SR legality rumors

[SupraHeroZ]

Im from the southern california area, so this is pretty much directed to the people that live in the same area or california in general.

Anyway, a few months back I learned that cartune (shop in the area) was working on actually trying to make an SR20DET swap street legal but they ran into some problems. Does anyone know if any other shops in california were or are working on the same thing?

Or perhaps does anyone know any tricks or tips that would actually make an SR20DET swap legal in california? The only one I know of is dropping one in a datsun 510, since they are so old that they dont need to be smogged, but if anyone has any suggestions or tricks for swaping a SR20 into a 240 and keeping the law off your back, I'd appreciate it if you shared the info, thanks.

[stillmatic]

Quote »How old does a vehicle have to be to qualify for a smog exemption?

Vehicles with a year model 30 years old or older are exempt from the smog certification requirements.

Example: The calendar year is 2003- 29 = 1974 exempt year model

The current calendar year minus 29 equals the year model exempt from smog certification.

SOURCE: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/smogfaq.htm#BM2535[/quote]

So in year 2018, an 89 240sx will be smog exempt in California and you won't have to worry about getting caught with an SR swap .

[lok]

So in year 2018, an 89 240sx will be smog exempt in California and you won't have to worry about getting caught with an SR swap .

Something to look forward too for all the people out in California.

[180fan]

aw yeah, 2018, shiet man that's just around the corner! *cries with face in hands*

[Phax]

This thread is timely. I was just talking about the 30 year rule in California with my mechanic. At that point I realized I only have to wait until 2022 for my 92 S13 to be legal. It will have been long since retired by then though. Maybe my kid can have it as their first car.... not.

I then wondered how long people in other states have to wait for it to be legal. At that point I realized, living in California sucks.

[Supafly]

GA is 25 years to be classified as a "classic car" and be exempt from smog. but with the way the smog laws have been going they'll be smogging everything back to 1975 and they'll crush anything that doesn't pass before your very eyes:eek:

[JustinStrife]

Basically unless u live in a county that doesn't have smog requirements, you can get by with it. Otherwise you're screwed.

[IneedMoney]

in oregon we have ez smog test if we have any!

[crzycav86]

What exactly is the reason it can't pass smog tests?

My understanding is that it's because not all the fuel is being burned, and this unburned fuel is harmful to the environment.

So you have to somehow make the fuel get burned, or add less fuel.. right?

This is gonna sound dumb, but I think it'll work in theory. In order to make less fuel go in, you could lower the boost or eliminate it all together, put smaller injectors, take out the intercooler(less air = less fuel), or make the intake more restrictive. Although it's harmful to the engine, it may survive long enough for you to pass your smog tests.

I also had an idea that you could burn the extra fuel after it left the engine, or have extra cats to make the gases less harmful...

These are a bunch of ideas that might work as a fix long enough to pass the test.. but I doubt they could be efficiently implemented.

[JustinStrife]

I'd love for the SR20 or any of the japanese engines to be smog legal here. It would make things so much easier/convenient for us car tuners.

I wish I knew just how harmful the Japanese motors are in comparison with ours. Maybe they burn cleaner?

[hadokenny]

From my understanding most japanese engines burn just as clean as the engines in the US. The only reason that they dont pass emission is because we dont have those engines in our USDM cars.

[180fan]

I know for California, they definitely don't pass visual. From what I can tell from what emissions I've seen from other s13's, they should be able to pass CA emissions if it weren't for the visual. The later engines had an EGR and other more complicated emissions control systems which would put a hamper on things. But yeah, I think there's more to it than just that. Isn't there some kind of EPA testing that needs to be done on the engines and what not?

[solaris22]

There's always swapping into an older car, I've been tossing around the idea of buying a 240z, 260z, or 280z. 500lbs lighter then an s13, near 50/50 weight dist. and no legality troubles. A 500rwhp SR in a car that light.....yummy

[JustinStrife]

In California the car has to be 30 years old to not have to go through the smog process. So anything newer then 1973 you still have to smog... From what I remember that counts out 260z's and 280's

[Jonny 290]

30 years since '74 240z....

yeah, i could do something with one of those.

[JustinStrife]

A friend of mine was gonna RB one of them before he decided on an 86' hatch.

I hate to say it but I'd rather have the 86 then the old Z's...

[solaris22]

what? I think the old Zs look awesome when hooked up properly. Plus they're a dime a dozen, you can even buy a fully restored one for $3,000 or so. I'm leaning more and more towards it.

[GTS4-R]

This thread is timely. I was just talking about the 30 year rule in California with my mechanic. At that point I realized I only have to wait until 2022 for my 92 S13 to be legal. It will have been long since retired by then though. Maybe my kid can have it as their first car.... not.

I then wondered how long people in other states have to wait for it to be legal. At that point I realized, living in California sucks.

