California SMOG Thread

[Ronthebiker14]

If my car is currently tuned with the Ecutek system how do I go about using a OFT? Can I just hook it up and reflash? I assume I just loose the license if it’s even valid for me.

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by Ronthebiker14

Does anyone know of any way to flash the car back to stock or are there any CARB legal NA tunes out there? I’ve been searching for a while and called around and can’t find any. My car I bought when living in AZ has a stage 2 E-85 Ecutek tune and now I want to smog it in CA so I can sell it here but I’m not sure about the tune part. I’m not sure if my car has the stock map still in it somewhere but I don’t know how to access it. The previous owner gave me the Ecutek dongle but I don’t know how to look at the maps loaded on the car or if the license will even be valid for me.

I’ve been told that the “stock” tunes on OFT and such are base maps close to stock but they lack whatever digital watermark that CA now checks for when looking for modified ECU’s.

I’ve called several dealerships and talked to two Toyota techs I personally know and they said they don’t have access to flashing the cars back to stock. No manufacturers that I’m aware of make a CARB legal tune that is for an NA car. The only solution I can come up with is to somehow get a new ECU but I don’t know if the ECU’s are somehow linked to the car that the smog tech would notice somehow?

This is the exact reason why I thought ahead and purchased a used ECU off e-bay for a hundred bucks and did all my flashing to that one.

My OEM ECU sits unmolested in a box in my garage and I can quickly swap it back into the car and have the OEM tune take over if I ever have to return the car to stock. Any inspection station or dealer for that matter will NEVER know that my car had been previously tuned.

Everyone in the US who owns one of the twins and wants to tune should do this, even if you don't currently live in a smog state. You might not know when you move to a new state if you'll have to pass a smog inspection to get your vehicle registered.

[Ronthebiker14]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

This is the exact reason why I thought ahead and purchased a used ECU off e-bay for a hundred bucks and did all my flashing to that one.

My OEM ECU sits unmolested in a box in my garage and I can quickly swap it back into the car and have the OEM tune take over if I ever have to return the car to stock. Any inspection station or dealer for that matter will NEVER know that my car had been previously tuned.

Everyone in the US who owns one of the twins and wants to tune should do this, even if you don't currently live in a smog state. You might not know when you move to a new state if you'll have to pass a smog inspection to get your vehicle registered.

Do you know if they check to make sure the ECU is like the original one? Can I just get a used ECU with the stock tune and put it on my car? Or will it fail because it’s not linked to my vin?

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by Ronthebiker14

Do you know if they check to make sure the ECU is like the original one? Can I just get a used ECU with the stock tune and put it on my car? Or will it fail because it’s not linked to my vin?

I don't currently live in a smog state and states have differing laws regarding what is necessary to pass their tests.

If you purchase a used ECU and you are NOT wanting to tune, you need to make sure it is for the same model year, same make, (Subaru or Toyota/Scion), same transmission type, same market (North America, Australia, Europe, Japan, etc.) and has never had an aftermarket tune flashed to it.

There is a way to marry the used ECU to your car, (Steve99 has a full write-up on completing that, which you can do yourself), and you can also program the VIN into it if you have to. I believe he also includes that in his write-up if I remember correctly but you need to have the manufacturers' diagnostic software to be able to.

I chose not to program the VIN in my spare ECU as I'm only using mine for tuning. Your car will operate perfectly normal without programming the VIN to it, but it probably won't pass a smog test if you don't.

When I purchased mine, it was from a car of a different year and I had to force-flash it to be able to tune it. You shouldn't have to do that as long as you purchase one that matches your car exactly. Keep in mind though that if the calibration ID is different in the used ECU than was in your original ECU, you still may have problems with your engine running and may STILL not pass a smog check. The only thing you will be able to do at that point is find a shop that has the manufacturers' programming software and can flash a matching calibration according to the cars' VIN. Unfortunately, dealers will want to charge you your first-born for a brand new ECU and then charge you an arm and a leg to program it for you so find a good mechanic that has all of the necessary diagnostic software to work on your specific car.

We wish you luck.

[Ronthebiker14]

Originally Posted by FR-S2GT86

I don't currently live in a smog state and states have differing laws regarding what is necessary to pass their tests.

If you purchase a used ECU and you are NOT wanting to tune, you need to make sure it is for the same model year, same make, (Subaru or Toyota/Scion), same transmission type, same market (North America, Australia, Europe, Japan, etc.) and has never had an aftermarket tune flashed to it.

There is a way to marry the used ECU to your car, (Steve99 has a full write-up on completing that, which you can do yourself), and you can also program the VIN into it if you have to. I believe he also includes that in his write-up if I remember correctly but you need to have the manufacturers' diagnostic software to be able to.

