jDM H23A smog legal in CA yes or no?

[deevergote]

See, this is the downside to zombie threads. We now have someone asking for pictures of something that was mentioned over a year ago, regarding a member that wasn't even a part of this thread.

[Accrdwgnguy]

See, this is the downside to zombie threads. We now have someone asking for pictures of something that was mentioned over a year ago, regarding a member that wasn't even a part of this thread.

Then I guess there is no point in this "search" thing everyone keeps mentioning around here?

[Madpol]

ok what do you mean by Smoging a car?
and what is Bard?

[jhoff]

Then I guess there is no point in this "search" thing everyone keeps mentioning around here?

Search is used to answer questions.
If the questions is not answered, then you start a new thread.

[deevergote]

ok what do you mean by Smoging a car?
and what is Bard?

"Smogging" a car is essentially an emissions test. BAR is the Bureau of Automotive Repair. They essentially mean the same thing, and really only apply to California. The rest of the US has much more lenient requirements for inspection, engine swaps, emissions, etc... Some states have no legal requirements at all, in fact.

[4CYLPOWER92]

That is one lucky guy. Who is this guy btw i'm curious to see his setup?


If the ref was doing his job correctly, he would scan and check the serial code on the ECU itself. My ref even went as far as asking for a service record direct from a Honda dealer mechanic clearly stating that the part is indeed a California compliant ECU.

Well his screen name is Starkrice and there are pictures of his car and engine bay on the site somewhere.

Ref are just techs and they don't know everything. You, or the Ref for example, might think that a California ECU or even a USDM ECU cause the engine to have less emissions and run cleaner than with a JDM ECU. Totally false. I have both a California P13 and a JDM P13 and ran the smog with each one without changing any other parts. Results were the same. Turned out I needed a new Cat. The last time I did smog I did it with the JDM P13 and I had almost zero emissions across the board.

If Ref's would care more about how clean the car runs and less about nit picking details of parts it would save everyone a lot of headache and cost.

[Accrdwgnguy]

Well, its not the Ref its the law.

[deevergote]

The ref makes the call, though. Some are lazy. Some are lenient. Some are shady.

[Accrdwgnguy]

Thats anywhere, tho. We have visual inspections here for emissions equipment, and I have no cat on the Accord. My inspection guy would just check safety items (brakes, etc) and would tell me, "You really should have a cat on there" while applying the fresh inspection sticker.

[deevergote]

Exactly. Some places are strict, some are not. Some states come down harder on those that don't adhere to the letter of the law. CA is one of those. NJ is pretty strict as well. Anyone found passing cars that shouldn't pass can get heavy fines, and lose their license to inspect (which, at $63 for 5 minutes of work, is a pretty sweet gig!)

[Accrdwgnguy]

Well, the difference here is no cop is going to pop your hood and crawl around the car. They'll pull you over for a loud exhaust, and tell you to get it fixed, maybe even give a fix-it ticket for the exhaust.

California is just overboard on everything.

[deevergote]

In terms of law, California is usually the front runner. If they do it, other states will eventually follow. That's what my business law professor said, anyway.

[Madpol]

"Smogging" a car is essentially an emissions test. BAR is the Bureau of Automotive Repair. They essentially mean the same thing, and really only apply to California. The rest of the US has much more lenient requirements for inspection, engine swaps, emissions, etc... Some states have no legal requirements at all, in fact.

AHH
thankyou.
sounds a bit like what we call a Cert or a low volume certificate of fitness which you have to have if your engine swap gives you a 30% increase in power minimum and when you go for a cert you have to have everything else up to scratch like brake upgrades for the power increase....basically any mods have to be listed and done properly other wise you cant drive on the road legally and if the cops pull you over you can have your car impounded and a massive fine given. from what i have heard you even have to have a cat put on for a cert.
BUT lucky so far i have managed to dodge having to have a cert even with the H22 because it looks so factory in the accord even with our 6 monthly checks we have to go through we call a WoF or warrant of fitness i have still passed .
the emissions law hasn't really hit NZ yet but isn't far off but we still one of the worlds strictest countries when it comes to vehicle compliance.

the cost of a cert here is $500 and if you fail you have to pay another $500 i think for a recheck once you have corrected what was wrong.
they go as far as a DB level check on your exhaust :P

[Warudakumi]

Well his screen name is Starkrice and there are pictures of his car and engine bay on the site somewhere.

Ref are just techs and they don't know everything. You, or the Ref for example, might think that a California ECU or even a USDM ECU cause the engine to have less emissions and run cleaner than with a JDM ECU. Totally false. I have both a California P13 and a JDM P13 and ran the smog with each one without changing any other parts. Results were the same. Turned out I needed a new Cat. The last time I did smog I did it with the JDM P13 and I had almost zero emissions across the board.

If Ref's would care more about how clean the car runs and less about nit picking details of parts it would save everyone a lot of headache and cost.

That is very interesting to know. I would imagine that a JDM H22a will of course run better with it's own JDM P13 however putting in a USDM P13 I imagine the fuel maps are in fact different and would cause a JDM engine to run "not as efficient" because of the slightly higher compression it has. To me that is almost like running a H23 with a F23 ecu sorta. That little percent I needed to pass the sniffer I bet that really didn't help me at all. If I would've thought about it at the time, I would've swapped the ECU housing.

Oh and my H22a is in perfectly sound condition. The techs were just being asses and didn't even allow to keep my car "ON" in between tests to keep the cat hot where it's more efficient.

[deevergote]

I ran a JDM P13 with my H22... mileage still sucked.