Living in cali suckz??!!....Hey I'll trade spors with in a a heartbeat.....lets see you live in Long Beach Cali....HA LOL.....I bet thats rough....*wink*.....U can drive your car 365 days a year and the beach is alwayz jumpin.....i get 6 months IF I'M LUCKY!....lets see..........this friday the low temp up here is gonna be NEGATIVE 20 degrees WITHOUT wind chill.....(you think livin in NH is worth the tradeoff of no emission testing?)please appreciate where your at cause i wish i was there.....PS. NH SUX!

[JustinStrife]

We had it around 70 degrees today clear sunny skies. it was beautiful

Could always just buy a skyline from motorex and call it a day. But that's a downpayment on a house lol

[GTS4-R]

thanx for rubbing it in.....I'm FREEZING up here!

[JustinStrife]

Hey no problem.

I got family in Minnesota so I know how cold it can get(also visited an ex in New York middle of December 3 years back). It's safe to say I won't be doing that again if I can help it. I'm spoiled and proud. I like being able to go outside in a shirt and shorts and need my Oakley Sunglasses cause of the sun. I just wish girls in general down here were a bit nicer and down to earth. Oh well every place has it's ups and downs...

[GTS4-R]

girls are stuck up snobs up here......when we visited cali every1 was more laid back and LESS anal like up here.....the girls would approach us.....up here u have to chase em down....LOL

[JustinStrife]

They are generally more laid back here, but I also believe that's more general among all Californians(or at least the southern ones)

[pric65]

I'm not sure about your californian (and US laws), but we have two options:1.You just have to get a little paper called 'building permit' from the Department of Transportation (or whatever its called. you know what i mean), before you get the paper you must discuss your planned mods thoroughly with their mechanics, who will then advise you how to do it all legaly. After the work is finished, they inspect the car, make sure it's up to all standarts and voilà: you got one mean ride and all that legaly.Downsides:works as long as the modifications dont go over a certain limit (dont remember ecactly, but about 60-70% of the cars needs to remain stock). And the legal process to get the permit can take a long time,

2.You found a company that does SR swaps into Nissans, you get some licenses, and then your company can register the cars not as Nissans, but as a new brand (i.e. NICO S14). This option costs considerably more than first, but you can change even 100%.Downsides:Isn't worth the money if planning to do only a few swaps.

[Puchi]

My 1990 240 will be "historic" and Maryland smog exempt in 2010. It will be 20 years old and no longer manufactured

[cybernyte]

whats this i hear about the government putting out random smog tests? i just heard this from someone and i cant believe it.

[Puchi]

It'd be a state regulation, contact your legislator to find out if that is true or not.

[usdm_180sx]

What exactly is the reason it can't pass smog tests?

My understanding is that it's because not all the fuel is being burned, and this unburned fuel is harmful to the environment.

So you have to somehow make the fuel get burned, or add less fuel.. right?

This is gonna sound dumb, but I think it'll work in theory. In order to make less fuel go in, you could lower the boost or eliminate it all together, put smaller injectors, take out the intercooler(less air = less fuel), or make the intake more restrictive. Although it's harmful to the engine, it may survive long enough for you to pass your smog tests.

I also had an idea that you could burn the extra fuel after it left the engine, or have extra cats to make the gases less harmful...

These are a bunch of ideas that might work as a fix long enough to pass the test.. but I doubt they could be efficiently implemented.

The sr engine does run cleaner than most engines here. However, it was never federalized so that's why it's illegal. I have heard rumors of a shop that will be federalizing them But that's just hearsay for now...

[karay240]

here's another reason why they're not legal. The emission laws are different b/w the US and the rest of the developed world. Japan and Europe look for different things coming out of the tail pipe than do the officials in the US. Don't ask me why. I have no Idea. I just watched a show that had auto engineers whining about how it's easy to satisfy one or the other, but it very difficult and expensive to build a performance engine that passes both regulations. That's why many of times, the emission devices on US spec models and other spec models are slightly different. Again, I have not checked this out so there may be some discreptancies due to my lack of knowledge in emission systems, but it made sense to me.The only thing I like about AR is that there are NO emission testings or inspection what so ever. As long as there's a muffler, and no bottle, it's legal. Many people keep the outer housing of the cat just in case.

[DGA]

#1. We would not have this problem if Nissan stuck a right engine in our cars to begin with.

#2. Keep your car fairly quiet so that you do not get pulled over for that. If you do not get pulled over, no one can check under your hood.

#3. Keep your KA very close, and get really good with swapping that engine in and out to pass your emissions.

I will probably moving to Cali from Washington state in a few years, and that is something that I am not looking forward to at all. I like my Nissan, so I think that I will just keep the Washington plates on it, and make a drive back home every two years for a new sticker and my emissions. I can say that Cali always has to be different, no matter what, and its always at the expense of the people.

Hey, does anyone know if Sport Compact Car's, black S13 is registered?