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SMOG Referee Experiences / Recommendations?

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    SMOG Referee Experiences / Recommendations?

    After talking with a SMOG test guy, I think it is probably about time that I look into getting some modifications OK'ed by the state so as to (ideally) avoid swapping a bunch of parts every 2 years. None of it is terribly wild, just visually non-stock. According to the SMOG guy and a couple of people I know who have dealt with referees, it sounds like they are generally strict but fair. I'd like to hear about r3v'ers' experiences in CA with the referees.

    The main points, I think, are that the tail pipe sniffer test passes very cleanly, and there is an O2 sensor in the factory location.

    What all got modified that I want to try to get signed-off?

    1) COP ignition conversion. The SMOG guy said that this was the main visual red-flag since the coils are supposed to be on the fender, not the cylinder head. He also said that he was 99% sure that a referee would OK the change since it probably makes the car burn cleaner, if anything.

    2) MAF conversion + M30 air box. I developed a custom signal processor box to convert the MAF signal to the equivalent AFM signal, and the stock ECU runs perfectly with it. AFM's are no longer produced, remanufactured ones are hundreds of dollars, and they are generally inaccurate (meaning worse emissions). The MAF is super fast and dead-accurate. Also, I made an E34 M30 air filter box fit in there. The top of it is carefully modified to accept the MAF, which uses the stock intake boot. I am using it because it has 60% more filter surface area than the stock M42 one.

    3) "Pulse chamber" intake manifold. It is a stock M42 upper manifold, but with capped aluminum tubes welded in at the tangent of the "C" runners. It improves mid-range torque with how it is tuned to reflect pressure waves. This was something that Metric Mechanic developed.

    4) Wide-band O2 sensor. I am guessing that this would be a hard one to get OK'ed since it has the potential to directly affect emissions. I would not even mention it, so the guy would have to really be looking (the controller is very small and zip-tied under the battery tray where the factory O2 connector is). It is a Spartan SLC from 14point7, and it is not even programmable, so there's no way to make it lie to the ECU, but I am not sure how trusting the referees are.

    Other than that, the full evap system is in there and functional, the PCV system is present and functional, the mess-under-the-intake is deleted (but the TB heater plate is still there as a spacer, just not connected to anything), spark plugs are stock, exhaust is stock until after the cat (SuperSprint cat-back behind it), zero vacuum leaks and there are no CEL codes at all.

    Also, and this would not get mentioned...it's a 2.1L M42 running 11.5:1 compression. I had Metric Mechanic build it back in 2012. Zero of the internals are stock (literally, not even the oil pump rotors are stock M42 parts). Visually it looks like an E30 M42, minus the stuff I mentioned above. Unless the guy can magically hear a difference, I can't imagine why it would come up.

    Thoughts? Am I inviting more trouble than solutions by going to the referee? Or should I swap everything back to stock except the COP ignition (since it is almost impossible to put it back to stock) and then try to get that OK'ed on its own?

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    #2
    That's a hell of a gamble...an unnecessary one.
    "I'd probably take the E30 M3 in this case just because I love that little car, and how tanky that inline 6 is." - thecj

    85 323i M TECH 1 S52 - ALPINEWEISS/SCHWARZE
    88 M3 - LACHSSILBER/SCHWARZE
    89 M3 - ALPINEWEISS II/M TECH CLOTH-ALCANTARA
    91 M TECHNIC CABRIO TURBO - MACAOBLAU/M TECH CLOTH-LEATHER

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      #3
      Sure, that is sort of how I would imagine it would be. I have always been under the impression that the referees are there to make you make your car 100% stock or to stock specs if the engine was swapped. Then today people tell me that they will OK mods if you can come up with a justification and the sniffer test passes. I R confuse??!

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        #4
        Originally posted by bmwman91 View Post
        Sure, that is sort of how I would imagine it would be. I have always been under the impression that the referees are there to make you make your car 100% stock or to stock specs if the engine was swapped. Then today people tell me that they will OK mods if you can come up with a justification and the sniffer test passes. I R confuse??!
        OK mods? The only okay mods the ref should pass are CARB certified ie Dinan with an EO # sticker. Anything less without documentation of CARB certification is deemed illegal. Now, they want to make sure your aftermarket cat is CA certified as well. Like smog shops, I suppose it all depends on who you get but I wouldn't roll the dice on getting a lenient ref. People typically get sent to the ref to make sure their cars are in compliance.
        Last edited by reelizmpro; 07-27-2017, 08:21 AM.
        "I'd probably take the E30 M3 in this case just because I love that little car, and how tanky that inline 6 is." - thecj

        85 323i M TECH 1 S52 - ALPINEWEISS/SCHWARZE
        88 M3 - LACHSSILBER/SCHWARZE
        89 M3 - ALPINEWEISS II/M TECH CLOTH-ALCANTARA
        91 M TECHNIC CABRIO TURBO - MACAOBLAU/M TECH CLOTH-LEATHER

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          #5
          Hmm, who knows then. Whatever the case, I need to figure out something for the COP ignition conversion...either find a SMOG test guy that will pass it or try to get the referee to OK it.

