Clearing my EPA defects

I know this doesnt relate to hondas, but i thought it would still fall under this section, and its easier to ask on this site, because ive been here for a while, and have an account here, but since i have smashed my civic, and sold it, i have now bought an s14 200sx, and im so glad i did lol. It just has a few issues with the EPA, the main ones being larger snail, larger FMIC, larger exhaust manifold. How can i get around this without returning it to stock? Do i have to get it engineered, and get a mod plate for it?

If you have an EPA notice, the EPA does not care about the configuration of your car. All they care about is the emmisions it puts out and the noise levels it puts out. So to pass, you must output emissions/noise within a certain range, depending on the year of ur car..

That the shortest answer i can give u. There is no magical thing u can do. make sure your ECU is tuned well, for emissions. I know most stock nissan ECus have a hard time passing emssions because they run so rich as soon as u modify anything inside the engine bay.

Once again, thats the short answer.

If u want to do everything properly and try and avoid future defects, then yes, u need an engineers certificate. Engineering involves a full EPA test. No such thing as a mod plate in nsw.

tuning for epa is usally pretty hard
with a tuner that doesnt have the emissions testing its pretty much trial and error my friend got his car tuned and retuned about 3 times b4 the car passed EPA for his engineering cert. it was costly

last that ive heard powertune (dont noe where it is in syd somewhere) had the emissions testing
so maybe u can get ur car detuned to comply with emissions while ur at it get the cert. then u can retune it back.

personally, id take all the after market stuff off and put the stock stuff back on

reset the ecu

and go

this way, u know ull definetly pass

this option is even more suitable if u know how to take off/put on stock and new parts by urself

wat exactly did u get EPAed for? noise im guessing right?

does that mean when u go to get it cleared, they will only check noise?

or they just say, since ur in, may as well check emissions, lol

When I passed my EPA test after boosting my Civic they only tested for emissions and my engineer tested for sound

Well what happened is the previous owner was done by EPA, went to pass the test as it was, and failed, then sold it straight after that, and thats why ive picked it up so cheap.

The EPA report that came with the car, or i was pretty sure it was an EPA report, on the front page has a check box section, and it had 8 problems. The car didnt come with any defect or EPA stickers on it, but the guy that sold it to me took all those parts off and the stinger EMS, except the larger FMIC, turbo, and exhaust manifold, and put a stock exhaust back on.

It failed the report for:
No snorkel on air box
BOV
Larger snail
Larger exhaust manifold
Larger front mount intercooler
Manual boost controller
Oil catch can
Exhaust

And since it hadn't passed what ever this is, the registration has been suspended. If this isnt EPA, any ideas what it is?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1996ek1

Well what happened is the previous owner was done by EPA, went to pass the test as it was, and failed, then sold it straight after that, and thats why ive picked it up so cheap.

The EPA report that came with the car, or i was pretty sure it was an EPA report, on the front page has a check box section, and it had 8 problems. The car didnt come with any defect or EPA stickers on it, but the guy that sold it to me took all those parts off and the stinger EMS, except the larger FMIC, turbo, and exhaust manifold, and put a stock exhaust back on.

It failed the report for:
No snorkel on air box
BOV
Larger snail
Larger exhaust manifold
Larger front mount intercooler
Manual boost controller
Oil catch can
Exhaust

And since it hadn't passed what ever this is, the registration has been suspended. If this isnt EPA, any ideas what it is?

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You need to get your car engineered

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lukezen27

You need to get your car engineered

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Yea looks like it lol...
I just always asumed you could change these parts without hassle, because you see so many cars out there with larger turbo's and FMIC's..

And to weq, at my old work a guy owned a yellow s15 with a full 3" exhaust, FMIC and pod filter, and one night he got done, and was taken to an EPA testing station ( i think it was ) and he was done for pod filter, unengineered front mount and emissions. And im just saying that because you said they dont care about your configuration... so was that EPA or something else he was done by?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1996ek1

Yea looks like it lol...
I just always asumed you could change these parts without hassle, because you see so many cars out there with larger turbo's and FMIC's..

And to weq, at my old work a guy owned a yellow s15 with a full 3" exhaust, FMIC and pod filter, and one night he got done, and was taken to an EPA testing station ( i think it was ) and he was done for pod filter, unengineered front mount and emissions. And im just saying that because you said they dont care about your configuration... so was that EPA or something else he was done by?

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Dude any change including something as small as a wheel nut is illegal if they really want'a get you and really should pass engineering..

I've spent $$$ so my car is now legal :thumbsup:

Cars that are stock have passed all these tests paid for by the car company’s and any mods to it makes there work void..

Having said that there's lots of mods you can get away with but its all down to luck at that point

Here's a bit of what I went through but you've already posted there lol
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78487

Thanks for that, seeing it now has a stock exhaust it should pass, so ill book it for an EPA test and see how i go. Thanks guys

well, with only intercooler & slightly larger turbo, you might pass. Especially if you have a stock exhaust.
I rem somewhere someone told me that they don't rev the car that hard. They just drive it on the dyno via a similation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1996ek1

i have now bought an s14 200sx, and im so glad i did lol.

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ahhaha u glad about the hassles?

Im not sure about the current EPA rules.. but it might be easier to get the car engineered then passing EPA. In additional, EPA requires alot of waiting etc etc.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Limbo

well, with only intercooler & slightly larger turbo, you might pass. Especially if you have a stock exhaust.
I rem somewhere someone told me that they don't rev the car that hard. They just drive it on the dyno via a similation.

