i love cali

[GreenMachine]

so I had a "gross polluter" tag put on all the cars registered in my name in cluding the mx. Here are my PASSING results from a test only station in cali...

......... co2... o2... HC... CO... No... rpm
15mph 15.1 .2 124/31/109 .78/.10/.16 815/237/806 1890
25mph 15.1 .0 98/ 20/ 42 .66/.09/.03 754/199/91 2117

max/ave/measured

so it can be done in california!

it was done with a straight neck klze, curved neck manifold, de vaf, probinator chip and the hei module hiddin under the stock mx air box.

Im super excited, klze is awesome, and after finally getting to drive the ze on the open road, the k8 isnt even worth mentioning any more....

[Juans_93_MX3]

Awesome, great to hear. Someone should murder all these tree huggers.

Did you modify your manifold for the EGR?

Im going to be runnning straight neck aswell

Also, why are you running a DE Vaf?
Dosent a K8 VAF work aswell?

[Audessy]

If he's got a 92 like mine the ecu won't chip right. You have to use a probe vaf with it. I think that's why. I just bought a kl36 and am crossing my fingers.

[Mooneggs]

Im super excited, klze is awesome, and after finally getting to drive the ze on the open road, the k8 isnt even worth mentioning any more....

that's cool you got the klze to pass in cali! I might be moving there sometime in the future and I would love to be able to drive my car there...

yeah k8's are slow after driving a ze... (I hope my slow car doesn't hear me )

[mr1in6billion]

That's just the smog. It's the refs you have to watch out for =( Those guys are brutal.

Glad to see you passed though. That's the great part about having swaps that look just like the origional.

[Juans_93_MX3]

That's just the smog. It's the refs you have to watch out for =( Those guys are brutal.

Glad to see you passed though. That's the great part about having swaps that look just like the origional.

What are refs?

Arent there many people that get their MX3s to pass emissions on KLDEs and KLZEs ether way?

Besides having to do a mod for the EGR. What does a KLZE do that prevents it from passing emissions?

[2fazed]

That's just the smog. It's the refs you have to watch out for =( Those guys are brutal.

Glad to see you passed though. That's the great part about having swaps that look just like the origional.

What are refs?

Arent there many people that get their MX3s to pass emissions on KLDEs and KLZEs ether way?

Besides having to do a mod for the EGR. What does a KLZE do that prevents it from passing emissions?

KLZE is not the original engine. The smog tag under your hood doesn't match it. To have a legal smog, you have to go to the smog referee. They check it out, and if you pass, they give you a match smog tag on your hood. No swapprd engines can pass legally without the smog referee. But most people go to shops that will pass them for the money, or they don't pay attention. In GreenMachines case, he used the curved neck, with is similar to the stock IM. I assume he put an EGR in, so unless they really looked at the labels on the engine, they smogged it as a K8.

[mr1in6billion]

What are refs?

Arent there many people that get their MX3s to pass emissions on KLDEs and KLZEs ether way?

Every 2 years you have to take your car to get smoged. The guys who do smogs crank people through. They have a basic check list (egr - check, stock intake - check, etc) and they run the sniff test. Since nobody knows every car and they are just glancing over you can get away pretty easy with a KL since it looks stock. Unless you have things like shiny pipes, stickers, and whistling noises you'll pass the visual (or you can just pay the guy).

If a cop pops your hood and spots shiny things you get sent to a ref (different than a smog place). These guys check EVERYTHING. They run all the stamps, numbers, etc. It's pretty much impossible to get things by them and they generally can't be bought out (they work in groups to avoid this).

There are legal swaps. You can swap in an engine from a newer year car of the same model. You can also apply to have your car bar certified, but there are so many restrictions, lack of information, paperwork, fees, and hoops to jump through that no one bothers.

[Juans_93_MX3]

What are refs?

Arent there many people that get their MX3s to pass emissions on KLDEs and KLZEs ether way?

Every 2 years you have to take your car to get smoged. The guys who do smogs crank people through. They have a basic check list (egr - check, stock intake - check, etc) and they run the sniff test. Since nobody knows every car and they are just glancing over you can get away pretty easy with a KL since it looks stock. Unless you have things like shiny pipes, stickers, and whistling noises you'll pass the visual (or you can just pay the guy).

If a cop pops your hood and spots shiny things you get sent to a ref (different than a smog place). These guys check EVERYTHING. They run all the stamps, numbers, etc. It's pretty much impossible to get things by them and they generally can't be bought out (they work in groups to avoid this).

There are legal swaps. You can swap in an engine from a newer year car of the same model. You can also apply to have your car bar certified, but there are so many restrictions, lack of information, paperwork, fees, and hoops to jump through that no one bothers.

WOW

So say you turbo your car, you cant pass? That sucks
Why would cops check your hood?
I hear in Cali they only do that if your street racing

Damn, I should of probably ordered my KLZE from a 94 Millenia instead of a 93?

Oh well, nothing to worry about, they dont go that far here in Utah. We do visuals, inspections and safety.

[Mooneggs]

I've read articles about these refs in different tuner magazines. Most of them really know what to look for or used to be tuners themselves and know what most engines are! (mostly about hondas)...

Isn't it like if you are really speeding or something or they suspect a swapped motor they can ask you to pop your hood? I mean if you are doing nothing illegal can they still do that??

[GreenMachine]

Yeah if your speeding and pop your hood for the officer, they can write you up for "illegal smog device" and you have to go to the dreaded smog ref.

[2fazed]

it's funny, I was stopped over at the mall one time, when my GS was non-op, cause of the smog. Highway patrol officer asked why my tags weren't current. I told him I was having trouble smogging it, cause of a swapped engine. The officer was surprised. He was agreeing with me that the smog people suck. He let me go, didn't check my car or anything. I do agree, if your not speeding excessively, police don't have a reason to check your engine.

[Juans_93_MX3]

it's funny, I was stopped over at the mall one time, when my GS was non-op, cause of the smog. Highway patrol officer asked why my tags weren't current. I told him I was having trouble smogging it, cause of a swapped engine. The officer was surprised. He was agreeing with me that the smog people suck. He let me go, didn't check my car or anything. I do agree, if your not speeding excessively, police don't have a reason to check your engine.

Did you ever get it fixed?

[mr1in6billion]

So say you turbo your car, you cant pass? That sucks
Why would cops check your hood?
I hear in Cali they only do that if your street racing

Laws vary by county. In SF they are fairly relaxed. I've had friends who have gotten caught at the runs and have been let off with a warning or been given minor tickets. Cops are only allowed to look under your hood if the've pulled you over and there is probable cause, but of course that is a vauge term.

In Oakland they have problems with street racing and side shows, so they passed a law that lets them search your car if they think it is modded (read: if they feel like searching it), even if you haven't done anything. If you refuse to pop your hood, they tow your car and have it inspected. If they catch you street racing they can send you to court and crush your car.

[NorCalMX3]

oh god, this is GREAT news! i was so reluctant to invest in a ZE, but now i know!