hi guys, i might be kidding myself but i thought i might give it a shot... ...im really scared of the EPA failing modded cars, so i wanna know what you can do and pass the EPA check. when doing mods to the car, what do the EPA check on? items like aftermarket ECU, do they automatically fail you on that? or can you use them? what about things like porting the heads etc. i would like to make around 220rwkw on around 12psi, and that brings me to my next question... reguarding turbo's, are u only allowed the stock turbo? is going a bigger turbo going to fail you? what about a hi-flowed T3 with T4 internals? if its possible i want a nice clean street car, just dont wanna be scared of the cops (i know they will do you for whatever they like, but i dont go around asking for trouble) whats the go with injectors? can you only have stock? after see'ing HSVQUE's post on the EPA, can they fail you on a 3" exhaust? just pritty much what can i do to stay legal but satisfy my taste buds! thanks guys P.S. i heard you can get away alot easier with GAS setups. but in melb the temp can go quite low. goes the gas freeze up? and the people here who have gas setups what do you recommend?

technically anything non standard will cause you to fail..

love it when u say technically, sounds like their is a glitch you can get around

LOL Theres always glitches... Gas is one way to get around it, it's doesn't get you off the hook completely but does make it easier.. Keep a cat under the car, just get a high flow one.. LOL cat convertor, not pussy cat :P Get the standard intake ported.. they flow well enough to run 10's. Run an airbox, no point in pods unless you have to run one. (My MSD is where the box goes so it wont fit). keep it all neat and tidy, no boost controller solenoids in obvious location.... just simple stuff really. The more stock it looks when the bonnet is popped the better cooler piping should be the only give away... Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

what about a different cold air box? with the piping from the intercooler the stock one wont fit in (ive looked at cutting it down etc) maybe a berina one or something that will fit

I have thought about fabricating a stainless steel airbox for myself.. i dont know aobut the legalities on that.. i suppose aslong as it can hold a standard panel filter in it, should be right.. but thats not a guarantee. You're really better off asking fellow queenslanders about this, as it's probably different in every state.

i was going to make a clear/blue perspex case to go around my pod dunno if that will belegal

I made an airbox for my white VL.. It's got a pod enclosed in it... not sure on the rule for how big it's openings are allowed to be, as you can't have a fully enclosed box or no air would get in. And it's ment to be enclosed to stop backfires working their way through the intake and causing a fire by coming out of your POD But hey, rules are rules... And each state has different rules, so best bet would be to make an apointment with your friendly EPA people and ask them yourself. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Hey we live in QLD. We don't get hit hard like in other states.

sorry, i was asking reguarding melb... im moving down and need to sort out what i can do... so if anyone can give me some feedback on what mods are legal for melbourne id be happy Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

lol.. Mods and Legal are two words that don't go together when your talking about Melbourne.. I'll give you a few basic rules/advice.. Only 1 intake mod (Pod or intercooler), don't have anything else that makes your car look modded, i.e. big shiny plenum's tend to draw the police officer's attention and they end up going through the rest of the car..