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Nope they drive it quiet hard, I watched em do mine

They follow a PC game like map going through hills and dips

My dude said in most cases it how good/bad the cat is nothing more

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BlitZ

ahhaha u glad about the hassles?

Im not sure about the current EPA rules.. but it might be easier to get the car engineered then passing EPA. In additional, EPA requires alot of waiting etc etc.

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No waiting, you just have to book at time.

I drove straight in at my booked time :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lukezen27

No waiting, you just have to book at time.

I drove straight in at my booked time :)

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but isnt it booked like a few months in advance?

Damn i want to get my car egnineered too, but they told me to book EPA. I called EPA and they told me 2 months..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BlitZ

but isnt it booked like a few months in advance?

Damn i want to get my car egnineered too, but they told me to book EPA. I called EPA and they told me 2 months..

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Called on Sat and booked the the Sat after that :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lukezen27

Dude any change including something as small as a wheel nut is illegal if they really want'a get you and really should pass engineering..

I've spent $$$ so my car is now legal :thumbsup:

Cars that are stock have passed all these tests paid for by the car company’s and any mods to it makes there work void..

Having said that there's lots of mods you can get away with but its all down to luck at that point

Here's a bit of what I went through but you've already posted there lol
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78487

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Its the EPA not a defect. EPA is the ENVIROMENTAL protection agency. They only care about emeisions shit or things that would change that. They dont give a shit bout ur wheels nuts or spoiler.

Cops on the other hand......

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1996ek1

Well what happened is the previous owner was done by EPA, went to pass the test as it was, and failed, then sold it straight after that, and thats why ive picked it up so cheap.

The EPA report that came with the car, or i was pretty sure it was an EPA report, on the front page has a check box section, and it had 8 problems. The car didnt come with any defect or EPA stickers on it, but the guy that sold it to me took all those parts off and the stinger EMS, except the larger FMIC, turbo, and exhaust manifold, and put a stock exhaust back on.

It failed the report for:
No snorkel on air box
BOV
Larger snail
Larger exhaust manifold
Larger front mount intercooler
Manual boost controller
Oil catch can
Exhaust

And since it hadn't passed what ever this is, the registration has been suspended. If this isnt EPA, any ideas what it is?

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These are defects. Not EPA. To clear the defects, you need to either;
* Present the car without said defects
* Get engineering approval for the modifcations

just remember with defects if you change it back to stock you can't refit your defected parts until i think 28days/1month or something or you can cop a fine if busted again.
that is certainly the case for vic but i imagine other states would have similar rules in place to prevent people just returning their car to stock for a day or 2 to clear defects

bringit back to bog stock - then wait then go about modding everything but beofre you do that - speak to an engineer - Work together and you will be sweet

> My dude said in most cases it how good/bad the cat is nothing more

Kinda true.

At stoichiometric A/f ratios the cat is so efficient at performing it's job.

If you lean it out or richen the ratio, however, it all goes to hell.

Either of these conditions 'can' also damage the cat, which the EPA doesn't
want to encourage either.

14.7 is stoichiometric. 13.2 is usually quoted for max power. 12's and 11's to protect the engine from
detonation.

You might be able to stick a narrow band O2 sensor and get your ECO to run into closed loop mode like stock and get OK.

There are better people than me to advise on this sort of thing.

You'll need to tune it. $$$

> Oil catch can

These are usually vented to the atmosphere, not good for emissions. You should be able to loop it back to the plenum and get it passed.

Do it dodgy/temp fix and you'll be sent away. Make it permanent.

> Manual boost controller

no go AFAIK.

> Exhaust

Mostly noise and eliminated cat issues

> Larger snail, Larger exhaust manifold, Larger front mount intercooler

If it's not OEM then it needs to be certed. But don't know of any real issues as long as cat and o2 sensors are fitted.

> personally, id take all the after market stuff off and put the stock stuff back on

It will now have a history and thus asking for trouble. Get an engineers certificate and be done.

Nick.

Yea, bov, boost controller, catch can were all removed.
Stock air box with AFM was put back on.
Stock exhaust was put back on.

And now im getting rid of it...
Really nice car, but just the hassles it brings..

just get it engineered

still glad you went nissan! :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1996ek1

Yea, bov, boost controller, catch can were all removed.
Stock air box with AFM was put back on.
Stock exhaust was put back on.

And now im getting rid of it...
Really nice car, but just the hassles it brings..

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zWhats the point of buying someone elses problem (sold cheap for a reason) when u dont have the balls to fix it up. U must enjoy paying stamp duty.

No i never transfered it.
And im selling it because im currently suspended, and im losing it for another year ontop of that.

I dont mind putting in the effort to fix it, but why have it sitting there for a year if i cant even touch it...
And yea, glad i went nissan, still love the car, dont want to sell it, but im not having it sitting there doing nothing for so long.
Im thinking about starting a honda project once its sold, and ill have abit over a year to complete it so should work out okay..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1996ek1

Im thinking about starting a honda project once its sold, and ill have abit over a year to complete it so should work out okay..

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Good idea! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JasonGilholme

Good idea! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

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Lol not a nissan fan at all ?

i have preferences lol

but i always appreciate the work that goes into cars. especially when someone does the hard yards themselves. Bloody sweat tears and cash. lol