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Stefan (Not Bruce)
Stefan (Not Bruce) MegaDork
5/19/16 10:50 a.m.

I second the smog legal V8 Miata

Or perhaps a 914/similar swapped with a V8

Why not buy/build another Kart?

There's more than a few race tracks in Cali where you can race it.

Given Cali's traffic, I don't know that there's much to do with that much power on the street.

kb58
kb58 Dork
5/19/16 11:04 a.m.

My PM to you bounced, but check out www.midlana.com

mndsm
mndsm MegaDork
5/19/16 11:10 a.m.

This thread makes me happy im in an inspection free state.

codrus
codrus Dork
5/19/16 11:41 a.m.
Kylini wrote: For swapping, aren't E-Rod engines a thing? http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/crate-engines/e-rod-ls3.html https://www.flyinmiata.com/V8/california/index.php For the Miata, it's 1990-1995 only due to OBD thingies. You get 430 hp in a 2000 lb full-interior package though!

Keith should probably chime in here, but my understanding is that while as far as everyone can tell the FM e-rod conversion should be fully legal under the rules, it hasn't actually been tested yet. The last I'd heard they've only built one so far and it hasn't come up for smog testing yet.

oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy UltraDork
5/19/16 12:10 p.m.
mndsm wrote: This thread makes me happy im in an inspection free state.

Not inspection free here in Oregon... but here... they are mostly concerned with what comes from the tailpipe... NOT which engine came in the car originally....

gearheadmb
gearheadmb HalfDork
5/19/16 2:25 p.m.

Motorcycle was my first thought as well. If a hayabusa doesn't fulfill your adrenaline requirements your only options left would be fighter jets or bomb defusing.

mndsm
mndsm MegaDork
5/19/16 2:28 p.m.
oldeskewltoy wrote:
mndsm wrote: This thread makes me happy im in an inspection free state.
Not inspection free here in Oregon... but here... they are mostly concerned with what comes from the tailpipe... NOT which engine came in the car originally....

Ive lived two places in my life. Florida amd minnesota. Minnesota smoggrd for about 10 years but i wasnt old enough to give a E36 M3. The first year i would have had to smog jesse ventura bodyslammed smogging out the door.

Stefan (Not Bruce)
Stefan (Not Bruce) MegaDork
5/19/16 2:50 p.m.

Honestly, inspection has done quite a lot to help improve and protect the environment here in Oregon and for a while they had dyno stations.

Eventually they figured out that the dyno's were crap and gave false results (I believe Arizona figured it out first and dropped them soon afterward).

So now they just do a quick inspection for a cat, stick a probe in the exhaust and you just idle through the test. They also check for noise, but the limit there is louder than they allow people to run at PIR after 5pm, so you'd have to have a pretty annoying car to fail that (or just the average motorcycle around here it seems).

OBD2 cars just get the 'ol plugin routine. No biggie.

Cali has done a lot to help their smog problem, but as usual they legislate the wrong things and are shocked when people find ways around their poorly written rules. The fact they still use the Dyno solution and they used to have roadside dyno's tell me they are still not focusing on the correct things.

So don't get down on smog inspections, except for Cali, most places don't care as long your car runs clean. If you know what you're doing in the least, you should be able to get it to run cleanly enough to pass the inspection.

Mitchell
Mitchell UberDork
5/19/16 9:49 p.m.

BTW, what area are you living in? There are roads for every type of driving... You know, all of the legal ones.

impulsive
impulsive Reader
5/20/16 7:32 a.m.
Eventually they figured out that the dyno's were crap and gave false results (I believe Arizona figured it out first and dropped them soon afterward).

I'm in AZ and all my vehicles (88-91) still have to do the sniffer test on the rollers, if that's what you are referring to.

Stefan (Not Bruce)
Stefan (Not Bruce) MegaDork
5/20/16 7:46 a.m.

In reply to impulsive:

Hmm, interesting. That was a few years ago, so maybe they changed them to work a bit better?

Either way, they spent a ton on dynos, used them for a few years and then scrapped the program. Pretty standard boondoggle.

Huckleberry
Huckleberry MegaDork
5/20/16 7:59 a.m.

Close to 500hp/ton normally aspirated, sequential dog ring trans, smog legal in CA, ABS, Traction control, with warranty ... under $25k brand new... just about any Japanese or European litre class sport bike made since '08. They can be had for pennies on the dollar lightly used all over the left coast. Shifter kart excitement with suspension and a license plate.

jr02518
jr02518 Reader
5/20/16 8:57 a.m.

Car life in the Golden "Brown" State is not an older car friendly place. To get top dollar the seller is responsible for confirming the car legal on transfer of the title. I live in a mountain community above San Bernardino and do not have to get my cars tested on the dyno but if the buyer lives down the hill I am responsible for making sure it is legal.

What I have learned is a fresh California legal "cat" is the key. Again as the seller, this is the band-aid (the inspection station will check it is correct) that will get the car past the sniffer. Lights on the dash and non-carb stuff on the engine will not get you past the visual inspection. Yes, dead presidents make the car pass, but if the buyer is ever in a conversation with a road side inspection you might get a call to reverse the purchase.

The OBD-I cars are getting very thin on the roads of Southern California for a reason. Da rules.

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