Engine swaps illegal if from different manufacturer? (Cali)

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: jagec
Why in the world wouldn't you just use the S2k ECU?

Of course you would. But it doesn't exactly just pop right into the Toyota's wiring harness.

And why would you use their wiring harness? If you get the front clip, you can just use the s2k wiring harness, put the ECU somewhere appropriate, and run the harness to it.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I just finished putting the engine back in my car yesterday...and the only wires I had to unplug were those to the ECU. I could have just as easily taken out the ECU, and had the whole assembly sitting in front of me. If I dropped it in a different car, all I'd have to do is fabricate motor mounts, and connect the coolant, fuel, and clutch lines, and run the throttle, speedometer, and gear selector cables. Then I'd tuck the ECU somewhere and be done with it. The only reason I can think of for other electronics would be oil pressure and engine temperature...neither of them a big deal.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: jagec
Why wouldn't you pass emissions, if it's the same engine with the same emissions systems on the same computer? Changing the transmission is suddenly going to make it fail emissions?

Good luck with the ECU re-wiring.

It isn't hard. Most engine harnesses are pretty much stand alone with a few wires crossing over into the main harness so you simply use the ECU and harness that matches the engine and wire it into the car's wiring after stripping out the original enigne controls. I have done swaps like this before with nothing more than parts and wiring schematics in hand and although tedious and time consuming I have never had any problems getting any project to run.

 

[RCN]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: jagec
Why wouldn't you pass emissions, if it's the same engine with the same emissions systems on the same computer? Changing the transmission is suddenly going to make it fail emissions?

Good luck with the ECU re-wiring.

Not hard....and if you didn't want to splice you can do it with a painless harness or a stand alone system.........

 

[RCN]

Assuming your engine is newer than the car read through some of these threads to learn more about getting a swap smogged in cali:
http://forums.hybridz.org/search.php?searchid=353735&pp=25

 

[OS]

nutbucket has it basically covered. Swaps that follow only the 3 rules but with an engine family that never came in the chassis is called an engine change and needs to be refereed.

Swaps that follow the listed rules and are of the same family engine compared against stock cars is called an engine replacement, not engine change and don't need to be refereed.

if you are serious about a project, go to dmv.ca.gov and search for "smog". If you have detailed questions, they list a phone number where you can go and pick their brains.

 

[NutBucket]

I see my backup finally showed up

And to answer an earlier question about just using the entire S2k harness.....what do you think the chances are you'll be able to find one at a reasonable cost and in tact? Chances are if you're buying the motor you'll get a motor, engine bay harness and ECU; nothing else.

 

[radioouman]

Lots of people swap Subaru engines into their VW buses. I can't imagine that it is illegal if you pass emmissions.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: AE86Lover
I know having a engine swap to a newer engine is legal, but would anybody know if it's illegal to have a swap like this done from a different manufacturer?

For instance, taking a S2000 engine and putting it into a Corolla. Or putting a Nissan SR5 motor into a Toyota Corolla...?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Unless the entire motor can be certified CARB legal as well as the install itself yes it would be illegal in cali.

even 49 state bolton parts MUST be CARB certified to be installed on any vehicle licensed in Cali.

 

[AMDZen]

Wow. After reading this I realize that California is even more retarded.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Aren't alot of mazda rx7s driving around in Cali with chevy LS1s in them?

and why would you destroy an RX7 Rotory with Chevy trash? and no there arnt... there are 8 second RX7s with Rotorys and big ass turbos in them...

 

[AMDZen]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Aren't alot of mazda rx7s driving around in Cali with chevy LS1s in them?

and why would you destroy an RX7 Rotory with Chevy trash? and no there arnt... there are 8 second RX7s with Rotorys and big ass turbos in them...

How would you know if you live in Texas?

Chances are there is someone out there in Cali with such a conversion. The fact is, I can't imagine anyone wanting to do that - but I can't imagine people wanting to live in Cali to begin with, so it wouldn't suprise me.

The fact is, most people aren't going to take such a rule to heart - maybe emissions places in cali are different, but in Colorado they never even look under the hood. As long as it passes the tests they won't know what engine is in your car.

 

[Lizardman]

Its not illegal as long as you can pass tech inspection

 

[mrchan]

Why would you put those engines in a Corolla? The Engines would be worth more than the car.....

I believe the rule is the engine you put in must be the same year as or newer than the year of the car. So you can put an 01 engine in a 99 car, but not a 98 engine in the 99 car.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: AMDZen

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Aren't alot of mazda rx7s driving around in Cali with chevy LS1s in them?

and why would you destroy an RX7 Rotory with Chevy trash? and no there arnt... there are 8 second RX7s with Rotorys and big ass turbos in them...

How would you know if you live in Texas?

Chances are there is someone out there in Cali with such a conversion. The fact is, I can't imagine anyone wanting to do that - but I can't imagine people wanting to live in Cali to begin with, so it wouldn't suprise me.

The fact is, most people aren't going to take such a rule to heart - maybe emissions places in cali are different, but in Colorado they never even look under the hood. As long as it passes the tests they won't know what engine is in your car.

because i grew up and have family that lives in cali and I still visit several times a year...
there is no way that car would pass California CARB standards and the Rotory puts out less smog than a V8 does..

