For everyone who has done a LS swap into their car and passed the sniffer test with it, how large was the cam and what emissions equipment was on the car during the test?

I've got a LS1 ready to go into a car this fall that currently has a G5X3 cam in it. What I'm seeing all over the internet is there is no way this thing will pass a sniffer and the largest I can go and still pass the test is a 224/224 cam. So I'm curious how large a cam has made it through on a stock cube LS1.

The long term plan is to get the car certified for OBDII testing only and then really have fun with the motor but to do that it will have to pass the sniffer at least once. And because I'm kind of lazy and may not want to change the cam out again after that test, I want to maximize what I can get the first time.

 

You might have to go the collector car insurance route so you won't have to pass emissions.
Not a good idea if you want to use it as your daily driver

 

The car is a frequent driver so collector isn't really a viable option. He's not looking to get around emmisions specifically, just wanting to get first hand experience on cams that can pass the roller so if one needs to be purchased it can be the largest one that has a history of passing.

 

Exactly correct. This one is going in a daily driver so collector insurance isn't a viable option. So the question is how big have people managed to go and still pass the AZ sniffer test.

I'm asking the same question to the CA guys on other forums and right now it looks like I'll have to change out the cam for something smaller but I still would like to know what people have managed to pass with in AZ if anyone has a car that has been on the sniffer with anything other than the stock cam.

 

Which car is getting the LSX? I would go with a factory cam for the test... I have found that this is not a swap-friendly state. The visual inspection was my worst problem. My next swap is getting underway: LSA/6l80e from a 2011 CTS-V (Yep! I DID sell my soul to get it!) going into my '83 El Camino.

 

The GTA will get this one. I"m tired of fighting the tune on the 383. That can go into the 79 with a carb and give me a lot fewer problems.

Shoot me a PM with what you went through with the inspection. I'd like to know what I'm getting in to. Also, after it went through the inspection, is it still subject to a roller test or just the OBDII test after it passes the inspection.

 

I don't believe they will do the OBDII test unless the engine is in the original vehicle. They will probably do the IM147 test based on the year of the vehicle.

Any third gen with a LS engine is gonna be a rocket ship. I would stay with the stock cam to start with and drive it around like that for a while. It will be hard enough to keep on the ground as it is

http://www.azdeq.gov/environ/air/vei/tech.html#fuel

 

Might be a matter of what you define as a rocket ship. The car that is getting this one is already running a 11.0:1 compression AFR headed 383 with a TPIS miniram intake. It keeps up with modded 4th gens pretty well already. So if I'm going to put a LS series engine into it, it needs to make at least as much if not more power than the motor that is coming out. And that means a stock cam'd LS is 50-100 hp short of where it needs to be to make this worth doing.

So the question is still, how large a cam can I put in the car and still pass a sniffer with all the emissions equipment attached and functional.

 

Thats gonna be one bad el camino!

 

You arent kidding! The CTS-V gets from 0-60 in under 4 seconds and my elky weighs 500 lbs less with an iron block! Plus there is a company that makes a 2.5" pulley (Stock is 3.2") That increases boost to 17PSI (Stock is 9PSI, IIRC) Adding an extra 210HP (Stock is 556HP) with the right tune. So...766HP! Also grafting the CTS-V front clip to the car as well as swapping the dash and entire harness + seats. Had a friend draw me a concept pic... Let me see If I can cut/paste it...
I bought the whole car, (2011 CTS-V 2 door, with 6 speed auto, Black leather interior and only 3,200 miles.) so I will be using most of the interior and everything else I can scrounge!

 

 

Thats version #3. Still working on it...
Sorry to threadjack, Tom!

 

The official answer from AZDEQ is:

"The vehicle will be tested as a 1988 as the testing is done per the
model year of the vehicle and not the engine.

Any further questions can be answered by one of the waiver lane staff at
(602)771-3954. "

So it doesn't look like the vehicle can ever be set to require OBDII type testing if it originally had to go on the rollers. Which means I need to go to a milder cam so it will pass the sniffer but I can get away with not keeping the AIR and EGR systems and still have it blow clean enough to pass.

 

Yeah it makes sense. They can't go around and identify each possible engine combination and set their machine every time.
Dual cats and a bottle of rubbing alcohol in a low tank of gas couldn't hurt...

 

I'm still tempted to try an electric air pump from say a LT1 or LS1 car in the spare tire well pumping ambient air from inside the car into the exhaust just in front of the muffler. Since the reading is based on ppm, adding more air to the flow should increase the millions without upping the parts per by much...

 

on my car Im going to have the same issue with the emissions. you can try n ask someone if theyll let you use there p.o box in another city that dosnt require the sniffer.

 

Can't be a PO Box. It has to be a real address. You can have an alternate mailing address to send plates and such to but the registration address has to be a non-PO Box.

And if the out of county plates get seen in county often enough they can fine you for it. Just something to keep in mind. If the vehicle spends most of its time in Maricopa county you are required to emissions test it even if it is registered elsewhere. How much they enforce it is up to local law enforcement.

The relevant website is http://www.azdeq.gov/environ/air/vei/tested.html

The important part to read is "If you work in the emission test area, but are registered outside of the area, Arizona law requires that you have the vehicle inspected in the area to which you commute. Note: On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) tests conducted in Pima County are valid for registration in Maricopa County. All other tests performed in Pima County are valid for Pima County registration only."

 

Never heard of that one but did think about somthing similar before. If you do try it i would like to know the results as would alot of other people.

Alcohol did not work for me. Methonal racing fuel got the number slightly lower then alcohol but did not seem to lower the nox. A carb rebuild and new cat got me passing like a champ.