I chose not to program the VIN in my spare ECU as I'm only using mine for tuning. Your car will operate perfectly normal without programming the VIN to it, but it probably won't pass a smog test if you don't.

When I purchased mine, it was from a car of a different year and I had to force-flash it to be able to tune it. You shouldn't have to do that as long as you purchase one that matches your car exactly. Keep in mind though that if the calibration ID is different in the used ECU than was in your original ECU, you still may have problems with your engine running and may STILL not pass a smog check. The only thing you will be able to do at that point is find a shop that has the manufacturers' programming software and can flash a matching calibration according to the cars' VIN. Unfortunately, dealers will want to charge you your first-born for a brand new ECU and then charge you an arm and a leg to program it for you so find a good mechanic that has all of the necessary diagnostic software to work on your specific car.

We wish you luck.

Well hopefully I can just find someone that can load the OEM tune to my current ECU so I don’t have to do all that or maybe someone has a carb legal na tune. I appreciate the information!

[TommyW]

I didn't read all responses so not sure if this has been mentioned. I had to remove my header and flash back to stock in order to pass smog. You have to be stock or you will not pass. Once you return to stock you want to do what's called a drive cycle as just driving around for awhile won't cut it. I left the link below. This will reset everything. Follow it to a T. Once you've done this go to your smog guy and have him plug it and see that all items are operating properly. If they are then have him do the test and you'll pass. I did the drive cycle and passed with no problem.

http://justsmogs.com/2011/09/obd-ii-...s-drive-cycle/

[KMA KiCKz]

Originally Posted by TommyW

I didn't read all responses so not sure if this has been mentioned. I had to remove my header and flash back to stock in order to pass smog. You have to be stock or you will not pass. Once you return to stock you want to do what's called a drive cycle as just driving around for awhile won't cut it. I left the link below. This will reset everything. Follow it to a T. Once you've done this go to your smog guy and have him plug it and see that all items are operating properly. If they are then have him do the test and you'll pass. I did the drive cycle and passed with no problem.

http://justsmogs.com/2011/09/obd-ii-...s-drive-cycle/

Will need to do one soon, thank you for this helpful info!

[Decep]

All this BS means i'm never modifying anything to do with ECU again lol. Mission accomplished CARB.

RonTheBiker, have you checked in the tuning forum? Im pretty sure people have dumped the stock roms somewhere, you should be able to download it. I'd be amazed if you need to change out your ECU.

[TommyW]

Originally Posted by Decep

All this BS means i'm never modifying anything to do with ECU again lol. Mission accomplished CARB.

RonTheBiker, have you checked in the tuning forum? Im pretty sure people have dumped the stock roms somewhere, you should be able to download it. I'd be amazed if you need to change out your ECU.

Here in calif it's such a F'in hassle every 2 years to return everything to stock then put it all back on again. I'm not sure if it's even worth it to modify these cars.

[Decimus]

Originally Posted by Ronthebiker14

Does anyone know of any way to flash the car back to stock or are there any CARB legal NA tunes out there? I’ve been searching for a while and called around and can’t find any. My car I bought when living in AZ has a stage 2 E-85 Ecutek tune and now I want to smog it in CA so I can sell it here but I’m not sure about the tune part. I’m not sure if my car has the stock map still in it somewhere but I don’t know how to access it. The previous owner gave me the Ecutek dongle but I don’t know how to look at the maps loaded on the car or if the license will even be valid for me.

I’ve been told that the “stock” tunes on OFT and such are base maps close to stock but they lack whatever digital watermark that CA now checks for when looking for modified ECU’s.

I’ve called several dealerships and talked to two Toyota techs I personally know and they said they don’t have access to flashing the cars back to stock. No manufacturers that I’m aware of make a CARB legal tune that is for an NA car. The only solution I can come up with is to somehow get a new ECU but I don’t know if the ECU’s are somehow linked to the car that the smog tech would notice somehow?

Just flash back to a stock tune via Ecutek & remove any E85 components. Its an easy process and i can personally say i did it without any issues and passed smog in Socal.

Download ecutek to your computer and download the stock maps for your car via Ecutek program and then flash it back to OEM tune that fits your year.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by TommyW

Here in calif it's such a F'in hassle every 2 years to return everything to stock then put it all back on again. I'm not sure if it's even worth it to modify these cars.

Buy a new car every eight years or register in a smog exempt area.

[KMA KiCKz]

Finally hit the 8 year mark for my car and had to do smog. Reverted everything back to stock except my trd quad catback. Went back to the OEM tune and drove around for 30+ miles(city and highway). Passed with no issues.

[norcalpb]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Buy a new car every eight years or register in a smog exempt area.

Didn’t California disallow registering your car to a P.O. Box?

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by norcalpb

Didn’t California disallow registering your car to a P.O. Box?

Yes, mine is registered at a residence.