California Conversion

Hello!
I am new to the board and will be doing my first 944 LSx conversion.

My main concern with doing the conversion in california is getting through the smog inspection. Has anyone here been through the process? If so, could you please shed some light on what I will be in for with the referee, smog testing, etc? Anyone put together a build list specifically for the CA build?

Is it true that the engine that is used must be from the same class vehicle (can not use a truck engine)?

Any of you from the Sacramento area?

Thanks!

Hey, I know this post is old, but did you ever find out about the California smog inspection situation? I am about to move out there in 6 months and I about to start on a conversion soon.

I know there are some guys on here that have full setup with cats and O2 etc...don't know the detail of the inspection but, just cruise the forum a bit and you should find your answers.

Ya, all cats, air pumps, exhaust manifolds, O2 sensors, etc., have to be in place. The steering shaft will need a mid-shaft U-joint to get around the exhaust. It can be done.

I feel your pain, I brought my LS6 powered 944 to San Diego from Canada two months ago.

The VIN is the most important thing; this determines what emission parts you need and I believe that's how the smog shop will determine what your car should have. I plan to configure my car my car like a 2002 Camaro Z28, so far I have picked up Cats, Air Pump, Evap valve with hoses, Elderbrock CARB EO certified shorty headers and upstream and downstream O2 sensors. I also have a K+N FIPK air filter so I need to get a CARB sticker to be placed either on the air filter or near by.

My car runs EFILIVE PCM software so I have full control over the tune and VIN, I will also turn on all the necessary smog sensors.

As per acrorad’s comments, I will need to modify my steering shaft to clear the stock headers, I hope acrorad can post some pictures of his setup.

I would recommend you join LS1TECH, it’s a great source of information and parts, I picked up my Cats and EVAP valve for $150.00, the Cats have only 30,000 miles on them.

pormgb, slight correction - if you are using a, say, 2002 Camaro engine, it will need all of the 2002 Camaro engine smog parts and also pass 2002 Camaro emissions. iow, the new engine is the deciding factor, not the car's VIN. I really have no knowledge of CARB certified aftermarket headers, so I will learn from you about that!

acorad wrote:pormgb, slight correction - if you are using a, say, 2002 Camaro engine, it will need all of the 2002 Camaro engine smog parts and also pass 2002 Camaro emissions. iow, the new engine is the deciding factor, not the car's VIN. I really have no knowledge of CARB certified aftermarket headers, so I will learn from you about that!

I agree, But the VIN determine the make and model of the car with its motor, lS1 based Camaros had different smog parts based on when they were built (early had EGR).

An example would be some Camaros has LS6 blocks but they are not Z06 Corvettes, if a visual check only looks at the engine number, the Camaro would show as having the wrong motor.

I'm still learning in preparation for the conversion, I have read a few cases on LS1TECH and there is a good write up on Jaguar that has been convered, there are also many conflicting stories out there.

I had to do something like this for Colorado. Granted they don't care about headers and intakes here, ie they won't fail you just because you have an intake or headers, even if they're not CARB approved.

My motor is from a 2002 Camaro. I got lucky in that the 2002 Camaro doesn't have an EGR system, so one less thing to install. They wanted to see that I had all the stuff from that Camaro like 4 O2 sensors, smog pump etc. I didn't have to have the cats from the Camaro, just a set of 49 state cats, so I have a set of Magnaflows installed.

Where I got stuck for a little while is they wanted all the readiness monitors to be set. I had to go back in with HP Tuners several times to force the monitors to read "ready" for the inspection. For instance I didn't install the Camaro gas tank or evap system, I'm using the Porsche one. So I had to code out that readiness monitor. Once I did that, they "certified" my swap.

Then it just had to pass smog. It passed the NO and CO, but failed the HC portion. I'm going to replace the little Magnaflow cats with bigger ones and it should pass fine then.

docwyte wrote:I had to do something like this for Colorado. Granted they don't care about headers and intakes here, ie they won't fail you just because you have an intake or headers, even if they're not CARB approved.

My motor is from a 2002 Camaro. I got lucky in that the 2002 Camaro doesn't have an EGR system, so one less thing to install. They wanted to see that I had all the stuff from that Camaro like 4 O2 sensors, smog pump etc. I didn't have to have the cats from the Camaro, just a set of 49 state cats, so I have a set of Magnaflows installed.

Where I got stuck for a little while is they wanted all the readiness monitors to be set. I had to go back in with HP Tuners several times to force the monitors to read "ready" for the inspection. For instance I didn't install the Camaro gas tank or evap system, I'm using the Porsche one. So I had to code out that readiness monitor. Once I did that, they "certified" my swap.

Then it just had to pass smog. It passed the NO and CO, but failed the HC portion. I'm going to replace the little Magnaflow cats with bigger ones and it should pass fine then.

How did your smog shop determine what motor and year? did they look at the block number or VIN.

They scanned the pcm for the vin#. They didn't look at the motor block. They did look at the smog pump, card, O2 sensors and for a check engine light.

docwyte wrote:They scanned the pcm for the vin#. They didn't look at the motor block. They did look at the smog pump, card, O2 sensors and for a check engine light.

Thanks!!
I think it would be the same in California.

Hello, guys. Does anyone have a link to any relative info on either the DMV or BAR sites. I think I saw one on here somewhere, but the link didn't work. It would be nice to get the most updated docs thay say which hoops to jump through.
Thanks,
john

Thanks for the link.

john8642 wrote:Thanks for the link.

Basically, in CA, you take the whole engine from the cats forward, just like it came off the assembly line, and put it in your new car. Shave your exhaust manifolds to fit inside your frame and mod the steering shaft to clear the exhaust.

From the BAR website:
"California Certification
A federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified (federal or 49–state) engine cannot be used in a vehicle that was originally certified for California."

Did porsche make CA-only 944s? I haven't bought mine yet, and was curious if an out of state car can be registered. I guess it wouldn't be hard finding a CA LS1 engine if that's the case.
Thanks for the info

Yes, during that era, manufacturers made cars specifically for California. There was usually a sticker under the hood saying they were a Cali emissions equipped car...

john8642 wrote:From the BAR website:
"California Certification
A federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified (federal or 49–state) engine cannot be used in a vehicle that was originally certified for California."

Did porsche make CA-only 944s? I haven't bought mine yet, and was curious if an out of state car can be registered. I guess it wouldn't be hard finding a CA LS1 engine if that's the case.
Thanks for the info

Yes, I have one.

There are two labels. The emission label on the left side of the engine bay above the windshield washer tank states the car complies to California emissions, the second label is located on left side door Jamb and states the car has a catalyst converter, there is also an EPA number at the bottom of the sticker.

My car was sold in California then went to Ontario Canada, I moved from Ontario to San Diego and re-imported the car with the LS6 motor, I am now working on the smog certification.

Regarding California LS1 motors, that may be possible because there is an engine VIN that could show the motor was delivered in a California certified Corvette or Camaro, from what I have read the smog guys check the VIN to determine what car the motor belongs to, then then verify it has the correct emission components.

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