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CA to test for ECU tunes at smog checks

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Ludachris

Founder & Zookeeper
8,053
3,072
Nov 12, 2001
Newcastle, California
Just FYI to those in CA who are about to get their car smogged. If you're going to get a smog check for a tuned vehicle, you'll need to set your tune back to stock before you go for the test - they'll be scanning your ECU for an aftermarket tune - not sure if this applies to both OBD 1 and 2, or just 2. This is obviously going to be a big problem for people with bigger injectors, aftermarket pumps, etc. Hopefully everyone has a connection who can help them out.

 
Oh No........this is going to be rough to work around for you Cali guys. :oops:
 
Well they finally did it. I been waiting for this to happen for years with all the tuners being marketed it was just a matter of time.

A couple good things about this is they will go for the low hanging fruit retailers like HP tuners and Cobb access port where they add proprietary code when flashing the ECU in order to lock it or key it to the tuner. They do this so you always have to come back to them for more tunes but it's easy to see when an ECU has been modified by one of these devices.

For our older stuff we're in a lot better place. It definitely won't be able to be applied to OBD 1 that's for sure. No way to check the software configuration. They never have hooked into the OBD 1 systems. Just check to see if the CEL is on. Secondly for those of us using the Black Box Ecu's we are modifying the exact factory ROM and then re-flashing so the only way to tell it's been modified would be to read the entire memory and compare it to a factory ROM. Technically possible but not something their going to try and implement for 20+ year old cars that few are left on the road.

Last time I smogged they didn't even plug into the OBD2 port on the Eclipse. The Pre-2000 year cars are a completely separate test from the 2000 and later cars. They still run the pre cars on the dyno and hit them with the sniffer so for the 96-99 OBD2 cars they just treat them like the 95 and prior OBD1 cars. Just see if the check engine light is on, do visual inspection, and then run the numbers. If you pass that your good.

But for the 2000 and later stuff especially all the newer 2010+ stuff that's been hit with a flash tuner those guys are screwed.

Oh No........this is going to be rough to work around for you Cali guys. :oops:
It's only funny when it's not happening to you Marty haha.

Cali has always just been ahead of the game on this stuff. Enough years down the line it's gonna be the whole country. It's coming mark my words. Look what happened with catalytic converters or what's now happening with electric vehicles. We'll all be screwed then.
 
I will be long gone by the time that shit hits KANSAS, and I don't think its one bit funny, I think it is just going too far for automotive enthusiasts and hobby car guys.
 
I wonder how they are really going to tell the difference on a DSM from the diagnostic port. It's going to be far easier to look under the hood or look at the sniffer results as mentioned.

I found the below article goes into a little bit more detail. He's suggesting their going to look at checksum values so that goes along with my theory this won't affect us with DSM ecu's one bit. Their going after the much later vehicles with a simple enough check they can do with data from the manufacturer. I'll bet it's only specific manufacturer's their going to be able to do as well not everything across the board.

 
I wonder how they are really going to tell the difference on a DSM from the diagnostic port. It's going to be far easier to look under the hood or look at the sniffer results as mentioned.
Yeah, I'm not sure the DSM guys will be too affected unless maybe they're running a full standalone possibly - maybe not.
I found the below article goes into a little bit more detail. He's suggesting their going to look at checksum values so that goes along with my theory this won't affect us with DSM ecu's one bit. Their going after the much later vehicles with a simple enough check they can do with data from the manufacturer. I'll bet it's only specific manufacturer's their going to be able to do as well not everything across the board.
Sounds like we don't have too much to worry about. Still, the trend is something to worry about. Not that we haven't been dealing with it already in CA for many years with the visual tests.
 
This is social media... and BIG TECH is censoring all FREE SPEECH discussion about:

Election fraud : Trump won by a lot, GA audit has proven that in the last 48 hours, just wait till AZ release it's report

The plandemic was a hoax- proven fact; grand total US deaths from 2019 mirrored 2020

The vaccine is safe - Proven yesterday that vaccine deaths surpassed COVID deaths.

