Cali Drivers

[factorVIII]

Halow! just want to ask anyone that's from cali regarding engine swaps. Im dont really know a lot about engine stuffs but im wondering what engine can be swapped in 3rd gen accords and still pass smog chks and all that california restriction kaboodles.

thanks!

[K DASH]

Your options on engine swaps with a carb are limited, anything close without breaking the bank, would be a carbed B20A, but other than that you'd be able to spend that money to buy a faster car.

[factorVIII]

what about dropping an a20a3? will it be possible to just take it to some engine wholesaler ( k watanabe) and make them drop a fuel injected engine?

[Jims 86LXI HB]

Go to the DMV's web site, you will find thier the rules and what you can and cannot get away with. I used to have a URL saved that went right to the very spot, but they changed their web site, so it's a bad link now.

Their home page is www.dmv.ca.gov

[blazin3gen]

cali is so fucked up i couldnt get my smog check done last time cuz my engine was "modified" and all i had was an intake aha

[k-roy]

I am under the imperssion that the FI version of our cars has lower emissions. So it should be cool. Do your homework first. I have never had to deal with emissions.

[bboipinoy112]

i think .. anything that doesnt belong in your car .. isnt smog passable? due to vision inspection .. iono

[87AccordsterLx]

What are you looking for out of this engine swap? Do you want a more powerful engine or do you just want something that will be good with emmisions?

Here is our Engine swap section of the forum...
https://www.3geez.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=7


BTW, I have a 87 carborated and I pass emmisions just fine... tune your carb correctly and you shouldnt have a problem.

[factorVIII]

Originally posted by 87AccordsterLx
What are you looking for out of this engine swap? Do you want a more powerful engine or do you just want something that will be good with emmisions?

Here is our Engine swap section of the forum...
https://www.3geez.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=7


BTW, I have a 87 carborated and I pass emmisions just fine... tune your carb correctly and you shouldnt have a problem.

well im thinking abt something in between having a kick-ass engine and something that's gonna pass the smog test too...

what are my options?

[k-roy]

I say go with a B18 then. Out of a newer model it should be complient with stricter emissions right?

Hey man, is Orange County anything like that TV show. OPP or something?

[K DASH]

Originally posted by kroy
I say go with a B18 then. Out of a newer model it should be complient with stricter emissions right?

Hey man, is Orange County anything like that TV show. OPP or something?

Do you mean The OC?

Yeah, there is a visual inspection but a lot of places are lenient when it comes to that and newer engines should have less emissions but converting a car to FI might be too much of a hassle, you could be better off starting on a base LX-I.

[k-roy]

Originally posted by K DASH
Do you mean The OC?

Yeah, there is a visual inspection but a lot of places are lenient when it comes to that and newer engines should have less emissions but converting a car to FI might be too much of a hassle, you could be better off starting on a base LX-I.

Something like that. I never watch stupid shows like that.

[Blue Impact]

Originally posted by factorVIII
what are my options?

For your Accord it's definitely another A20A1. You won't pass your smog check legally if you swap here in California as long as the car is registered as a street car. If you register your car as a track car, hell, you can do anything you want with it and not have to worry about these regulations. But yeah, just keep in mind that if you swap, you won't pass legally. Good luck.

[factorVIII]

Originally posted by kroy
Something like that. I never watch stupid shows like that.

the show really is gay. i despise it.


ok i guess my accord is just gonna be like that til the end. i'll just try to maintain it and stuff. it already has 250K in it but yeah, engine response is still good... i dunno if im trippin`abt havin a 90-95 mph top speed but ive seen another thread with people having the same prob as i am.

any more suggestions for the longevity of my sterling steed?

[BMS]

Cali should have no problem swith an engine swap. The newer Honda engines are better with emissions than ours anyway. I know a guy who did the H22 swap into a 92? or 92? Accord and he had no problem passing. Unless you guys mean that you can't go from carb to EFI at all.

[tbirdman]

Their is this place called american motors on auburn blvd when they smog the dont give a sh*t about visual as long as it pass's on the computer. They even use their own gas caps

[POS carb]

Justin had his turbo 3gee in his garage for a while b/c he needed to find a motor to swap in. Basically b/c the California emission checks are so stringent it is very difficult to get through one unless your motor looks very stock. When they tested my car in San Diego, they did a loaded test (basically a giant treadmill for the car, not like the Miami sniff-your-idle tests) and they have a computer program that takes them step-by-step with a checklist for visual and for mechanical inspection. They check your emissions (of course), your ignition timing, they run through a checklist of smog equipment the car must have based on the year/make/model and they WILL FAIL YOU for the stupidest crap (my first failure was due to too much advance and a missing header-heat-shield-to-aircleaner hose which I fixed with a $2 hose and a beebee jamming the secondary advance hose). On the first test the car ran good but failed the emissions. After setting it up properly it ran crappy, even a lopey idle, but it passed the test