LS-VTEC pass smog in california?

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moonie

New Member
Wow, that sucks, LSV's are awesome to have, but it doesn't pass huh?? Sorry, no answer, but a quick question.. Anyways, i was thinking, what if you change the obvious looks to stock like the intake, head cover, ecu so that vtec won't kick in, anything that will risk giving you more power to what the stock is suppose to have. Couldn't you do that and pass? after you've pass then put all those obvious stuff back on. Kind of like taking a turbo off and on when time to smog your car..
 
It's like putting the beast to sleep and waking it back up. If anyone knows that this doesn't work no matter what it takes because of experience, please, i'd very appreciate an opinion on this trick to pass an LS Vtec.. Thank you.
 
hey moonie, i moved your posts to a new thread so that you will get a better response from the members here. instead of a bumping an old thread, just start a new one and we will answer your questions accordingly.

now, an answer to your question:
the problem with your idea is two things,
1. the stock dohc valve cover cannot be exchanged with a SOHC (what originally came with your car) cover.
2. the car will not run right with a non vtec ecu, and will fail emissions.

hope this helps answer your question, welcome to the site!
 
Its "possible" if it has the right ECU (not some chipped rich burning POS) and passes the sniffer along with all the smog stuff on it (cat, O2, Evap Purge) But if you take it to a smog guy who knows about Honda motors....no. I would run a stock header with heat shield and the OEM air box. A car that is half primer and slammed is a negative lol (not saying your ride is looking like this)
 
CAFROG it is not possible to pass smog w/ an ls/vtec in CA.. unless you pay someone to do it dirty or you go to some hick town smog shop that never sees hondas
 
but what about getting a BAR certification from a local college? some dude i know said something about this when he got a ticket for an illegal mod motor. not sure what all was done on his car cause it always ran like shit but he had to go to the college auto shop for a BAR certificate i think it was. has anyone heard of this?
 
yea.. i've BAR'd my jdm b16.. but there is absolutely no way in hell anyone is ever going to pass an ls/vtec at a BAR station..
 
what is required for a vehicle to pass a BAR certification? they actually have emmission requirements for diesel trucks now here in california. i've worked in that industry and had meetings and conferences with the california air resource board (CARB). now that was on diesel emmissioins but basically a diesel engine has to pass a tailpipe output test and an equipment test/inspection. so with that being for diesel engines, do you think that maybe they would pass a BAR certification in a 1994 SOHC civic with an engine mod sporting a 1999 DOHC honda motor IF all the emmission equipment was in place, working properly AND the vehicle passed a tiil pipe output test? have you heard of any one doing that?
 
been done plenty.. you can BAR a k20 in a civic, but its a whole lot more work because i believe you need to swap the gas tank and the gauge cluster from and RSXs
 
yeah i figured you would neet to at least use the fuel pump and assembly for it. maybe a custom tank could be built as long as it has all the emissions stuff from the stock tank. as for the gauges you could probably rewire the gauges and harness together but it would have to be done by someone who really understands wire diagrams and electrical schematics. so it is possible then huh?
 
Im pretty lucky the guy that does my smogs he will pass the visual no matter what it has on it , and my car passes clean and its a ZC/Z6 mini me with a no name intake and header.
 
CAFROG it is not possible to pass smog w/ an ls/vtec in CA.. unless go to some hick town smog shop that never sees hondas

Exactly. I guess I live in he vecinity of hick towns. I have smogged a B series in my hatch since 2000 (so 5 times) at 4 different places with no worries and no BAR sticker. So in terms of a LS/VTEC it is the same situation if all things are there. Nor-Cal is a little different when it comes to that. They ask what kind of car it is lol
 
passing smog, and getting your car 'barred' are two different things.
although passing smog is on of the first steps...
must not be a truck motor (b20, etc.)
must not be from older car than what you put it into.
must have a usdm counterpart if it's jdm, and usdm ecu, im, exhaust.
if it's usdm, must have all stock ecu (not chipped), im, exhaust
bar ref must like what he sees, or he can fail you.
nothing about carb legal aftermarket parts, but its like going to a job interview wearing just dirty underwear.
i'm sure there's more, but that's the basics.
 
passing smog, and getting your car 'barred' are two different things.
although passing smog is on of the first steps...
must not be a truck motor (b20, etc.)
must not be from older car than what you put it into.
must have a usdm counterpart if it's jdm, and usdm ecu, im, exhaust.
if it's usdm, must have all stock ecu (not chipped), im, exhaust
bar ref must like what he sees, or he can fail you.
nothing about carb legal aftermarket parts, but its like going to a job interview wearing just dirty underwear.
i'm sure there's more, but that's the basics.
thanks for clerifying that. do you know where i might find all the rules regarding getting a vehicle barred? i'm a consultant for CARB on diesel emmision technology but building hondas to pass the BAR inspections is something i'm looking at doing to expand my business
 
i know that now, they've made a new law as far a motor swaps... your car can use a JDM motor IF the usdm version came in the car from the factory..

so you can use a JDM GSR in a USDM GSR... buuut, you cant use a JDm b16 in a 94 Civic.. you can use any usdm swap though.. so if you have a USDM type r motor, you can bar that in any pre 01 civic/integra
 
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