Hey guys, i bought a 2003 evo 8 recently and tried to get my emissions test done. I wasn't able to take it because they said the heated o2 sensor wasn't reading or something like that. The car has got a hks downpipe, testpipe and a greddy ti-c exhaust.

It doesnt throw any codes for the test pipe because the ecu has been flashed. So i am assuming that is the problem of why i cannot take the test. If this is correct, i am planning on throwing on a cat in place of the test pipe, and change out the flashed ecu for a stock ecu just for the test.

The car is tuned to just over 300whp so i was also wondering if i will have to worry about any detonation issues. I would not like that . And second, are the 2004-05 evo 8's ecu compatible? i wouldnt think so? If my assumptions are correct about the whole stock ecu thing, does anyone have a stock ecu i could borrow for a day to throw on and get my test done? It would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advanced for all the tips and advice guys!

 

Go back and get the number for the dept. of Ecology and explain what your situation is and they should notify whichever station you go to to have them sniff test the car instead and you should be able to pass. I had the same issue with my car they said the car wouldnt let them test it and I ended going to 5 different stations and finally after I called and talked to the guy we discovered to get sensors reset it was ridiculous so he let me sniff test and it passed.

 

He has a test pipe though. Wouldn't that fail the test? He'd still need to switch in a cat to pass the sniffer test no?

The ecus are close enough so this should work. I believe there is a better way of flashing the cars now so they still pass the readiness test. You probably had it flashed a while back and they turned off the test completely which probably causes the failure. You could optionally look into that.

Even so, for a short swap once you don't beat on the car the change in the parts shouldn't cause any issues. So I wouldn't worry too much about detonation.

 

Here you go...

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ec...us-mrfred.html

 

OBD2 cars dont do sniffers with the rare exception of some of the OBD1 swapped Honda/Acura on the road. Freddie hit the nail on the head, doing the forced pass cures the problems.

 

They stuck the tester into my exhaust while running test pipe and still passed emissions this year.

 

So what are my options here? Is swapping out for the stock ecu an option? i could do the code but id need someone who has the software and connector. or forcing a sniffer test? they said the memory was completely empty. Could it be that i just need to complete a drive cycle? or is the flashed ecu the sure problem.

 

This car was recently tuned (less than 6 months ago). It's not an old tune, and it was done by Aaron. So I would take Aaron's and Freddie's advice.

The car is running 26psi, has a dual stage Boost Controller set to 26psi, and the wastegate has been altered. On top of that has an HKS RS intake. There are many other mods but those are the major ones that come to mind to where I don't recommend the stock ECU. Anyone else have thoughts on that?

 

I would recomend the stock ECU unless you have a car soley for track purposes... and then a standalone might be necessary...

 

He has a stock ecu, he just doesn't have a stock flash. I was using his own words. He wanted to take an ECU that hasn't ever been flashed and replace the one that has been flashed for the test.

 

Considering that this particular fix has not been out that long, and did not make its way to certain ROMs until within the last 3-4 months, then it was doubtful for anything outside that timeframe to have had this fix. Furthermore, since it is currently failing the test, then its obvious it doesn't have the fix, which was why I had a good feeling it had been flashed sometime before this fix came out/before it had been well tested. The older ways of "fixing" this issue fail the test.

He talks about returning to a cat with a stock flash. If those are the major mods above, a stock flash with the cat will probably idle and drive a little crappy with that intake but once it can make it there shouldn't fail the emissions test which seems to be the goal.

The best option is to simply get the car re-flashed with the fix posted above. It is less work, and since it was tuned by Aaron initially, then ER can probably work with you to get this done.

 

Ahh you mean the new fix. I thought you were talking about the ability to turn off the CEL from the rear o2 sensor.

It's still dangerous to be running boost with that stock ecu. Still not ideal.

I completely agree.

 

Yep. That's the only one worth talking about if you are in this kind of problem

Its like anything else thought right, once he doesn't beat on it will be fine. Just cause the BC can go to 26psi if you drive it at the speed limit in the correct gear does it ever hit 26 psi? . He would have just been doing it for a short time anyway but the re-flash is still the best way so i guess this is moot for now.

 

True, but it needs to be bolded, made in red, and in flashing colors not to hit peak boost.

 

Indeed.....