissions in NY, which i think you're right...then you should be ok. no cop in NY is gonna give a flying **** what your engine looks like. Now maybe they'll cite you for "illegal modification" of some sort for something else but i don't know the laws there. you pretty much only have to worry in Cali. That's my take...

[leper421]

they DO check emissions in NY.

[collk88]

wasnt the sr20de sold in the U.S. in the sentra se-r? why does adding a turbo make it illegal?

[Anand]

because of the emmisions...

[96_S14_SE]

wasnt the sr20de sold in the U.S. in the sentra se-r? why does adding a turbo make it illegal?

1. Because they say so...

2. Its not the same engine... (youll find out why one day)

3. It was never sold here in the states.

4. Because of that they dont know what year it is from (makes since if you know about dot / epa rules for motor swaps)

5. Because they say so...

[collk88]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh:oface

[stretch240sx]

An SR20 can pass the sniffer in stock form with a cat provided all the emissions equipment is hooked up. Upped boost creates excess hydrocarbon and nox emissions.

The test is taken at full warm-up at 2000 rpms I believe.

so if you turned your boost down or up it will help with the pass???

[MaineExport]

2. Its not the same engine... (youll find out why one day)

It is infact the same block... BUT the head and bottom end are different. The internals are also different. Also... the sr20de never showed up in RWD form on US shores.