Legality of Swaps

[MR2NER]

I searched the site and found no threads which cleared this up. If it is infact illegal to have a motor in your car which isnt listed as legal in the US, which the SR20DET is right,?, than how do you pass inspections?

[Daunttless]

Yes. You don't.

You can pass the sniffer, you fail everything else. The engine is illegal whether you pass or not though.

[BuudWeizErr]

Most people just find a smog shop that does it no questions asked. Or smog with the KA, then do the swap, then worry about it again in 2 years.

That doesn't help you if a cop looks under your hood, and knows what hes looking for though.

[MR2NER]

so you mean to tell me that everyone on this board with a swap has some "hook-up" for smog?

[Daunttless]

Heh, no, 99.9% of the country doesn't have emissions. Theres not a single emissions county in Iowa. Additionally, its not that hard to find a smog shop that doesn't care, just look for something named like Pablo's Automaxx and Smog or Muhammed Achbar's Affordable Auto Sales and Emissions. : )

[SrSLeePeR]

Yes.

[Nizmotastik]

if a cop pulled u over, told u to open the hood, and saw the sr2o wut would he do? do they fine you? or impound? or wut?

[MR2NER]

I higly doubt a cop would know the difference between the engines.

[Nizmotastik]

but what if they did?

[Daunttless]

Depends where you live, if theres a big street racing problem they very well may know that its not the right engine. If you live in emissions area they will impound your vehicle and ticket you heavily. If you live in a non-emissions area and for some reason the cop realizes its an illegal engine they can impound the car and ticket you, just not as severely as the emissions places. Theres all kinds of options, the cop very well might know what it is and ask for you to take him for a spin. : ) That or he'll throw your *** in jail. : )

[SrSLeePeR]

I live in So. Cal, and in Monterey Park, cops know what SR20DET's are now. They're not stupid. They got this little photo album of theres about what a US 240 engine is "suppose" to look like....

[Daunttless]

Hehe, yeah, they smarten'd up. : ) Or something like that, at first they had pictures of all the illegal swaps, then there were so many, that they switched to what the stock engine is SUPPOSED to look like, and by god if your engine doesn't look like, and in places like cali if you don't have a CARB sticker to explain yourself, you be in trouble.

[BuudWeizErr]

I live in So. Cal, and in Monterey Park, cops know what SR20DET's are now. They're not stupid. They got this little photo album of theres about what a US 240 engine is "suppose" to look like....

Yikes. That's scary. I live about an hour and a half from Monterey Park. AFAIK, cops around here just look for intake and a header. Hope that the little photo album never pops up around here. Racing isn't a huge problem here yet, but it is definitely getting bigger.

[fiznat]

Anybody know about regulations on these type of things on the East Coast? Namely Connecticut...?

[Get240DiZzY]

Why are they illegal? There are faster cars out there, I'm sure.

[BuudWeizErr]

Why are they illegal? There are faster cars out there, I'm sure.

Because the SR20 isn't on the EPA's list of approved engines, plus it was never made in the United States. The emissions aren't that bad, SR20's outside of California have passed emissions.

Sucks for people in California.

[Daunttless]

The regulations are the same for the entire nation, they're federal not state. Its illegal EVERYWHERE. EVERYWHERE and one more time, its illegal EVERYWHERE. : ) Was that clear? The reason people care about emissions is because unless the cops are looking for it, thats the only way to get caught.

[BuudWeizErr]

It's illegal everywhere, but that's the visual part. In some cases, it may pass the emissions, but again, that still doesn't matter visually. If your smog tech doesn't know anything, you may pass, but your best bet is still someone who doesn't care, and is bribable.

Sorry I didn't make that clear, Dauntless is definitely correct.

[Daunttless]

Hehe, it wasn't against you Buud, but every time this comes up we give a definitive answer, and everytime someone else asks the question again and AGAIN asking for a definitive answer. I just wanted to be clear this time for everyone who actually uses the SEARCH button. : )

[fiznat]

daunt- I know its a federal law.. I wasnt asking about that. I was more interested in issues of enforcement on the east coast. IE- how much do the cops know about these engines? how often do people get pulled over for having cars that look modded, etc... Of coruse the cops in Cali are more knowledgable about the scene, because its more popular over there.. but its not quite the same over here in lil' ol' Connecticut, know what I mean? I doubt there are cops around with fipbooks of stock engine photos..

Soo I ask again-- anybody know about the east coast?

[Daunttless]

Hehe, wasn't aimed at you either. : ) Also, if you haven't heard of it, then it isn't happening. Thats usually pretty safe, if you know people in the scene or you are in the scene yourself, if the cops know you'll know. : )

[cosmo]

Heh, no, 99.9% of the country doesn't have emissions. Theres not a single emissions county in Iowa. Additionally, its not that hard to find a smog shop that doesn't care, just look for something named like Pablo's Automaxx and Smog or Muhammed Achbar's Affordable Auto Sales and Emissions. : )

So Dauntt, I live in Polk County, does that mean that smog dont matter in Iowa?

[Daunttless]

have you ever had a smog test? : )

[cosmo]

no

[Daunttless]

Hehe, so were you being sarcastic? Or did you actually wonder?

[sr20meplease]

i live in MD and cops don't even look for swaps...they mostly check for exhaust and stuff they can hear...but BOV's they don't count...a cop told me that(my uncle). i mean if your car is slamed on the ground they will say something...but a 1 inch all around they don't notice...just depends on the local police officers

[cosmo]

Hehe, so were you being sarcastic? Or did you actually wonder?

i was really wondering

[Get240DiZzY]

Is there any way to disguise the engine? (On one hand, I ReALLY, REALLY want an SR20DET, but on the other, I prefer not get caught doing some thing illegal, no matter how small. Notice I didn't say not DO, but not get caught )

[Sintax]

i was just wondering what rights you have reguarding complying with a request to pop your hood. i mean i know from personal experience that you dont have to agree to let police search your car interior, and the trunk is even harder to get into, i've heard that it requires a search warrent if you dont give them permission. what happens if you just simply refuse to open your hood, or say... "well the hood latch is broken" (and just disconnect the hood latch, or re run it to have a hidden catch release somewhere under the dash.)

just a thought, maybe there is someone who knows the law.

-scott

[cosmo]

what about this.

if they open your hood and say hey thats illegal, theoretically you could tell them that you took an SR20DE from a Sentra, mounted it north/south, and bought a turbo kit. Wouldnt that work?