E30 M3 LS1/ls6 emissions...?
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Teching In
Joined: Mar 2005
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E30 M3 LS1/ls6 emissions...? I'm about to buy a very nice silver 1988 E30 M3 with a LS1 in it. It's about 2/3 done. the LS1 has head work, bigger cam, ls6 intake, etc. I will buy the car once i know for sure that it will be legal to drive. What do i do about emissions when they type in 1988 M3 and the rpm sensor is lookin for a inline 4? i'm in washing state where you run on a chassis dyno when you do emissions, not to mention the guys there drive the car rather than the owner. It should be a beast of a car at about 2900lbs with 400-450 hp and torque, not to mention new M coupe front and rear suspension and bigger breaks. 410 gears, 5 lug, 17 in wheels.... what do u guys think?
My current car is a 1972 Chevelle SS, red with white stripes, currently going through a 383 implant.
My current car is a 1972 Chevelle SS, red with white stripes, currently going through a 383 implant.
The laws regarding engine swaps are pretty simple. To be emissions legal the swap can only be from a vehicle of the same year or newer... and you need to be able to pass the emissions of the year and make vehicle the engine came from. So in your case, you need to be able to pass the emissions of the vehicle the LS1 came out of. Also, you would have to retain all the emissions equipment from that engine/vehicle. So you will be taking the test not as a 88' M3, but as an XX' Camaro/Firebird. If the LS1 has retained all the emissions equipment, and the mods are not too radical, you will be fine...
But, that's assuming they will look into it that far. If its a dynamic test, and they don't plug into the computer on the car (when they plug in on a OBDII car they are looking for codes stored in the computer), then you may be fine. They might just test it against the standards for an 88 M3.
If your conserned only with how far you can mod a LS1 and still pass a sniffer test, the general concensus on the LS1 is a cam no bigger than 224/224 duration @0.05 lift and a minimum LSA of 114 degrees. Most head work is OK, and the exhaust is usually fine if your not setting any check engine lights on the factory computer (indication of too small a difference between the O2 sensors across the cats). It gets touchy, but the cam is usually the killer to drivability and emissions.
Good Luck
T-hawk
Good luck
But, that's assuming they will look into it that far. If its a dynamic test, and they don't plug into the computer on the car (when they plug in on a OBDII car they are looking for codes stored in the computer), then you may be fine. They might just test it against the standards for an 88 M3.
If your conserned only with how far you can mod a LS1 and still pass a sniffer test, the general concensus on the LS1 is a cam no bigger than 224/224 duration @0.05 lift and a minimum LSA of 114 degrees. Most head work is OK, and the exhaust is usually fine if your not setting any check engine lights on the factory computer (indication of too small a difference between the O2 sensors across the cats). It gets touchy, but the cam is usually the killer to drivability and emissions.
Good Luck
T-hawk
Good luck
