Fielding Interest - Trading Stage I Exhaust for Stock System (CA Owner)

[vwdmc16]

With CA being so strict you may have a hard time passing with those cams. Certainly not having the timing to spec will cause you to fail just as not having the stock exhaust, I don't think the Stage II is an approved part. To find out just exactly what base timing you should set you need to get in touch with DMCCA about their cams. You should probably use the highest octane you can get. If you hear any pinging you are doing damage to the pistons. Too much timing, too fast on the advance or not enough octane. Could also be the motor is running too hot. California is a tough State....

FWIW my car passes just fine with DPI cams, stock exhaust and stock timing on 87 octane here in Sacramento. I don't think any smog check will be able to notice the cams they aren't that aggressive, however I do know that they are absolutely not California legal.

[opethmike]

Efi and 93 octane? Lucky guy! Apparently we can't be trusted with an extra two octane points here in California.

Have any horsepower numbers? I'd love to know

I'm afraid I do not; I have never dyno'd the car. Feels similar to a stage 2, but with better torque down low and a bit smoother. So, better, but nothing earth shaking.

[Chris 16409]

The trick is to find a shop that doesn't know how a DeLorean is supposed to look. Once you get passed visual, the only part of the test that's an issue is NOx. Depending on where you live, some counties do NOx testing and others don't. In you live in an area where smog is low you just do an idle test and 2500 RPM test, no dynamometer. Certain counties are exepmt from the bi-annual smog test, only when you change ownership do you have to smog. Here is the CA Smog Map:

SMOG Map.jpg

The gray areas are Smog at "change of ownership" regions. Clint, if you get property in Amador country you will be golden. I live in Fresno County, but Mariposa is also gray county.

[Chris 16409]

This Memo from the BAR is also of interest. I have boxed the relevant info. Our Cars are 35 years old now (except 83s), so I'm interested in what parts of the smog test we are exempt from?

BAR Memo.jpg

[Lwanmtr]

Californy is kinda messed up....here in Wa, our cars are exempt completely..no ambiguous 'exempt from certain parts'....I had an 83 Mazda pickup when I lived down in LA for a while, glas I wasnt there long enough to try and get it licensed there.

[vwdmc16]

The trick is to find a shop that doesn't know how a DeLorean is supposed to look....

The gray areas are Smog at "change of ownership" regions. Clint, if you get property in Amador country you will be golden...

Oh yes I also had this thought last time I tried smoging my in my car. However it backfired on me quite badly, they had no idea what to look for, so they had to consult the CARB Book and read out that the car only has one catalytic converter, so right away they knew that the system required as mine with two catalytic converters was not correct. Instant fail.

I would sure love to have a property in that county, but I just don't make the kind of money where I can buy even a spot with mailbox on it just so I can smog a car there. Plus I would hate to have my insurance voided in an accident because my car is registered to an empty lot and I park it in my garage in another County.

I'm not going to live in California forever, the changes before then that would be nice but I really doubt it will.

[Bob635]

Ryan,

I agree that smog rules are out of control in some states. During my professional environmental career I was involved in the early research on smog testing program . We were also tied into U of I determine scientifically, if smog testing really did any good.

The conclusion after 5 years of testing "At best emission testing of cars, may reduce photochemical oxidant formation by 1%." The research
clearly showed in CA, that the major source of VOCs that causes smog, was the refineries. (but they of course have a lobbyist! You DON'T).
Then they turn these rules over to bureaucrats who want unnecessary rules to continue forever as job security. Never mind that this means
a waste of tax money and non productive use of resources.

The STUPIDEST EXAMPLE is Illinois. (Gee, why doesn't this surprise me, with the most bankrupt state and they only state where people are leaving!)

About 15 years ago, they decided to test car while using dynamometers. (not enough cars were failing so they had up the failure rate.)
The cost was $100,000 per testing lane. They spent $30,000,000 putting on dynos.

Then, they started BLOWING UP PEOPLE's transmissions, because thee dynos were overloading the cars drive train (to get more to fail!). After one year of this fiasco- and $5,000,000 in payouts to people whose cars they damaged. - THEY STOPPED THE WHOLE DYNO PROGRAM.

But their friends in the dyno equipment industry MADE MILLIONS!

I can't help thinking that these rules exist- supported by the car makers- to get people to buy new cars-because they really don't protect the environment.
They just scare people into thinking they do.

Obviously, the fear mongering has worked. How many junk yards do you see anymore? these allowed people to fix up their older cars.
Or, how about the quality of replacement parts. My experience is 50% are junk.

Government uses this and other programs to control people with "fear" and take away our property rights, albeit arbitrarily is this case by not allowing you to drive your classic car.