The world doesn't have to come to an end for the US to break up. These commie states will not accept Trump as President or the true election results. This country is in for a rude awakening.

If you want truth, watch INFOWARS on banned.video
Well, politics, religion, and various other hot button topics have never been allowed here on this forum. Social media networks are more general chit chat about whatever, and now they're dealing with the consequences of their "engagement at all costs" approach to building their massive empires, and the chaos that has ensued. I have no say in how they choose to moderate their sandbox. I can only do what I can to keep this site focused on DSMs. And on that note...

If anyone has more info to share about the upcoming smog changes in CA, please do chime in.
 
This is social media... and BIG TECH is censoring all FREE SPEECH discussion about:

Election fraud : Trump won by a lot, GA audit has proven that in the last 48 hours, just wait till AZ release it's report

The plandemic was a hoax- proven fact; grand total US deaths from 2019 mirrored 2020

The vaccine is safe - Proven yesterday that vaccine deaths surpassed COVID deaths.

The world doesn't have to come to an end for the US to break up. These commie states will not accept Trump as President or the true election results. This country is in for a rude awakening.

If you want truth, watch INFOWARS on banned.video

Aw come on now Chris I was just about to break out my tin foil hat and que up some Alex Jones for this guy. Seriously though lived in CA all my life and certainly don't agree with the policies around here. But what I have had to do is work with and around them to pass smog which I take as a personal challenge.

And ya maybe I could move where it snows half the year and my car would already be rusted out to not have to deal with it right now. But like I said above if you don't think that emissions restraints are tightening on a federal level the same way they are getting worse here then you have your head in the sand. Look at the EPA fining all these small time aftermarket suppliers all across the country. Ya'll can stand back and act like no smog states are gonna be a thing forever but in reality it's just a matter of time before this stuff comes to your state.

CA was the first to start smog inspection in 1984. Now 37 years later these are the states that require smog checks:
  • Arizona: Certain Areas (Phoenix and Tucson)
  • California: All Areas
  • Colorado: Some Areas (Denver and Boulder)
  • Connecticut: All Areas
  • Delaware: All Areas
  • Georgia: Certain Areas (all 13 Atlanta Metro Counties)
  • Idaho: Certain Areas (City of Boise and Ada County)
  • Illinois: Certain Areas (Chicago and East St. Louis)
  • Indiana: Certain Areas (Gary Metro Area)
  • Maine: Certain Areas (Cumberland County, and the Portland Metro Area)
  • Maryland: Certain Areas (all DC Metro and the City of Baltimore)
  • Massachusetts: All Areas
  • Missouri: Certain Areas (Jefferson County and Franklin County)
  • Nevada: Certain Areas (Cities of Reno and Las Vegas)
  • New Hampshire: All Areas
  • New Jersey: All Areas
  • New Mexico: Certain Areas (Albuquerque Metro Area)
  • New York: All Areas
  • North Carolina: Certain Areas (48 Counties – See the NC DMV site for more info).
  • Ohio: Certain Areas (Cities of Akron and Cleveland)
  • Oregon: Certain Areas (Cities of Medford and Portland)
  • Pennsylvania: Certain Areas (Cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia)
  • Tennessee: Certain Areas (Cities of Nashville and Memphis)
  • Texas: Certain Areas (Cities of Austin, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and El Paso)
  • Utah: Certain Areas (Cities of Ogden, Provo and Salt Lake)
  • Vermont: All Areas (1996 or Newer Vehicles Only)
  • Virginia: certain Areas (all DC Metro and Arlington)
  • Washington: Certain Areas (Cities of Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver)
  • Washington DC: All Areas
  • Wisconsin: Certain Areas (all of SE Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee)
Be ready! It will all be a mute point anyway when dictator Biden outlaws gasoline and makes us all go electric in 2035
 
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Actually in OHIO we had smog check and we decided as a state it was stupid and a waste and got rid of it (except wait for it.....the 5 blue counties that still do it), that was 10 years ago. And for the record, TX, AL, MS, SC, NC, GA, FL are all red states where it is warm year round, but cool you live in COMMIEfornia. How's your 2nd governor recall in two decades going??

