Don't know if this has been posted but the EPA (environmental protection agency) is targeting car enthusiasts by banning any modifications to a car that may effect emissions regardless as to whether or not it's gonna be used on the street or the track. This means when a car is stock any modification to the cats, exhaust (exhausts that don't comply to smog) headers, aftermarket Turbochargers (and possibly superchargers) etc, would be illegal no matter the circumstances. So do y'all agree with this ? Let me know how y'all think, also I think there's a petition online.
that honestly seems perfectly reasonable to me. do you realise how much pollution a decatted car puts out? and are you also aware of how little a high-flow catalytic converter actually affects performance? These guys tested it on a heavily modified 2JZ, and they lost 15 hp, which is 1.9% of their total power output, you're not going to notice that much of a change. and when you consider the fact that a car not running a cat makes something like 80 times as much Nitrogen Dioxide emissions it seems moronic for anyone to not run one. if you can afford to build a new blueprinted engine every couple of years, you can afford to put a cat on it.
Honestly putting a cat on a car isn't the problem it's finding parts (for older cars) that are smog compliant is the issue. Plus aftermarket turbocharging (and maybe super charging) would (most likely) be nearly impossible if this gets passed as the turbo deals specially with emissions/exhaust gases. --- Post updated --- Ummmm what's one decatted car gonna due to the millions of cars already on the road everyday ? And I'm pretty sure old trucks, diesels, buses, maybe even air planes put out way more emissions then a car would. Cat or no cat, we are not effecting the environment that much.
one car or truck de-smogged is not going to do much, but when you've got no regulations around it and some ten-thousand brain-dead rednecks think it's cool to overfuel their trucks so they blow out black smoke under any sort of load, it's going to seriously add up. and saying "but they make more emissions than me!" is a dumb way of approaching this discussion, or any debate for that matter. Semi trucks, buses, and ships put that much emission out because they're moving a large load of freight, which requires a large amount of energy, which results in a rather large output of emissions. on top of that, modern trucks and buses have appropriate particulate filters, PCV and EGR, etc. systems, so they're quite clean as far as emissions for how much work they do. But even without all the smog technology, I would bet that a 70's truck, fully loaded, probably puts out less emissions per mile than your average overfueled diesel bro pickup truck with no payload. because guess what, as inefficient as a 50 year old pre-smog-era truck may be, it's only injecting as much fuel as it needs to make peak power, where these other guys are just dumping in extra and only partially burning it.
Not de-cat or something, but I don't think aftermarket turbo should be consider illegal at any circumstances(such as track use). Don't get me wrong I don't support de-catting. According to the OP even high-flow catalytics can be illegal since they are aftermarket
I don't know if high flow cats are illegal or not, but to ban basically anything that changes the emissions of a car is overreaching. Like i get saving the planet (even though it can't be saved) but we as car enthusiasts are a small inconvenience compared to the millions of cars on the road everyday around the world. Just force manufactures to build electric cars and most emissions on the road would be solved (excluding what it takes to build an electric car). But don't ban aftermarket parts for a small group of people that pumps BILLIONS of dollars in the economy. --- Post updated --- I get what you're saying, I'm just saying that car enthusiasts like (presumably) you and me are being punished for something that we barely contribute to. Ban the ones rolling coal with their diesel trucks, not the one who's driving an r32 skyline.
this would make something as simple as a tune on your 4 cylinder car illegal. even if it's a track-only car. motorsports would basically be illegal in the US
The list is far longer than just cats. https://ehsdailyadvisor.blr.com/2021/03/epa-issues-enforcement-alert-on-emissions-tampering/ The Agency’s rules cover a comprehensive list of elements of design, devices, and parts, including: The onboard diagnostic system (OBD); Diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs); Sensors for oxygen, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), ammonia, particulate matter (PM), urea quality, and exhaust gas temperature; Diesel particulate filters (DPFs) and their sensors; Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems; Diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs); Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems; NOx adsorber catalyst (NAC) systems; Engine calibrations that affect engine combustion (e.g., fuel injection or ignition timing, injection pattern, fuel injection mass for each injection event, fuel injection pressure, EGR flowrate, mass air flowrate, and EGR cooler bypassing); and Any other part, device, or element of design installed on certified vehicles or engines in compliance with Title II of the CAA and its regulations, including parts and specifications included in the manufacturer’s tested prototype. You know who's to blame? A well-known group of redneck buttholes.
No, it's because that's an integral part of emission control. It's no longer 1977, the emission controls go way beyond the cats.
i'm aware of that, but it seems quite fishy. The problem I have with these emission control laws in general is that they're more about maintaining oem parts than actually improving emissions. you can drive around in a 30 year old shitbox whose catalytic converter turned to dust 10 years ago, but it's fine because it's "factory" but as soon as you unbolt that and replace it with a high-flow aftermarket one, which will actually do the job of improving the emissions quite substantially, "Nope! that's not factory! you're getting a defect!" I think the best thing they can do is come up with a certification system, perhaps like what germany's TUV has (albeit ideally more lenient) whereby a manufacturer develops a part, then the EPA tests it and gives it a stamp of approval, and so long as you only use such parts, it's acceptable.
this whole thing is why i sold my fun weekend car. there was no point if im no longer gonna be able to legally drive it at some point. My daily would also no longer be street legal because i put high flow cats, flowmaster mufflers and a cold air intake on it. this is why ive been going to nitro rc. eventually it will be the only way you can have fun modifying a combustion engine car cause in the future its gonna be illegal to do any modification to your actual car.
