[Takshen]

I've been trying for 3 months now to get someone to smog my car. I have a 92 S with a jdm h22a swap in CA. I have a cai and a 2 1/4" piping with a magnaflow muffler. I have to take my car to a test only center so that's proven a problem. engine is stock will it pass visual and sniffer?? any responce is great. thnx

 

[bsi]

i dont know by personal experience but ive heard more than once that people get a vafc raise the vtec engagement and lean it out a little and have no problems

 

[Absolut]

It will NOT pass visual..

Unless you go to a place that is 'Pass or don't pay' they usually over look stuff like that if it passes the sniffer.

Make sure your catalytic converter is in good condition. Before the test, run your car at a *steady* 2krpms. This will heat the cat up, making it work very well. Dont drive hard on your way to the smog place as will will load up the cat and fail.
If they have a pre-test, run that first. All official smog checks in CA go to the DMV. No second chance. Get a pre-test done before you get it smogged.

If it doesnt pass, get a new catclytic converter. They run about $100 @ places like Midas, Pep Boys, Kragen etc etc. If you take the new cat to a muffler shop they can weld on flanges to make it bolt on instead of weld on. Keep in mind, a $100 cattalytic will not last 2 years, you will have to get a new one next time you smog.
An OEM honda Cat is like $900+ There is a reason for that. It has a 10yr warranty and has lots of the expensive rare metals that make cats. work, The cheap replacements dont have enought of the elements to last. Thats why they're only $100. They work good enough to get you to pass smog in the nex few weeks or so.

Call around, find a place that does a pre-test. Find a place that looks a little shady, and bring extra cash :wink:

IBsmogtechsson

 

[Takshen]

lol thnx absolut. I'll definately keep that in mind. now will I fail visual because of the different engines? a friend told me that as long as the engine is the same displacement and younger than the car it is a legal swap even JDMs.. but most of my other friends stand by the JDM illegal status. why are you jdms illegal any way? are they considered "high performance" engines? if worst comes to worst should I just try to stamp a 1 next to the h22a and try to pass it that way? I have one with a black valve cover not red so that kinda works to my favor.. thnx again

 

[Takshen]

oh also the guy that did my exhaust work took off my resonator.. didn't ask him to.. will that have any affect on the testing and should I try to get that back on?

 

[Takshen]

bump

 

[Deepmist]

I copied this from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) website. engine changes (even JDM engines) can be swapped in, but you have to meet strict guidelines. And to get the car certified with the engine you would need to take it to a state referee.

EDIT: for the Japanese engines it says as long as it is functionally identical to the original engine. you might want to get the ARB's definition of "functionally identical".

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/replace.htm

Replacement Engines
Entire engines can be replacement parts. As with any other replacement part, the engine must be identical to the original. If the replacement block or engine is obtained without emissions equipment, all the equipment from the original engine must be installed on the replacement block.

If the engine is not identical to the original then it is not a replacement part, instead it is considered an engine change.

Engine changes are a modification that must meet certain requirements to be legal (please see "Engine Changes").

Japanese Replacement Engines
Used engines imported from Japan can be used as replacement engines as long as the engine being used has been identified as functionally identical to the original engine. Please refer to the engine importers catalogue to determine if a replacement engine is legal for installation in your vehicle.

Engine Changes
Engine changes are legal as long as the following requirements are met to ensure that the change does not increase pollution from the vehicle:

1) The engine must be the same year or newer than the vehicle.
2) The engine must be from the same type of vehicle (passenger car, light-duty truck, heavy- duty truck, etc.) based on gross vehicle weight.
3) If the vehicle is a California certified vehicle then the engine must also be a California certified engine.
4) All emissions control equipment must remain on the installed engine.
5) After an engine change, vehicles must first be inspected by a state referee station. The vehicle will be inspected to ensure that all the equipment required is in place, and vehicle will be emissions tested subject to the specifications of the installed engine.

http://www.preludeonline.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60316&highlight=CA+H22a

I've spent 10+ hours looking for a generic list of legal engines or just a hint that jdm h22a is accepted in CA. Ended up with a phone number i'll call eventually. I'll give it to you if i find it.

 

[Deepmist]

The carb site is down right now so I can't give you all the laws I found in there.

Here's a list of phone numbers in CA for you:
http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/StdPage.asp?Body=/contacts.htm

Hopefully they can answer some questions.
If I were you i'd jus go get it smogged and hope they overlook the engine because it is a prelude engine. That has happened many times before.

 

[DudewithaLude]

hrm, so a USDM engine in a civic si would be legal as long as it's been inspected by a state referee station?

 

[[SUB[EX]]

Yea mine is past due for a smog checck. It was stolen the day i was going in for my pretest. I gota find a stock header to put on before i test because mine is definately legal. (ANY TAKERS??) Yea i believe the engine will pass most people on the visual but just in case make sure to pretest.
Tell me how yours goes caus i gota do mine soon also.

 

[Takshen]

deepmist you are awesome! thnx so much! that's some good info. when I searched I didn't find that.. so thnx for posting it and putting time to help me out! I owe you one.

 

[concLude]

I was worried about this problem in VA. I had it done, and i passed the sniffer and visual. Its pretty hard for them to tell the difference between a JDM h22 and a usdm h22.

 

[MidNKight-lude]

go luck steven

 

[sagaprelude]

my fren with a 93 si passed with a jdm h22a, ill try to find out how he did it.

 

[vtecjunkie]

my friend did a b16 swap w a pr3 ctr ecu. He said the first thing they checked was his ecu. when they saw it was not usdm they sent him home. I don't know if they can distinguish a jdm p13 compared to ours, but something else to think about if that swap came w an ecu. i imagine the maps are different

 

[Takshen]

update: SWEET!!

gud stuff guys!! gud stuff! I passed my smog! am driving with a registered car . just popped in my stock air box and took it to a friend of a friend's dad's place. very kool! thnx for all the info.. I'm gonna look into legalizing hehe.


on another note: I rode in my friend's si with coilovers! OMG was such a horrible ride! we felt every little bump in the road.. I think I need to go get my back adjusted now.. yuk! made me love my H&R springs more.. alright I'm out! later all and thnx again

 

[[SUB[EX]]

Im still thinking i should swap in my f22 ECu for the test. It will run lean then and the vtec crossover is not there. Well i dont think it will be there. But again i hit another snag. I cant smog until i get a new radiator in. I guess while the radiator is out i can swap in the stock header.

Any thoughts on the ECU? Mine is currently Mugen Programmed and im worried that will skrew up my smog.

 

[SLICK96]

Re: update: SWEET!!

gud stuff guys!! gud stuff! I passed my smog! am driving with a registered car . just popped in my stock air box and took it to a friend of a friend's dad's place. very kool! thnx for all the info.. I'm gonna look into legalizing hehe.


on another note: I rode in my friend's si with coilovers! OMG was such a horrible ride! we felt every little bump in the road.. I think I need to go get my back adjusted now.. yuk! made me love my H&R springs more.. alright I'm out! later all and thnx again

What kind of coilovers did he have?

J