Now I am aware of the crack down on these parts companies, but could care less. I have two fully built OBD 1 cars and am on the down hill of my racing career and if I really need something I fabricate it or know someone who can.....like David the Patriot Buschur!
 
when dictator Biden outlaws gasoline and makes us all go electric in 2035
It likely will get more difficult for gas-powered car owners, but I don't know that we'll see them outlawed that soon. As more vehicle manufacturers start moving to EVs though, I fear the trend will keep moving in the direction of gas-powered cars being phased out new car offerings. We'll see how it goes though.
 
Actually in OHIO we had smog check and we decided as a state it was stupid and a waste and got rid of it (except wait for it.....the 5 blue counties that still do it), that was 10 years ago. And for the record, TX, AL, MS, SC, NC, GA, FL are all red states where it is warm year round, but cool you live in COMMIEfornia. How's your 2nd governor recall in two decades going??

Now I am aware of the crack down on these parts companies, but could care less. I have two fully built OBD 1 cars and am on the down hill of my racing career and if I really need something I fabricate it or know someone who can.....like David the Patriot Buschur!
Really not hating on any state and certainly have no loyalty to CA. Just seems like a lot of people who want to act like the US isn't one place. We all gotta deal with each others BS whether you agree with it or not. That's what the country is supposed to be about and it seems like some have forgotten that.

Anyway, it's actually the same here in CA contrary to popular belief. If you live in a county with low population (which is always red counties no matter what state your in) then you do not have to do smog check in CA. Only on vehicle transfer. I know a lot of guys here who register in other counties to get around smog.
 
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2020 Election by county, see any correlation between this map and your list above by state. STAY OUT OF BLUE COUNTIES AND ESPECIALLY BLUE STATES.

Eventually cars will be all electric but that has nothing to do with the race car parts and ECU tuning stuff.

Learn to grow and brew your own ethanol like David the Patriot Buschur did and you will never need gas!
 
Actually, CA doesn't require smog tests in some of the more rural/uninhabited regions. Here's a list of the counties which have exceptions - only for certain zip codes within those counties:

Some people register their cars in those zip codes to avoid smog testing. Law enforcement knows the tricks though, so if your license and registration don't match up, it's an easy tip off.
 
Actually, CA doesn't require smog tests in some of the more rural/uninhabited regions. Here's a list of the counties which have exceptions - only for certain zip codes within those counties:

Some people register their cars in those zip codes to avoid smog testing. Law enforcement knows the tricks though, so if your license and registration don't match up, it's an easy tip off.
Yep buddies I know who have done it have a family member who lives at the address in a no smog county so they have the vehicle registered to them. Then the address doesn't have to match your license cause it's not registered to you.

I never knew anyone where I could set that up and hot smog hookups always just seem like a bandaid. So I labor on swapping out my turbo every couple years. I get away with everything else though 2.3, 272 cams, evo3 intake just gotta know the smog book backwards and forwards just no way to get a 62mm turbo to pass visual unless you run an FP black.

Learn to grow and brew your own ethanol like David the Patriot Buschur did and you will never need gas!
One upside to CA is E85 is plentiful everywhere. I run it in mine pretty much exclusively. Doesn't help you much on smog though.

It's also required to be 85% ethanol here so it's good quality year round doesn't drop to E50 or somewhere in between like other states.
 
It would be nice to know how this impacts pre-2000 cars as 95REGF150 said. The smog test procedure is totally different than 2000+ which only requires plugging into OBD2 port.

Not sure if DSMLink would still pass in a 2G.
 
Actually in OHIO we had smog check and we decided as a state it was stupid and a waste and got rid of it (except wait for it.....the 5 blue counties that still do it), that was 10 years ago. And for the record, TX, AL, MS, SC, NC, GA, FL are all red states where it is warm year round, but cool you live in COMMIEfornia. How's your 2nd governor recall in two decades going??

