I am thinking heads and cam now.
I am in CA, which means my exhaust will have to pass a visual inspection.

How much power can I make and pass emissions.
or what cam selection will pass emisions and what is the expected power output?

Then we can move into how much power will running the stock exhaust rob me?

anyone here making 450+ rwhp and passing emission easily?
or will some trickery need to come into play?

I would love to get that 505 rwhp kit I saw posted, I just think it would cause me emissions trouble.

I guess I will ask this here as well.
once something like this is tuned, will it pass emissions? or will it need teh stock tune dropped back in?
I have not had to smog and OBD2 car yet, I dont know what to expect.

is there a tuner or computer program I can get to grab the stock tune and save it, then put in a modded tune (done from a shop) and then tinker with that if needed? I have heard of LS1 edit, but it seemed more as a scan then tune?

 

Thanks for asking the question..
I'm looking for the same info.. 03 Z here and some money in the bank.. Ready to pull the trigger on some mods but you know how it is here in Cali... Damn Horsepower ****'s...
I going to give Synergy a call. They do a lot of Vettes..

 

Bill,
You're in Simi Valley which is a short drive to A&A in Oxnard. Andy will set you up so you can pass a smog test and get you to your desired goal. Big cams and no cats will not pass the sniffer. A mild cam set-up correctly will pass the sniffer test.

I had Andy put one of his custom grind Comp Cams (220/224 .581 114LSA) in my '02 along with ARHs and it really woke it up. I'm putting down over 409rwhp/388rwtq with just the cam and headers. Another board member (PIO) is putting down over 450rwhp with the same setup plus heads.

Charlie Tuner (A&A) keeps a copy of your tune and if for some reason it has to be tweaked to pass a smog test they're there for you. However, even Comp Cams says the above spec'd cam will pass the CA smog sniffer. The LT headers are another story, since they don't have a CARB #, if the person performing the visual inspection doesn't recognize the headers as not being stock and the sniffer tests OK you're passed.

For a little more $'s you could go for a SC and easily achieve 505rwhp all with a CARB#.

 

In Cali there are basically two parts to the smog test (I imagine Simi Valley you're under the stricter "metropolitan" rules) a "visual" and a "sniffer" test.

In the visual the tech is supposed to look for modified parts like headers, modified intake systems, and whatever else looks "non-stock" (like a freakin huge Supercharger in the engine bay ... ) and if they see that kinda stuff, they are supposed to ask for the CARB "sticker" to ensure it is Cali legal. They can "fail" you if you don't have a CARB sticker, and even worse, you could (theoretically, I've never heard of it actually happening) be reported to the CARB which can fine you for running illegal modifications on the car. Obviously a lot of this depends on how good the tech is at spotting "subtle" mods, and how "****" they want to be about it. Last time mine was checked the tech noticed the twin K&N intake setup that is on the car, but just shrugged it off as "no big deal from a smog point of view".

Once you've passed the visual, they hook the car up to a test unit, and put the rear wheels on a set of rollers. BE SURE that your Traction Control is OFF when they put it on the rollers or the EBCM will be freakin out when the test runs. Most techs know to turn it off ... just watch that they do.

The test unit hooks up to the diagnostic port under the steering wheel, and checks the PCM for various codes, etc. This ensures that you haven't pulled the lamp for a "check engine" light ... LOL ... or that you've "substituted" a different vehicle for the test as the test unit also checks the vehicle VIN number stored in the PCM.

The tester then reads data from the PCM as the tech follows a series of instructions on speed to run car, etc. At the end of the test, if the vehicle passes, the test unit the electronically notifies the DMV that the vehicle has passed.

So, bottom line, if you're gonna make "visible" mods in the engine bay, you need to either ...

1) ensure those mods have a CARB sticker ... or

2) find a test station where they are less inclined to worry about the visual aspect of the test.

HTH

 

I have a heads and a cam, header, and exhaust and I'm making
455rwhp 425rwtq. Passed with no problem.

 

MOVE TO THE EAST COAST. If you live on the east coast like in PA, and you put 5,000 miles or less on your car, whether you race, show it or just drive for pleasure, you are exempt from emission inspection. Let Arnold try to terminate that! Too many laws. Why don't they put these big truckers that burn diesel fuel, on the spot.

 

Wow ... that's useful information .... the original post asks SPECIFICALLY about passing a smog check in CALIFORNIA ... you are posting about Georgia ... I believe you can marry your cousin in your state ... doesn't apply in California.

 

Yeah .. move to PA ...where you can drive a Corvette like 4 months a year ... versus year round in Cali ..... I'll take the craziness of Cali over living in PA ANY day .....

As W. C. Fields wanted on his tombstone ....

"Here lies W. C. Fields. I would rather be living in Philadelphia."

 

YOU marry your cousin Not nice to think like that.

 

Do you have any idea what power it would make if you had the stock exhaust on it?

which cam and heads do you have?

 

Bill

If you go to this page, lower down you can search by components to see what cams, headers, etc. are CARB legal.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermk...es/amquery.php

Otherwise, unless someone tells you that a non-CARB part has snuck by a CALIFORNIA smog test, getting advice from people in other states won't help you very much. The Cali test (especially in metro areas around LA/San Diego and SF/San Jose) are the strictest in the nation. Just because something passes in Texas or Ohio or wherever has NO BEARING on whether it will pass the Cali tests.

 

Be very carefull were you smog your car,I live in Bay Area also and work at car dealership,not a Gm. dealer and we do alot of smogs and you dont want to get caught with non calif.legal mods.I am worried also as I will have to smog my 02z in Jan.If you fail the state can make you put car back to stock-engine,exhast before you can retake test.Take car to someone you know who will look the other way.You will still have to pass co2 and carbon level test.I want to really mod my car also and I have someone to do smog,but if I fail,well I think I will move,GOOD LUCK.PS-pm me if you dont find somone,I may be able to help.

 

So does the OBD2 plugged into a computer have any way to indicate I have modded the engine?

I figure I will look for a cam that passes emissions.

I guess I am trying to figure out what I have to do versus what I have been doing on my 90 c4.

My C4 has modded everything. my cam is not so big to not pass, but it is not carb either. I put the stock chip in it. the stock thermostat, and the stock exhuast manifolds to mufflers on it. it blows through everytime no problem.

on the Z06, how much of a headache would this be? is it even worth it? or can I make a decent amount of power and still meet emissions?

 

Nope, the OBD2 port cannot, for example, report that there is a "non-stock" cam installed. That's why the "visual" inspection. The state ain't entirely stupid .... dumb yes ... stupid no ... The CARB figures if you're gonna change cams, there isn't a lot of gain unless you change the intake/exhaust system too. So that's one of the things the visual looks for, non-stock intake/exhaust systems. The assumption is that if you've changed the intake/exhaust system, you've probably messed with the cam.

NOTE: There are NO CARB certified cams for a C5 Corvette, other than stock.

You need to take the car to someone like A&A or VB Dyno (http://www.vbdyno.com) to talk to folks who KNOW how to tune a car to get max performance and stay within the Cali smog laws.

Here's my personnal opinion (for what that's worth .... ) ... the Z06 "stock" has an amazing amount of power. Yes, you can mod the heck out of it and get WAY more power ... but now you gotta get it registered and that requires (some years) a smog check. Is it worth it to you to get the added power and possibly every few years have to return the engine to "near stock" to keep the car registered? It is ENTIRELY your decision ... like most things in life there are trade-offs, and this is one of them. I'm happy with the "stock" power ... others aren't. To each his own ....

 

I would have to think it may not be worth it if I had to return car back to nearly stock every two years just to pass stinking test.Ah rules really stink