Turbo kit does not meat CARB regulations. Please read, I need advice.

[halfasss101]

Hey everyone, I have a 99 eclipse N/T GS 420A and I am going to put a Hahn stage 2 kit on it. However, it is not legal for street use in California, but I dont really care. I am going to wait until I pass smog with my stock engine next October (2006) and then rip out my stock engine and drop in a new 420A with the turbo on it and run it for the next 2 years. I heard alot of people still run this turbo kit illegally in their states and just take it off before the smog test since the kit will not pass the visual exam, even though it passes the sniffer test. They must not like the way it looks, or something. I dont know. But does anyone else do this or know anyone who does? I of course would not be taking it on and off myself. I've got someone i know that will do it for me if i pay him a bit. look forward to hearing back. thanks

 

[dr1665]

I of course would not be taking it on and off myself. I've got someone i know that will do it for me if i pay him a bit.

Um... in this group of tuners, being the guy who has someone else doing the work for him makes you sorta the odd man out. I will tell you this much up front, you are going to break things - expensive things - and you're going to break a lot of them. If you aren't capable of doing the work yourself, anything beyond a mostly stock 2GNT isn't going to be much fun for you. Turbosystems, from the cake-bake HRC1 to Stage Eleventybillion and up, are not plug and play or install and forget about it mods. You will have to be familiar with every system under the hood of your car and how it interacts with those around it.

This isn't something the 4G63 guys have any easier. Fact of the matter is, regardless of what car you're building, the more you increase engine output, the more you will have to know about your car - especially about fixing it.

Personally, I would suggest you:

A) Give the Republik of Kalifornia the finger as you move away. (HRC will pass smog in Phooenix.)
B) Install the HRC2+SMIC on your current engine and do it yourself. Learn the ropes by actually working on your own car. Nobody likes a poseur. You know the biggest reason why everybody clowns SRT4 owners? Because they bought a fast car, had the dealership install some "Stages" on it, and then think they know what's up, when the rest of us cut our teeth building shit from scratch in the backyard.

Even cooler than driving a boosted 2GNT is knowing, every time you start that engine up, it's only running because you built it.

Reconsider having someone else do it for you. Do the compression and leakdown tests and report back. Boost your car and start down the parth to the darkside (4G63 ownership).

Welcome to the board.

 

[BigRand]

agreed, I had a shop put my turbo kit in, and I regret not doing it myself because that is money and knowledge that wasted....after helping a couple guys on their cars, taking apart my own "while time consuming and a PITA" its much more cost effective and nets you complete knowledge. Nothing to it but to do it man.

P.S. Keep your stock headers and injectors around in a spare parts bin, just in cae you have to pass em again.