if i do the conversion do you think that it will pass the visiaul part of the smog check in California i dont think they would no the difference between the maf and the afm unless there into z's what do u guys think

 

even if they were into Z's they'ed prolly respect it instead of fail it. i dont think you'll have a problem with visual

 

ok sweet im going to get it smogged soon and then when i get the money im gonna do the swap

 

You do realize that the answer to your question came from a guy that's not even in CA, right? If the technician is aware that older cars like that had AFM's, it would not be difficult for them to tell the difference between an AFM and a MAF. Try and make the install as integrated-looking as possible; it's when something doesn't look like it belongs there or looks jury-rigged that they'll take a closer look. You could custom fab a bracket/plate to mount the smaller MAF unit on to fill in the original area the AFM sat in.

 

cause even if they respect it or not, they "have" to fail you, if they know its not ment to be there...

 

how many of you have failed with your Z31 swaps though? ive never hear of it. and Cali sucks *** you should just move somewhere without emmissions.

 

So does that mean no one using MegaSquirt, SDS, or any other kind of aftermarket fuel management can "LEGALLY" pass emissions in CA?

 

thats what im sayin. dont accuse me of being wrong. lol. the visual is to make sure you still have emmission refulatory parts such as the EGR cats etc. and that they are street legal parts since cali is a **** ruled state.

 

it doesn't matter what parts are on it.... as long as it has cats, "looks" like it has the egr hooked up.... and again if they have ms or any other fuel management and can pass the test they WILL pass you... just because it doesn't looks stock doesn't mean anything... it just has to pass the emissions test. good luck! and if you know people that do it they will pass you anyways.. so get in good with some people.

 

^^^ So we have two guys from CA saying it does matter in CA, and a guy from OK saying it doesn't matter in CA...

 

Lol, We R NooB so don't worry about us in Cali, we're just crazy and have no clue on things. All I can say is "CARB" has a lot of meaning here other than talking about food.

 

thats different. lifegaurddude what setup are you running in your car? Z31 ecu right? wasnt heat raver also? and i know a few people with turbo swaps in cali in S30's even and you all seem to be passing emmisions no? thats what the question in play here was i thought.

 

I do have the Z31 swap, but that's why I also have my stock stuff at home as well. I have my wiring stuff on quick connects which does look ugly, but I did it for a reason. S30 people up to '75 are exempt so they don't have to worry. The others go through the same crap we do except if they register their motor with the state ref, then it's legit. If not and they get pulled or the tech at the smog shop notices, it's instant fail, and the DMV will be notified which means you pay penalties out the yin yang and you have to go to the state ref. (no cat = $2500-10K depending)

You can probably pass with the Z31 swap since most techs nowadays are too young to know what a proper L-series engine bay looks like, but just remember that the VCM doesn't work and the EGR usually gets checked. Plus we go to smog only places where they are stricter than the regular shops that do cars under 15 years of age. So Cal is the strictest place in the entire world about this crap and it sucks. Roll the dice and see if you get lucky, but I play it safe since the Z31 swap is only a few wires and maybe 20 minutes of my time to undo.

 

ill probably end up doing what you did lifegrddude thanks for the help

 

I'm going Megasquirt (still haven't gotten around to installing it). Because it does away with the AFM and/or MAF, I plan to reinstall the AFM (obviously not wired to anything) to make it look like it's running on the stock electronics, when it's time to smog. Sure, there's a MS sensor on the intake piping, but I can always claim it's for one of my aftermarket gauges.

To show you how tough it is in CA, I was failed on my last visual just for having a BOV! I had to go to the state ref because of that.

 

Damn smog *****!!!

 

damn i really need to move out of california i guess every time i have to get it smogged im gonna have to return every thing to stock or atleast stock looking

 

Despite all the hassle I've had to go through in all the years I've been fixing up cars, I still support the smog laws. Aside from environmental concerns, I hate being behind a stinky car. Just the other night, I was going down a one lane street, stuck behind some old hoopty car that stank so bad I had to close my vents!