Now I am aware of the crack down on these parts companies, but could care less. I have two fully built OBD 1 cars and am on the down hill of my racing career and if I really need something I fabricate it or know someone who can.....like David the Patriot Buschur!
Warm year round? Not even!!
Tx at least. Maybe the coastlines
 
It would be nice to know how this impacts pre-2000 cars as 95REGF150 said. The smog test procedure is totally different than 2000+ which only requires plugging into OBD2 port.

Not sure if DSMLink would still pass in a 2G.
I really think the ECMLink guys will be fine as well as they left the OBD2 communications in place in their code. The OBD2 system is very basic on our cars compared to modern stuff. You can't read the VIN number from our ECU or anything like the systems nowadays.

Like I said too my last Pre-2000 test on my 95 I watched the whole way through and they never plugged into the OBD 2 port even though it has one. Just the visual inspection, evap/gas cap test, and dyno run. 2 speed test for AWD.
 
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I think that may have been your smog tech skipped over that part as its always been a requirement.

You can see emissions readiness status in ECMlink software. I agree that the ECU is basic compared to modern cars so I'm hopeful that it's not sophisticated enough to get flagged for failure.

California's smog check procedure requires all 1999 & older vehicles undergo a tailpipe emissions inspection to measure harmful pollutant output from the tailpipe, a visual inspection for present and properly installed emissions components, a functional test to ensure the proper operation of various emission components; and as part of the functional test, an OBD II computer diagnostic check.
 
It would be nice to know how this impacts pre-2000 cars as 95REGF150 said. The smog test procedure is totally different than 2000+ which only requires plugging into OBD2 port.

Not sure if DSMLink would still pass in a 2G.
I'm still curious as to how they'll determine what is "OEM". Will they maintain a massive database for all OBD2 cars? How will they get the benchmark info for the older models? My buddy and I were talking about it the other day. What makes the most sense is that they'll focus on certain newer models first - like the diesel trucks for example (those damned coal rollers have really brought about some negative attention for the rest of us).
 
I think that may have been your smog tech skipped over that part as its always been a requirement.

You can see emissions readiness status in ECMlink software. I agree that the ECU is basic compared to modern cars so I'm hopeful that it's not sophisticated enough to get flagged for failure.

California's smog check procedure requires all 1999 & older vehicles undergo a tailpipe emissions inspection to measure harmful pollutant output from the tailpipe, a visual inspection for present and properly installed emissions components, a functional test to ensure the proper operation of various emission components; and as part of the functional test, an OBD II computer diagnostic check.
Ya your right now that I think about it it was my 95 that they didn't plug into the OBD2 on. But there was no OBD2 requirement until 96 so maybe they just treat all 95's as OBD1 that they can't plug into. They definitely used to plug into my 99 and check the monitors. Which I can flash on with the black box ecu. Can you set the monitors with ECMLink?

Either way all you can read from our ECU's is the readiness monitors and trouble codes as you said. There isn't any way for them to check if the tune has been changed on the 97 and earlier EEPROM stuff. And on the 98-99 flashable's you would have to read the ROM and compare the hex to a factory example of that Specific ROM which they would have to get from the manufacturer and they are just not going to do that.
 
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The only way the commies can check this is they have a massive database of every single car's code and it if doesn't match it would be flagged. OH don't forget all the ECUs that have TSBs that are flashed from the original OEM code for patches and updates.

I mean honestly I don't see how they are going to accomplish this. It seems like more gaslighting to be honest.
 
Pet peeve, all DSM ECUs prior to the 98 and 99 versions were either mask programmed, one time programmable, or external EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory) based. EEPROM refers to Flash or other electrically erasable programmable read-only memory like that used in the H8 CPU's in the flashable ECU's.
 
The only way the commies can check this is they have a massive database of every single car's code and it if doesn't match it would be flagged. OH don't forget all the ECUs that have TSBs that are flashed from the original OEM code for patches and updates.

I mean honestly I don't see how they are going to accomplish this. It seems like more gaslighting to be honest.
If CA is able to figure it out and do it effectively, I'll be shocked - well, maybe a little impressed. And then I'll be really concerned, because if they do, they'll make it much easier for other states to follow suit. Once that database is built out initially, it won't be to hard to share it and keep it updated. Here's hoping they don't figure it out.
 
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