Why are JDM motors illegal?

[w1ngzer0]

Is it the whole smog thing? No data on emitions or what? I talked to a cop the other day and has no idea why they are illegal and think it's shens

[IvoryJ30t]

because the EPA hasnt gotten their grubby little hands on them to run all sorts of tests.

they are illegal becuase the feds have no emissions data on them. they arent "certified" to power a USDM vehicle.

its all bull**** and politics.

[w1ngzer0]

if a certified smog technician did all the tests and made it complient... whats the big deal? Or what about joe smo that has a cat from say a STI and droped an SR20 into their 240sx and meets emitions standards...

I still think there is away. And i find some interesting paperwork on the skyline conversions from DOT.

[IvoryJ30t]

that has nothing to do with it.

no car has been sold in america with the sr20det. therefore the government has never seen it, nor performed any tests on it.

its illegal because it hasnt be specified as legal.

the government wont allow you to LEGALLY use a motor that they dont know about.

even though the motor might pass emissions, that does not make it compliant.

[240droptop]

Thats why you need to move up to Canada I am in the process of ordering my s13 Black top for my 240sx

[Jesda]

Hell, move to FL or TN. You could throw a steam engine under the hood and no one would care. :P

[Andrew300zx]

you guys with swaps all tell your insurance company the cars are stock? if I continue to stay jointly insured with my wifes car, I have to carry comp and collision and get car inspected

[w1ngzer0]

that won't help you will still be in the same boat. Why? DOT is controlled by canadian car laws.....................

[240marcuSX]

i dont tell the govt about my modifications, good ol' countryside, inspections here are a joke.

[Onizuka]

In most states, if it says "nissan" on the valve cover, and it passes emissions, no one really cares.

[yelnatsch517]

Yea, I have the same question. Why are they illegal? Just because there have not been tests done? So what, who gives a crap. How does having no tests done harm anyone? Aren't laws here to protect us? How does making ENGINES illegal help us or protect us in any way at all? I agree, its all politics. I say we just fire them all and form a new government that actually does what its supposed to. Laws like these are about as stupid as the people trying to get McDonalds to drop their super size meals. Who gives a rats *** that Americans are over weight. They are not over weight because of super size meals, they are over weight because they have problems, mental or physical. Laws like this only waste money and time (get them passed) and strips away what little freedom we have left in this forsaken country.

Laws illegalizing talkin on a cellphone and driving is just absurd. Just because some people can't do it doesn't mean you have to make it illegal. Thats like saying you can't eat while you drive. Next thing you know, they will be making laws illegalizing listening to the radio while you drive because some types of music promote road rage. Some people can drive, some can't. That is what the driver license is for. If you want to make a law, try making the test harder to filter out the people who can't drive. I think America is heading in the wrong direction and if this keeps up, this country will be dead in 50 years or less.

***end rant***

[The Mic]

i thought they didnt allow the srs bc they overheated too easily in the states???? and the bullplop politics too

[yelnatsch517]

i thought they didnt allow the srs bc they overheated too easily in the states???? and the bullplop politics too

That's exactly what I'm saying. Because they OVERHEAT? That is the lamest reason. Who cares they overheat. Let a few people buy them and let them learn their lesson. They don't need to OUTLAW it just because it overheats. Seriously, the US government is basically treating the public like a child. They are babying us, thinking we can't make decisions for ourselves. Sorry people, but this country is no longer the land of the free.

[Jesda]

Unsafe at any speed!

[HIM12514]

Hold on just one second, since when is sr20det illegal in the states? I never heard about that. Besides people have them around here (san antonio) and I'm not exactly sure but I'm pretty sure they didn't have to go through anthing to get them smog legal or legel at all for that matter. Is it just in areas where they test emissions or is it everywhere? And is it all JDM motors, or is it just the sr20det? Because my friend just got a b16 to put into his crx and he didn't have to do anything, he just had it shipped and that was that.

[IvoryJ30t]

ALL JDM motors are illegal for use in pollution controlled motor vehicles.

its perfectly legal to buy and sell JDM motors. but as soon as you put said motor in a car registered for street use in the US, you are breaking federal laws.

due to the fact that it says "nissan" on the valve cover, it gets overlooked.

if an all-knowing inspector was to look over any car with a JDM engine, it would be declared illegal for street use.