yeah in melb just avoid the temptation of going down chapel street. that is no different to suicide. you drive there to show off and get caught. ummm. according to vicroads lately you can have more then one intake mod. not sure where this only one thing ever came from, but i beleived it for a while. it is written in the legislation. (i think road safety act, but not sure) anyway, showcar = canary unless you have a photo album worth of certificates for the car, even then insurance is the real enemy. just paint all the piping mat black and stick the original piping in as decoy so they can't see turbo gear Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Ill be doing an EPA technical article soon but here are some facts from someone whos been to EPA before and not just heard Rumors.. Yes 3" is Legal I whent to EPA with a full 3" off the turbo 1 Cat and 1 centre muffler.. they said yup sweet thats fine.. but when it came time to test with the DB Meter it read 94db I knew it would be over.. I was told yea sure the exhaust is fine but its just to loud.. I whent and spoke to my local exaust shop and they said look we could shove stuff up your exhaust to make it more quite but what if it still fails again by even 1 db?(I didnt want this to happen) he then said we can put some washers or do some other things to your system but we wouldnt want to Cut up a nice new 3" zorst.. so the best solution for me which would be the best also in the EPA's eyes was to take the 3" off and i borrowed a Fresh(Newish) standard exhaust from a friend which i got fitted for around $30-$40... which should get my loudness down to about 89db... Also I whent with Cooler and Pod Filter.. EPA said loose the cooler or loose the pod so you only have 1 intake mod then this will be fine. Also he said take off the Boost controller as your not allowed that.. and he even said your allowed to Keep your Catch can on but it MUST NOT VENT and it must recerculate..(No FIlter) So it has to be a fully sealed catch can unit to Pass.. They also told me NO Welded Over boost Valve is allowed they check it to make sure its not welded or sealed in anyway... He checked that i was still running standard computer by removing my air flow meter plug and listening to see if the sound of the engine and the way it idled changed...(After market computer is big EPA no no) and 1 thing i nearly forgot to mention.. Where your mixture screw is on your AFM that bit of the unit has to be sealed/Pluged up.. Mine was open and they didnt like it.. Now its got some silicone type stuff in it. Ok now here is abit of a myth a few people have told me.. "Dont goto the EPA with rims man.. they will own you" or other things people say "Dont go with guages or anyting man"- Now I whent to EPA with monster tacho on the dash, Rims on the front + stockies on the back With legal tread and also with pretty slammed springs..(How i drive it on the road) Not once did they mention anything to me about these things.. I was polite and helpfull for the whole EPA test and they were helpfull to me... The outcome of the inspection was that I failed and i needed to Fix the following things.. AFM DB had to come down.(under 90) Catch Can had to be sealed or removed. Pod or Cooler had to be removed. Boost controller had to be removed. He said fix these things where giving you 28 Days in which your allowed to drive the car after that it has to be towed for any mechanical work or otherwise.. He said once its all done and ready call us make an appointment come back and see us and we will re test you and hopefully you will be cleared if everything is ok.. Hope this answers a few Questions.. if you want to know anything elce just ask.. My EPA date is set for the 8th of Feb but im currently waiting for a cancellation so i can get an earlyer one as my car is all ready to go. Sorry for the horrific spelling as its rather late Rob Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

cheers HSVQUE, pritty much what i was after. now what does remapping the stock ECU mean? if u was get get bigger injecters + hiflow t3(firstly im guessing thats not legal) can u still use the stock ECU? ive heard of people reprogramming them. is that making them able to handle the new gear? and is it exy and does anyone do it?

there actually decent blokes down at the epa, well they were when i went. and whoever said don't go down there with wheels gauges etc, it's a crock of ****. they couldn't give 2 ****s about any of that ****, just the epa part. they are TMU officers looking to hand out canaries.

So we cant have n aftermarket ECU at all? That sucks the fat one. My falcon ECU shat itself on 3psi.

no aftermarket ecu. best bet would be a plug in ecu like a link etc, then change it back if need be.

Like Greg said, although haha it's not easy.. Map sensor, AFM to hook back up, bigger injectors... haha could be a pain... The Delco computer is probably your best bet as far as after market comps go, able to be tuned for larger injectors, and can run boosted applications via a map sensor.. and if they get huffy it's a computer used in all 89-2004 commodores.. well pretty much Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

The falcon has no MAF, so maybe I can just hide the computer in an empty amp casing under the seat or something. At least you VL boys had turbos from the factory. I wish I had more aftermarket support. The delco would have been a decent choice thinking back now or even LPG.

Depends who you get, how busy they are, what mood they are in, what the cop finds on your car and reports. When i want, he never checked the Plenum overboost valve. I had one on there but ut was sealed inside. He also never checked for aftermarket computers, nor did he ever test my AFM by taking the plug off etc, & he didnt check to see if that screw on the AFM was sealed or not. All i did for the exhaust was put a resonator on the back, and the system passed at 4200rpm (which is what they test noise at), but was louder at idle.. but he said there wasnt much he could do because i passed at the desired reading/RPM. So contrary to HSVQUE's post.. i got off pretty lightly, where as he sounds like he had a bugger of a time. Its all very well saying "when i went there this happened" but really, it depends on a few other varibles too.. All you can do is prey when you go haha. cheers