I just wanted to give the folks on here a summary of what I went through with my engine change verification appointment with the California BAR. Some background...
Car: 1990 325i
Engine: 1998 M3
The goal was to get the car certified as a 1995 M3.
Work done:
The process is fairly straightforward.
All in all, it wasn't too bad. But that was after spending a crapload of money to get the motor converted over properly.
Like I said, the ref I had seemed like a friendly guy. And I lucked out with the sniffer test (I was right on the edge).
Hope this helps, PM me if you have any questions.
Car: 1990 325i
Engine: 1998 M3
The goal was to get the car certified as a 1995 M3.
Work done:
- Full OBDI conversion
- S50 Manifold
- S50 Valve cover (and coils)
- S50 wiring harness
- 3" MAF
- TRM ECU
- Schrick street cams (264/256)
- ABS relocated to passenger side tray so I could run a stock OEM S50 intake (thanks to Julian @ BNB Designs)
- 24lb injectors
- OBDII exhaust manifolds (with O2 ports plugged)
- Custom fabbed X-pipe between exhaust manifolds and midpipe with the S50 O2 sensor
- Stock S52 OBDII midpipe (with O2 ports plugged)
- Eisenmann race exhaust
- UUC 11lb Lightweight flywheel (with ECU set for high idle @ ~1K RPM)
- Spark plugs were ~6K miles old (NGK-R single electrode platinums)
The process is fairly straightforward.
- Make sure you read this page. You probably already know this but the rules are that you have to maintain the same smog equipment from *the donor vehicle*. That means for my 1995 M3, I had to have one O2 sensor measuring before the cats, EVAP canister, and the PCV setup.
- I called up the BAR office (1-800-952-5210) to setup an appointment. If you don't want to navigate some annoying menu system, call this number 1-800-622-7733. They'll locate the nearest ref station; for me, it was Las Positas College in Livermore.
- The ref came out and took some basic info about the swap. He was a pretty nice guy, asking about the Massive Brake kit I have, who did the swap, how hard it was, and what the @*&# was that loud rattling (I'm running an E46 M3 6-speed)
- They did a walkaround of the car to note any preexisting scratches/dents/damage. The ref's assistant checked the oil.
- The ref did a stomp test to verify that the check engine light was functional. Did a few cycles of ignition on/off to verify that it goes on & off as expected.
- He looked for the O2 sensor, thinking they were on the exhuast manifolds (it's on the X-pipe).
- They then ran it on the dyno through the usual 15mph and 25mph rolls. I was worried as hell here because the car had been sitting for about 20 minutes. And the cats are fairly old (~150K miles or so).
- Next up was EVAP. The location of my EVAP can was a bit difficult to get to (underneath the brake master cylinder) so they decided to skip it. They also didn't have the right adapter for the fuel tank fill pipe.
- He also did a fuel cap pressure test (passed)
All in all, it wasn't too bad. But that was after spending a crapload of money to get the motor converted over properly.
Like I said, the ref I had seemed like a friendly guy. And I lucked out with the sniffer test (I was right on the edge).
Hope this helps, PM me if you have any questions.
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