[IvoryJ30t]

the only way around it is if you were to buy the exact replacement JDM engine as the USDM car was originally equipped with, and transferred all pollution controls over to the JDM engine essentially making it identical to its USDM counterpart.

[Cold_Zero]

I prefer the dont tell dont ask policy. How will an emissions tech now what an engine should look like for every car? To be honest, if a Hyundai has a engine in the engine bay, it must have come with it.

I think that this issue kinda boils down to governemental control. What the local/state/federal government can tell you what you can and can not do. I get frustrated with all the people that talk about politicians and how great they are. How great they are at telling you what you can and can not do with your car or anything else. It would be nice to have some politicians that get off every's back and are not Socialistic. Both Democrats and Republicans are a bunch of Socialists. Someone needs to save us (not from ourselves) but from them.

(Just a side note about my rant. The newly elected Republicans in our state are already talking about tax increase to fix our budget problems. This after the democrats raised taxes two years ago. Yeah I'm pissed, but the sick people in our state have the "Rolls Royce" of perscription health plans. )

[SDRonEbay]

Have it shipped over in pieces labeled as 'Cocaine'. By the time they finish apologizing for having you and your family hemmed up for mistaking you for an international drug smuggler, they'll forget all about the engine.

[SDRonEbay]

Actually you've just sparked my interest. You see I refuse to believe that there aren't special interests who can have these vehicles imported as is. I think we should find out what kind of loopholes there are in this.

[IvoryJ30t]

hahahaha

in all reality, no one will care.

but TECHNICALLY, its illegal.

[Altiman94]

I'd rather see a balanced budget than the comeback of reaganomics

[Jesda]

I have yet to try a frozen yogurt.

[yelnatsch517]

Yea, I couldn't care less about the law except the fact that cops in my area recognize the SR20. Just my luck huh? I guess that is because there are so many asian people in my area, and many of them like to fix up their cars.

Actually you've just sparked my interest. You see I refuse to believe that there aren't special interests who can have these vehicles imported as is. I think we should find out what kind of loopholes there are in this.

Yea, love the way you think. Hahha, that is the way I think. If there are laws, there are ways around them. Just have to find them. Ok, so are there any lawyers or such in NICO who can help us?

Hold on just one second, since when is sr20det illegal in the states? I never heard about that. Besides people have them around here (san antonio) and I'm not exactly sure but I'm pretty sure they didn't have to go through anthing to get them smog legal or legel at all for that matter. Is it just in areas where they test emissions or is it everywhere? And is it all JDM motors, or is it just the sr20det? Because my friend just got a b16 to put into his crx and he didn't have to do anything, he just had it shipped and that was that.

SR20det's are illegal in almost every state. Any state that has emission laws outlaws it. Just because your friend did a swap does not mean it is legal. It merely means he hopes he can get away with it , as do so many people. But see, this is one of the laws I don't mess with since of the stupid cops. I am not nearly rich enough to have my car impounded every time I did an engine swap. Its a no questions asked policy around here. If they see it and recognize it, your car is gone forever. Boo to the politians.

I prefer the dont tell dont ask policy. How will an emissions tech now what an engine should look like for every car? To be honest, if a Hyundai has a engine in the engine bay, it must have come with it.

I think that this issue kinda boils down to governemental control. What the local/state/federal government can tell you what you can and can not do. I get frustrated with all the people that talk about politicians and how great they are. How great they are at telling you what you can and can not do with your car or anything else. It would be nice to have some politicians that get off every's back and are not Socialistic. Both Democrats and Republicans are a bunch of Socialists. Someone needs to save us (not from ourselves) but from them.

