I am having trouble passong smog. I want to take my brothers stock ECU originally from Florida and put in place of my California M2 ramapped ECU. Does anyone see any problems this this idea?

 

Yeah, it won't run the EGR valve. You should still be able to pass with the M2 as they don't modify the idle and cruising fuel range. You have other issues if you're not passing.

 

Go in the california forum, there are many people who know where to get your car inspected. As long as the horn works.. (know what I mean)

 

also depends what year ecu you use.

if you have a '93 FD and you put in a '94+ ecu your check engine light will come on.

if you have a '94+ FD it does not matter what year ecu you put in as long as you get a '93+ ecu

 

Yeah, cars built in FL won't run in CA. Try it

 

Yeah I was affraid of that. I have Stock intake, DP, Supra fuel pump, and M2 ECU. That is everything that should have any effect on emissions. The last smog check passed CO .23 of .58 allowable with all stock parts. This time it was .68 of .53 allowable.

Based on all the searches I have done my modifications should pass smog. There may be an air pump problem. It seems to have good suction but it was making a loud buzzing noise when the car was not warmed up a little while back.

I was running an HKS Super Mega Flow intake which has the air pump draw hot engine compartment air. I am told hot air is bad for the pumps. Maybe that caused it. It sounds normal now but who knows. My brother has one laying around maybe I will try his and run it through again.

 

The M2 is not making you fail. You need to do the touline in the tank trick and/or figure out why you are failing. It could be a bad EGR which I beleive is only on CA cars so a FL ECU would not operate it.

 

I figured the first step in working on this is changing the air filter. It needed doing really bad. The whole air box with filter came from my brothers car. This is not the one that was on it when I did my first two smog checks with this car. I broke that one.

When I opened the box there was oil around the edges. There was also a spattering of oil on the inside of the upper half of the box. When I wiped my finger across the old stock filter it was dirty and a little shiny. My brothers turbos were leaking oil. Enough oil that when we took his intercooler out there was a pool of it in the bottom. I am guessing the oil in the air box was sprayed in there when the diverter valves vented air back into the box.

I am wondering if that was enough to clog up the filter enough to cause my problem. It seems like a long shot but it sure would be nice if the fix was that simple. Either way it has a nice new filter now.

 

Get the car good and WARMED up before you go to the smog station, you should be able to pass provided you don't have a dumbass tester hitting 10 psi on the ramp up.

 

A fresh set of plugs and an oil change should be first on your to-do list. Second is making sure that your air pump is working. If you're in doubt, try to borrow someone elses air pump. With your mods you shouldn't have to resort to "tricks" to pass smog.

 

I did the oil change the day before the check. I have the new air filter in. I am really lucky because my brother wan't. He went through two engines in 1000 miles. Because of that he has some extra high end spark plugs and wires. He also has his old air pump laying around. We are going to put those on when he gets home. I hope this works.

I noticed on the smog check form under reason for check it says “High Emitter Profile”. All my previous checks is said “Biennial Inspection.” Also it is the first time my smog check required a test only station. Another guy I know with an RX-7 got test only also. I wonder if there is something to that. Has anyone else noticed that this year?

 

All older cars are getting test only notices these days, as far as I know. All my rotary friends have gotten them, and the RX-8's have a while I guess

 

Well I did the new air filter, new spark plug wires, cleaned the plugs, and put my brother’s newer air pump on. I passed smog. The CO numbers went from .68 to .41 ppm (.53 is passing). I have two years to figure out why my numbers are so much worse than the last time.

 

Ah, forget it, by that time you'll have the **** modded out of it, and you'll have much bigger problems, like how to keep apex seals from cracking and "F" ing up your turbo

 

No no that's my brother. I'm learning from his experiences

I learned why my numbers were wierd. I guess the machine takes a snapshot the instant the numbers are all passing at the same time. I watched the machine while they were doing the test and saw CO numbers from .80 to .41 ppm. I guess the HC could have been fluctuating too and just happened to be near the limit when everything lined up. If anyone has a better reason for the numbers I am seeing let me know.