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Aren't alot of mazda rx7s driving around in Cali with chevy LS1s in them?

and why would you destroy an RX7 Rotory with Chevy trash? and no there arnt... there are 8 second RX7s with Rotorys and big ass turbos in them...

Yeah there are. Seems like most of the v8 rx7s I see are in Cali. As for why swap in chevy trash, it doesn't effect the weight balance, it gets better gas mileage, puts out less pollution, still makes tons of power, and doesn't blow up every 50k miles.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: AMDZen

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Aren't alot of mazda rx7s driving around in Cali with chevy LS1s in them?

and why would you destroy an RX7 Rotory with Chevy trash? and no there arnt... there are 8 second RX7s with Rotorys and big ass turbos in them...

How would you know if you live in Texas?

Chances are there is someone out there in Cali with such a conversion. The fact is, I can't imagine anyone wanting to do that - but I can't imagine people wanting to live in Cali to begin with, so it wouldn't suprise me.

The fact is, most people aren't going to take such a rule to heart - maybe emissions places in cali are different, but in Colorado they never even look under the hood. As long as it passes the tests they won't know what engine is in your car.

because i grew up and have family that lives in cali and I still visit several times a year...
there is no way that car would pass California CARB standards and the Rotory puts out less smog than a V8 does..

That may be true, but if you swap say an LS1 into a RX7, the motor would have to meet LS1 emissions standards; the standards for the car the motor originally came it. So what the BAR certification means is that the car will be tested as if it were something else. For this example, the RX7 would be tested by the standards of a late model Camaro/Firebird/Vette.

For the EJ --> VW bus swap, as long as the vehicle is made before 75 (74 and older) it is not required to pass any sort of smog/tech inspection, period.

 

[wasssup]

i think this has already been done (s2000 engine in the ae86 corolla)...there's a vid on this out there too, somewhere.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: AMDZen

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Aren't alot of mazda rx7s driving around in Cali with chevy LS1s in them?

and why would you destroy an RX7 Rotory with Chevy trash? and no there arnt... there are 8 second RX7s with Rotorys and big ass turbos in them...

How would you know if you live in Texas?

Chances are there is someone out there in Cali with such a conversion. The fact is, I can't imagine anyone wanting to do that - but I can't imagine people wanting to live in Cali to begin with, so it wouldn't suprise me.

The fact is, most people aren't going to take such a rule to heart - maybe emissions places in cali are different, but in Colorado they never even look under the hood. As long as it passes the tests they won't know what engine is in your car.

because i grew up and have family that lives in cali and I still visit several times a year...
there is no way that car would pass California CARB standards and the Rotory puts out less smog than a V8 does..

That may be true, but if you swap say an LS1 into a RX7, the motor would have to meet LS1 emissions standards; the standards for the car the motor originally came it. So what the BAR certification means is that the car will be tested as if it were something else. For this example, the RX7 would be tested by the standards of a late model Camaro/Firebird/Vette.

For the EJ --> VW bus swap, as long as the vehicle is made before 75 (74 and older) it is not required to pass any sort of smog/tech inspection, period.

um thats not true.. the standard in cali is the chassis not the motor...
thats why they take your VIN when you pull in for testing..
as well as model and make...

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: CVSiN
um thats not true.. the standard in cali is the chassis not the motor...
thats why they take your VIN when you pull in for testing..
as well as model and make...

Yes, that's correct for a stock car. If you have this sticker from the smog ref the car will be tested to the emissions standards of the car the motor came from. That's the whole purpose of getting the sticker.

 

[CRXican]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: CVSiN
um thats not true.. the standard in cali is the chassis not the motor...
thats why they take your VIN when you pull in for testing..
as well as model and make...

Yes, that's correct for a stock car. If you have this sticker from the smog ref the car will be tested to the emissions standards of the car the motor came from. That's the whole purpose of getting the sticker.

good info

I have one of those stickers. I have to visit a Test Only station for my reg. this time. Gonna cost some money, new cat is priorty #1.

 

[Colt45]

Don't ask, don't tell?

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Colt45
Don't ask, don't tell?

Only if you find the right smog guy But I believe if the BAR finds out about funny business they can easily revoke your smog license.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: CVSiN
um thats not true.. the standard in cali is the chassis not the motor...
thats why they take your VIN when you pull in for testing..
as well as model and make...

Yes, that's correct for a stock car. If you have this sticker from the smog ref the car will be tested to the emissions standards of the car the motor came from. That's the whole purpose of getting the sticker.

but again you are using a motor according to that sticker that would be in the same smog catagory as the original..
adding a high polution V8 to a low smog vehicle that never had the option of the V8 motor gets into alot more issues...

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: CVSiN
um thats not true.. the standard in cali is the chassis not the motor...
thats why they take your VIN when you pull in for testing..
as well as model and make...

Yes, that's correct for a stock car. If you have this sticker from the smog ref the car will be tested to the emissions standards of the car the motor came from. That's the whole purpose of getting the sticker.

but again you are using a motor according to that sticker that would be in the same smog catagory as the original..
adding a high polution V8 to a low smog vehicle that never had the option of the V8 motor gets into alot more issues...

That puny little rotary is the high pollution engine.

 

[kissfan003]

Yet another reason not to live in CA.