How to pass NC inspections with TT? S/C?
 

I'm currently stationed in Jacksonville, NC and want to join the FI crowd... FINALLY. I was recently asked by someone after explaining to them how I really wanted to go with the GTM TT setup but my only issue is that North Carolina does the OBDII and visual check for state inspection. So how would it be possible to pass inspection with the TT setup with a tune? Would a supercharged 370z with a tune be better for me for the situation I'm in? I don't want to install TT and then come inspection time I fail and have to go back to stock just for an inspection. Idk maybe i'm just worrying myself too much. Any help or experience would be helpful.

Kind of a noob when it comes to superchargers and turbochargers by the way.

Ditch the GTM and get Stillen SC kit. its legal approval :D

i used to be NC safety inspection certified when i was turning wrenches. as far as i know, they can't fail your car if you have no check engine light on and still have cats as far as the powertrain side of things goes. i would suggest calling the boys down at CIN Motorsports in Charlotte and ask them about it, they will probably have the answers you are looking for.

CIN Motorsports and Tuning | Performance and Service for Nissan, Infiniti and GM

No. Im afraid the stillen supercharger won't be an option for me. Lol, good try though.;)Im still doing my research but I still dont think i will even consider it but we will see.

In reply to you stormfront, wouldnt you think I'd throw codes or a check engine light with TT or s/c for the check or even if they did an obdII check? I'll probably give them a call next week when i have time.And I thought I couldnt run cats with a TT setup

Good choice not going with Stillen, it would have left u wanting more power and a hole in ur pocket. Get good power from the beginning!
Aside from TT kits u could also look at BP's single turbo kit. It's very simple and clean install.

I'm looking for something with alot less lag though. Thats why i'm going with the TT. The only issue I have is passing inspections

Read up on the thread. Full boost at around 3500.

Is there really no one in NC that can "pass" your car?

I'm not boosted yet. The problem isn't now, the problem i'm trying to figure out is for later when i do get boosted. I don't want to boost my car if i can't pass inspections... well i do but then i wouldn't be able to drive it legally, and plus i live on base here in jacksonville and i would need to pass. And no one I know personally that would pass my car. (that i know of)

I checked it out, looks like a well thought out kit, but that still doesn't answer my question for passing inspections :icon14:

That's what I meant about checking out BP kit. If ur going boosted I think the BP kit will give u the least problems of all the Turbo kits to pass inspection. The location of it will be well hidden and worst case scenario it's a weekend job to take it off (simple install/uninstall). It seems like the easiest route if ur determined to go boosted!

As long as you dont have a CEL you should be okay. The place I go doesn't even check underneath for cats.

That said, my brother has a KA-T on his 240 and the OBD port doesn't work anymore. Luckly my 240 is the same year and color as his :)

Oh okay, well i think i might research the BP kit a little longer as today is the first time i've ever hear of it and it sounds really interesting. I'm still debating on the supercharged or turbocharged though.

If thats the case I don't really have much to worry about. Do you think I should have a plan for parts or upgrades like o2 sensors and such to make it less likely for the CEL to come on? I might research what elperuano was talking about with the BP setup. That might be a good option for me but I still am cutting towards the TT or the S/C but i'd have to keep researching and researching... and research so i get something that I know I won't regret.

Where at in the carolinas are you if you don't mind me asking?

if you get your car tuned with a software like uprev (which i highly recommend), you can turn on and off individual SES lights, iirc. this would be how you pass inspection, even if the car is about to self destruct :tup:

Okay, well I think you just answered my question, I wish there were more replies so i can get multiple answers but this really helps. Now to figure out what setup i want :icon14:

again, that might be why you want to talk to the guys at CIN. they've done some crazy custom stuff and they've done out of the box stuff on 370's... they know what they're talking about :)

HKY is correct, Texas is the same on inspections. CEL check & visual only, which is easy to pass. With a good tune you will not have any CEL and can easily pass that portion of the test, now the visual test on the exhaust side is all you have to worry about. You have two choices here, either run whatever you want (HFC/TP/stock cat) and find a nice shop who is mod friendly or keep a pair of stock cats around & just bolt them on for inspection and off when you are done (just stay out of boost as the tune will be for the other setup).

Thank you gents, I will also ask CIN when I get the chance I'm sure they will help me out a bit on what to do because I think they do OBDII check here as well unless they changed it within the last year or so. I appreciate your answers, any more would also be appreciated

OBD2 check is the same as a code check, all they are doing is running a system test to verify no codes are thrown currently which with a tune you will not have.

Ohhhh... I'm assuming that is what stormfront was trying to tell me lol. Kay, i got it now. (I'm a little slow sometimes). Thank you for your help even though i didn't quite understand at first but now I understand. :tup:

If you unhook your car battery and let it sit for a minute then hook it up the codes will be cleared for a while. Mine are gone for about 20 miles of driving. Plenty of time to go get it passed. You can take some old cat heat sheilds and make a fake cat too. Just bolt it around your pipe.

Before you install the kit too you can go get it tested. I did that here in colorado where its every two years you need re-tested. So you will be good for a couple of years.

You can swap in just one cat if you have a crossover pipe and that will get you to pass also.

Dont let the one weekend of every two years determine your kit and preferences. If you want FI, get it tested, install the kit, then you have two years to save up a few hundred dollars to have a shop swap in some "temporary" cats if thats what you need to do.

yea that's what i was getting at. sorry if i wasn't clear. the only exception would be if your county is a smog checking county which i think are only in charlotte and raleigh areas. i might be wrong tho. they do plug up to your car with it running but only to see if it is storing any codes (it can store codes that only come on under certain circumstances such as failing a test 3 successive times)

seriously... THIS DOES NOT WORK. while unhooking the battery does clear out the memory for CEL tests, it also clears out all readiness codes. the car has to have almost every readiness code set (ie successful test) in order to pass inspection. i believe one or two can still be pending in NC but i can't remember exactly. it's been a few years since i did the drill. most can be set in driving a car for about 10 minutes, but depending on the car, some are much harder to set. i had to drive a pontiac boneville (3.8L v6) all day to get it to set enough codes to pass one time :icon14:

I don't think they do smog here. I grew up in raleigh and never had to deal with that. Hopefully thats not the case anymore. I know some counties do different things from what i've heard, but i could be wrong

fake cat test pipes.... ;)

weld a bogus cat around a straight through test pipe.

Great to see another boosted NC Z! We have had no issues with inspections with the cars we have done. The 2012 Nismo we did with the GReddy twin turbo kit passed inspection at the dealership with no problems. With no CEL they don't have much reason to lift the car in the air for a visual inspection of the catalytic converters.

All-in-all the inspection process isnt to stringent in our area yet. Most shops wont hassle with getting the car up in the air for the visual exhaust inspection. Plus most of them wouldn't even know what they were looking at, haha.

Thanks,
Alex Goodwin
AlexG@motionlabtuning.com

alright well that answers my question. Thanks alot.

Sniper
I have a SC and have no problems. I live in Raeford and they don't check the OBDII. Also if NC is not your home of record then you don't have to pass the NC laws. I would check out national speed they are close to your house and do good work. CIN is good but about a 4 hour drive and national is about an hour away. Oh and go TT. I feel stuck with a SC. I put a tone of money into my build and still not getting the gains I want.

Thas what happens when u go with Stillen!

You're stationed in NC but where is your actual residence? I'm getting stationed in NC next week but keeping my car registered in CT.