(Just a side note about my rant. The newly elected Republicans in our state are already talking about tax increase to fix our budget problems. This after the democrats raised taxes two years ago. Yeah I'm pissed, but the sick people in our state have the "Rolls Royce" of perscription health plans. )

man. But see it is partially the public's fault. Politicians nowadays could care less about the issues. They are greedy. They try to pass whatever gets them money and support. Where our fault (public) comes in is our ignorance. Too many ignorant people. Oooh, yea. Lets increase taxes so we can tax whatever little money the hard working people of this nation make and give them to the poor lazy people who just leech off of the government. Seriously I totally agree with what one of my teachers said to me once. He basically said that because of all these law to help the poor people, so many people just become lazy and leech. Instead of working hard to support a family, many (not going to name any nationalities here, but you all know who they are) **** around here rather just have a whole bunch of kids and breeze through life using OUR money. These people don't care if they aren't rich, they have a better life than the life they came from. If you think about it, what incentive do these people have of even trying to make a decent living? They have no skill or education of any sort and need to make what many of us consider a nice income of $80,000 (estimate) to support the 20 million kids they have. They don't have a chance in hell to make that kind of money and so they just have more kids (easier to leech) and leech away.

[DAEDALUS]

Well that post sure went off on its own.Too many kids = "geneological emissions"?Politicians won't let you buy an SR20 because they're greedy and they want that money for themselves? As a SoCal resident I would think you could appreciate the need for pollution controls on all of the millions of vehicles in this state. http://rds.yahoo.com/S=5372027....htmlThere is always sound reasoning behind laws, though what exactly gets passed may be out of line with the original intent or disagreeable to some. Laws almost never pass unanimously. I'm sure the laws that prevent you from legally buying an SR20 had some members of congress voting against it. And certainly the laws could be improved. I don't see anything wrong with an SR20 that passes smog, but the system is not sophisticated enough to allow for this without abuse.Realize that all members of all car clubs are just a small slice of the population.

[JDMaholic]

(Just a side note about my rant. The newly elected Republicans in our state are already talking about tax increase to fix our budget problems. This after the democrats raised taxes two years ago. Yeah I'm pissed, but the sick people in our state have the "Rolls Royce" of perscription health plans. )

What you don't like "My man Mitch" I mean he rode all over the state in an RV, he must me a good guy, lol <was sarcasm if you couldn't tell. Ya, it's a little risky when you elect an executive from a drug company and he appoints another one from the same company. I don't really have a problem with Daniels or the tax increases if they went for things people needed. It's the dumb@ss projects Indiana spends money on. Oh man you got me worked up, I'll just post the worst examples off the top of my head, casue if I do anymore I wouldn't be able to quit.

1. Build a "highspeed train" from Lafayette to Chicago that cost 8billion+, HELLO, I go to Purdue in Lafayette, it's tiny, nobody wants to come here and it's surrounded by cornfirelds all the way to Gary. Good going INDOT, I work for the INDOT research dept, and I could see how an idea like this comes up, idiots can't agree on good project so they come up with something that benefits no one. I mean seriously this thing might get a budget approved for it

Sorry for sabataging the thread but I couldn't help myself

[yelnatsch517]

Yea, I agree that smog is bad, but there are already laws on emissions. Why have laws that make SR20's illegal? If they can't pass smog, they can't pass. That law in itself will prevent people from using them. There is no need for redudancy. SR20's and other JDM engines aren't illegal only because of emissions. Even if they pass, they are still illegal and that is the part that doesn't make any sense. Also, there was an article some where, need to look for it, that showed a study saying pollution from cars make up less than 10% of the pollution. The rest are from industry. Only problem is, if they pass "emission laws" on the industry, many of them will most likely move out of state. California has the strictest emission laws by far, but we still suffer from pollution. I admit we have a lot of cars, but we also have a lot of area. If you look at NY, you'll see that the ratio is not that much different, but they don't suffer as badly as we do. Why, because they are mostly business not industry. That just shows how little of an effect automotive emissions have on the overall state of pollution.

[w1ngzer0]

what you meen cole power plants have nothing to do with it? :P Or what about those smokey stacks all over the place before you hit bakersfield or that place before san fran with 6 flags theme park... i forgot what that place was... lol

[Gold Digger]

Hey, I don't know how much truth there is behind this, but I heard this once a couple years ago, that Japan has stricter emissions than California, so if that's the case, JDM engines should be G2G.

[PalmerWMD]

i thought they didnt allow the srs bc they overheated too easily in the states???? and the bullplop politics too

That is not accurate.Its a EPA certification issue

Fred...