          Maybe saying that they "OK mods" was the wrong way to phrase it. Per the SMOG tech, the referees will OK things that do not fundamentally change how the car runs, and none of what I have in there does (or at least none of it causes the car to run at an incorrect AFR since the tune and O2 feedback is dead-on). The COP ignition just moves the coils and eliminates the need to purchase increasingly-expensive ignition wires that will not be produced forever, and the MAF is the same story since the AFM's are not even in production anymore...hell, "the M30 air box is there because a MAF requires a ~6" velocity stack and the stock M42 air box is too small to accommodate one" is my story rather than performance (and I do have a 6" v.s. in the M30 box).

          The WBO2 and modified intake manifold would probably need to come off though since I have no "rarity of parts" justification there, so I think that your perspective is 100% correct there. Hell, it might be with the above stuff too. Since the SMOG guy was 99% sure that they would OK the COP ignition if it was the only change, maybe I will put everything else back to stock and get it certified, and then try the MAF separately. The nice part about that is that it is plug-n-play with the stock AFM/air box so I can swap it back to stock in 5 minutes.

          The other big anecdotal story that got me thinking about this is a coworker's. He swapped out the 2.5L NA engine in his Eclipse and put in the turbo engine. I guess that there was an "up pipe" that diverted exhaust to one of the catalytic converters, and it was in the way of the swap, so he just removed it and the cat entirely. The referee OK'ed the whole thing, even noting that 1 of the 3 cat's was removed, because he (the ref) said that the cat that got removed didn't really do anything. So I figured if someone can get away with removing a cat, my little changes should be easy. Maybe not, though.

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            #6
            On second (third?) thought, maybe I'll just find a different SMOG shop. After reading around online, it sounds like the referees vary hugely, and they are not really supposed to OK mods, even though they can. And if I get flagged, life is gonna suck. So dumb, the car passes the sniffer with flying colors too.

            Sounds like your original advice is the way to go.

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              #7
              Had an S52 that passed 2x as a stock E30 from 2011-2014. Only comment was "clean engine."

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                #8
                I've had my m42 with COP conversion pass about 5 times with no issues. The MAF is the only thing on your list that I would worry about a smog guy questioning.

                -NICK

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                  #9
                  I wouldn't. I believe once you fail at the REF, you're flagged till you pass. Not something I would like to deal with if the mods are heavy and annoying to change out - unless you really don't mind. Maybe go talk to a REF and give him your hypothetical situation; tell him why you'd want to do such things and mention it passes smog great.

                  Originally posted by R3Z3N View Post
                  Had an S52 that passed 2x as a stock E30 from 2011-2014. Only comment was "clean engine."
                  lmao what? At a regular smog shop?

                  1991 325iS turbo

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by ak- View Post
                    lmao what? At a regular smog shop?
                    Yes, two different smog shops, no handing over beers and funny envelopes.

                    Took the valve cover off. Don't have a dyno smog here though. Passed great.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by ak- View Post
                      I wouldn't. I believe once you fail at the REF, you're flagged till you pass. Not something I would like to deal with if the mods are heavy and annoying to change out - unless you really don't mind. Maybe go talk to a REF and give him your hypothetical situation; tell him why you'd want to do such things and mention it passes smog great.



                      lmao what? At a regular smog shop?
                      Yeah that seems to be the common recommendation...don't mess with it, or go talk to the REF beforehand. It sounds like a massive crapshoot ad it depends on who the REF is, how they feel that day and the phase of the moon. I am probably more likely to find a SMOG test shop that either does not know what they are looking at or does not care.

                      I still cannot figure out why there even is a visual test. Like, OK check the evap system for leaks, check for CEL codes and run the tailpipe sniffer. If it blows clean, who cares what got bolted on? But that would make too much sense I suppose.

                      And yes, this car passes nice and clean when on the dyno. My numbers were a little above the "average" values at 15mph, but still waaaaaay under the limit. And at 25mph, I was way under the average and the limit.

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