Wow, what a PITA, huh?

Guess the other guy was just being a jerk. Wouldn't you love to see how he reacted when he found out you passed??

Glad your all set now


-Bink

 

Looks like I'll load up a stock map and head to medford...

 

thanks.. yea i felt like driving over there and rubbing it in his face then just 2 stepping and launching while spinning all 4 so he can see it aint stock and i still got a sticker..

 

definatly, stay away from the guy at tewksbury.. trust me he failed me 5 times.. lol.. ide know.. just go to medford even if u gota drive.. itll be worth it at the end

 

Bad news.

I should have heeded the advice and gone to Medford, but I had already made my appt.

Went to Braintree. A guy from the EPA was there.

I knew it was bad when they were trying to get the car on a lift after about 20 minutes of scanning (they couldn't, lol).

I actually put a stock cat-back and cat on it too. I even disconnected my MBC and I'm running to the stock boost solenoid, which doesn't work, so I only get 12 psi wastegate. I even had both baby seats in the back. They did make a note of the baby seats, but it didn't sway them.

Anyway, they were fairly nice about it, but advised me that I need to return the car to "EXACT" stock specifications. Everything under the hood must be returned to stock.

I asked if it failed any readiness tests, and he said there were some inconsistencies, but that doesn't really matter if all components need to be "stock". He was talking about federal laws and $25 K fines.

He said that if I even change the final drive or tire height (!!), it may not be legal. This is because these have a profound effect on emissions, right?

Well, I could make sure my ECU is setup correctly with some help, then give Medford a try, but honestly I'm leaning towards selling the car.

PLMK if you have any questions, maybe I can help someone else, even though I couldn't help myself, heh. I'm not sure if this EPA guy floats around, he may go to different MACs on different days...

GLTA.

 

So now snow tires must be illegal in MA. No changing tire diameters. This state is going down the toilet. It's worth a mention that motorcycles and lawn mowers have no cats. Operating a lawn mower for 1 hour is the emissions equivalent of driving 350 miles in a car.

 

Somehow I believe the EPA guy was just trying to stroke his **** in front of you....25K for a failed vehicle inspection is nonsense when you're already running a stock cat and cat-back and both are visible.

Do they do tailpipe sniffing at the MAC?

 

Passed at medford no problem. Minus the fact that the guy roasted my new clutch on the way into the shop, he plugged it in, looked over some **** etc...

I asked why I didn't pass before he said that the computer picked up on "AC Readiness" and "Heated cat readiness" which is something our cars doesnt have. On top of that he said my car might not pass emissions with the exhaust but he didn't really give a rats ***.

I have my cat back in, egr back in etc... he didn't even check but I'm not saying he won't. I do have the quietest aftermarket exhaust on my car so its a lot quieter than most cars.

 

Jason what catback are you running?

 

Snow tires should be legal in Massachusetts but only from Nov 1st-April 30th if they follow the same laws as studded tires (which I see no reason why they would allow dangerous studded tires but not standard snow tires). Snow tires being illegal from spring-to-fall is common in many northern states in the U.S.



Here is the website with some details regarding the newer Mass inspection system:

http://massvehiclecheck.state.ma.us/

I wonder if Mass will adopt the California Air Research Board (ie; C.A.R.B.) and only allow C.A.R.B. approved components on vehicles. That would suck.

What I know others have done to make the aftermarket upgrades appear less 'obvious' is to make as many items not visible or painted or high-temp powdercoated black to match the factory 'look' like THIS

I foresee a LOT more Massachusetts builds with a very 'stock appearing' look. This can easily be done without a huge loss in performance anyhow. With a ported intake manifold, ported stock throttlebody, ported exhaust manifold (all 3 can be done for as low as $550!) and either an upgraded twin-scroll turbo (like the new MAPerformance turbos,FP white,green,red, black and HTA 3076 ball bearing turbo) or some other offering like our PTE6262 kit which utilizes a stock exhaust manifold, you can make a LOT of horsepower while still appearing as stock as possible.

-Jamie

 

Hi guys,

The guy did say yesterday that each component must be CARB certified.

However, shortly after I posted, the MAC guy called me. I kind of had a feeling he would.

He said that I seemed like a reasonable/intelligent person, and I just needed to fix my EVAP issue and my European ROM. I said I knew exactly what the problem was. I was also glad I didn't snap and start swearing at the guy yesterday lol. I said I could probably fix the ECU stuff, but I would not be able to re-install all the stock components under the hood. He said this would be fine.

I thanked him for calling me, and asked if the EPA guy was always there. He said he was usually there. I was curious if this EPA guy goes from MAC to MAC or what...

Anyway, I have a beater lined up for about $1500 if I can't get this to pass, but I'm going to try to get the ECU to the exact current spec and give it one more try. I would like to get myself a new car that I actually covet, but we're still paying for my wife's car and she stopped working last year due to the birth (and complications) with our second child. It's good to have some hope and a backup plan though.

 

Hi,

Quick question on readiness. I think everything is set right in the ECU, I've driven it for a couple of days and it's not ready yet. Here is the breakdown per my OBDII scanner:

Incomplete:

- O2 Sens mon
- O2 Sens Htr
- Catalyst Mon

The following are OK:

- EVAP System Mon
- Misfire Monitor
- Fuel System mon
- Comp. Component
- EGR System

The following are N/A:

- A/C refrig Mon
- Htd Catalyst
- Sec Air System

The following is "Off":

- MIL Status

I've been reading on the test and it says 2001 and newer cars can have no more than 1 unset monitor. For 2000 prior it's 2.

Now, I've confused myself. Does this refer to them being Incomplete? I have three that are N/A, but this is correct, right? I just want to make sure getting the three incompletes to complete is all I need to do....

MIL Status off just means there is no CEL, right?

I appreciate the input here, running low on time to get my car re-inspected at the MAC. Hoping I can get the 3 incompletes to set and I don't throw any other CELs..

Thanks.

 

i went to the medford one with my evo being slammed 2.5 lower then factory.. boost controller installed.. mud flaps scrapping.. harness bar and 5 point seatbelts hanging.. cams bouncing.. and the guy didnt say one thing.. lol.. guy in tewksbury failled my behind 5 times.. lol.. so everyone GO TO MEDFORD... lol.. good luck to all

berkel.. dont sell the car.. trust me i know it can be frustrating.. but not sumthing hard to go at.. i was gona do the same sell it.. bt i know i would have been kicking myself in the behind lol

 

Berkel stopped in today and he is good to go

 

Damn, MA is becoming a **** like Cali.