Engine Swaps

Eric Schumacher e.schumacher at postoffice.worldnet.att.net
Fri Oct 10 05:07:18 GMT 1997


Participants in this thread on engine swapping (a subject near and dear to
this Californians heart) are missing a key point in the reasoning behind the
way the CA law is executed. First a key point. Passing a tailpipe sniffer
test at a smog station does not does not functionally verify that a vehicle
meets the legally mandated emission requirements. To do that requires
passing a federally defined drive cycle test. Last I knew that test costs
about $35,000 (they collect all the exhausted gas during the drive cycle in
a plastic bag and analyze it.)  The sniffer test only verifies that the
emission controls are working as designed, ASSUMING ALL EMMISIONS RELATED
COMPONENTS ARE STILL IN PLACE AND WORKING.  That is why the requirement that
the system appear stock is a valid one.  Sniffer testing is easy to pass
because it doesn't prove much.

>From the hot rodders perspective it is important to know how the system
works if you want to game the system.  We may not like it but it is
reasonable in its execution.  The fundamental assumptions on which the law
is based may be flawed (like getting blood out of a stone) but the
bureaucrats are in this case executing the law reasonably.

I have run several engine swaps thru the CA referee process and have passed
on the first try in all cases so far.  It helps to be paranoid. Note that
the referees are in a different class than the normal bi-annual smog
checkers.  My experience is that they understand emissions systems well,
know what each component looks like and how it is used. Once you have
successfully passed thru the referee process however, you never have to do
it again. Things are much more flexible at the bi-annuals, if you get my
drift. My advice is to put the whole system, from the original vehicle, into
the new vehicle. That includes things like the charcoal canister and its
related fuel tank plumbing. Don't move the cat around too much (referees
know they don't work very well when they are too far from the exhaust
valves.) I would speculate that serial numbers on blocks are not as
important as the appearance and assertion that every thing is 'stock' and as
original (it also might help if the SN is hard to read.)  The referee will
attach a plate to your car listing the various smog components that must be
in place at the bi-annual inspections. Who is to say at that point what an
'EGR valve' looks like or even a catalytic converter (or where it is located.)

Just accept the fact that certification  might have to be a two step process
and a lot of the stock factory stuff works pretty good.  It is useful to
remember that the federal emissions test cycle doesn't even evaluate full
throttle conditions and other than good driveability,  that is all that most
of the readers of this post are passionate about anyway.  What happens in
the privacy of your own WOT is only your own business, isn't that what
DIY-EFI is all about.
Lotsa Luck Eric
85 GTI with VR6 power




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