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Originally Posted by Spuds
Side note: The technology exists to quite easily monitor and limit speed by gps on most major roads and highways. Android Auto tells me my speed and the speed limit and is quite accurate. Nobody actually wants it so far so that's why it's not a thing. But that is another matter entirely.
Look, I am annoyed by coal rollers and pops/bangs as much as anyone else. The problem is that under the letter of the law there's no difference between making an inlet tube, your kswap kit, or tuning for coal rolling. The fact that you choose to drive on the street with your k swapped car means, according to the ruling, the EPA should go after k power (I think you used their kit iirc?) for developing the kit and selling it to you, regardless of their warnings about off road only use. I think that is wrong.
VW is different because they lied about it and defrauded their customers. There's a difference in developing something for motorsports and saying it outright vs developing something for consumers and straight up lying about it's compliance.
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Like I said, "when the technology catches up to all vehicles." That was me acknowledging how the technology exists (GPS, sign detection, some autonomous features), but how it is not ubiquitous or capable of being executed at this time for the DOT to fine manufactures for negligence. The second cars could prevent people from speeding, or getting into accidents, or anything similar, don't be surprised if a law comes.
You can think the EPA is wrong, but these guys violated the law, whether it is moral or not. They operated knowing this was possible, so it is on them. If I get pulled over and caught with an illegal swap, I will not be blaming the police for doing their job. I might get some kudos for installing the stock cat on the frontpipe.
But I think you are just confused because of my comments about coal rollers. The EPA, as I understand it, wasn't going after this company for selling off-road modifications that people use on-road like Kpower or Haltech. The EPA was going after them because they were selling tuning software that fooled emissions systems specifically for smog tests just like VW did. They were making products that were intended for on-road use. My Kpower kit and Haltech ECU does not fool emissions computers (see below). Yes, what VW did was worse because the customer was in the dark, but ultimately, what they did was produce cars that produced 40x the NOx emissions than what the computers reported during the smog assessment. Do you get the problem with selling on-road use emissions defeating software and having tutorials on how to remove emissions components, and then ignoring the EPA's requests, and then in spite of the investigation, selling as much inventory as possible? These guys are just idiots.
Jegs and others had the same issue with the EPA. They were all selling emissions defeat software and components. Jegs still sells headers and other off-road use products, so this isn't about modifications. This is about these companies selling components that fooled the smog system, which is in place to catch and limit modifications of emission components for on-road use. Ultimately, there are still ways around the testing system, but that really isn't the point. It may not feel much different to these suppliers to sell an off-road header to someone who is going to use it on-road versus selling emissions defeaters, but it is to the EPA, so we should all be happy that the EPA didn't completely shut Jegs and others down.
EPA Settlement with Jeg’s Automotive Inc. of Delaware, Ohio, Resolves Clean Air Act Violations for Sales of Motor Vehicle Emission Control Defeat Devices
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa...act-violations
EPA penalizes Premier Performance $3 million for selling ‘defeat’ devices
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa...defeat-devices
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EPA estimates that -- in terms of oxides of nitrogen (or NOx) -- the emissions impact of removing emission controls from just one pickup truck is equivalent to putting about 300 new pickup trucks on the road. EPA estimates this action will prevent the release of approximately 3.5 million pounds of air pollution per year.
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EPA Fines Auto Repair Shops in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska for ‘Defeat Device’ Violations
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa...ice-violations