Trouble Down Under with Legislation crushing my Miataturbo Dreams.
 

Hey guys, I live in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia and in order to be fully road legal my future Miata must pass the IM240 emission test and and make SAME or LESS than the stock CO2 emissions. Furthermore the ECU must be stock from the original Miata.

However the emissions testing and ecu testing is all done during an allocated inspection at a government facility and police pretty much give you ample time to "prepare" your car for the test.

People say with a proper set up you can pass the emissions test, however I must use the stock ECU and not even a changeable one.

Aside from changing my set up every time for an inspection, is it possible then to own a legal turbo miata given the above rules?

Are you on mx5cartalk?

The answer is yes, an AVO equipped na6, OR use SP electronics.

Dann

Hey I have read about the AVO and it's good standing in the law, however I wish to get 300+ hp at the wheel and from what understand through what i've read it's not possible to do so legally?

Getting excited due to the EFR kits coming out haha

Do they actually check if the OEM ECU is in place? Or do they just do an OBD-II test?

You cannot have 300whp legally, Im soon going to start work on a NSW and QLD legal NC kit that can do 300, but not in vic not possible.

Ive just finished an EFR NB from QLD.

Dann

Hey Reverant! From what I have read they plug your car in to check through a computer and they have rights by law to take apart your vehicle to physically check the ECU. So all in all can't hide it from them haha.


That's awesome NitroDann! Best of luck for you build.

That sucks Dominic. I'm in Queensland and I swapped an SE (MSM) engine in with brakes, gearbox, ECU. I have an NB so I just had to give Queensland Transport the new engine number and it is completely legit, I don't even need a mod plate.

Would the same apply in Victoria?

What year model is your car? Our MX-5s only have an OBD2 port in 2004 and newer. Before that they had a Mazda-specific k-line serial protocol.

http://s21.postimg.org/e3c2fuu9z/20130625_184938.jpg

Pretty stealth you could probably get away with it with an airbox.

Dann

http://s21.postimg.org/e3c2fuu9z/20130625_184938.jpg

Pretty stealth you could probably get away with it with an airbox.

Dann

This reminds me of the California visual inspection. In theory, the inspector is supposed to verify that there are no modifications whatsoever to the engine and emissions control system, which includes the ECU.

In practice, I have NEVER seen a California inspector actually pull up the carpet and inspect the ECU. They do check under the hood quite thoroughly, but there are limits to everything.

I wonder if the situation in Victoria will not be similar?

If it is strictly an emissions check, OBDII check, and a look at the ECU, a piggyback like the EMB with injectors a little over stock and an AFPR to increase fuel pressure under boost will do it all.

That's kind of what I was thinking. Either an EMB or an Xede. Or even a parallel MS2/3, if you're feeling saucy.

In Australia, our ECUs are mounted in the passenger-side footwell. There's enough room on the right hand side to mount an additional ECU behind, all behind the OEM cover plate:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372648008

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372648008

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372648008

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372648008

Unless an inspector pulls back the carpet and unbolts the cover plate (not likely given that it's pretty cramped in there), there's no way to even see a piggy-back ECU is in use.

Have you ever seen this:

http://ultimatecarforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=5134.0


Check out the red Civic on that page. Obviously, it's not directly comparable but that looks like a stock Civic under the hood.

Where I live there is also the IM240 test, except we can do whatever we want with the engine/ecu as long as it passes the sniffer. Another MT member passed it with ease, he made a thread in the MS section. Hopefully I will be passing it this fall.

If you run an MS in parallel with the stock ecu and keep the stock o2 sensor then you won't throw any codes. I do not know if you will pass an OBD-II plug-in test though, because the OBD port doesn't put out all the stats when the MS is in place.

Its my understanding that in NSW they do a visual inspection of the ECU. Is Vic the same or do they plug it in?
I was thinking about putting the metal shell from the stock ECU over the top of a Megasquirt circuit, so from side on it looks stock. In NSW if you pass EPA test to get it engineered you only need to do it once. A friend passed NSW with his 300kw s13 with its chipped (nistune) ecu, after a retune and a chunky cat mind you. Passed with a top mount turbo, but initially didnt pass because he had a metal airbox when it has to be plastic.

Do you need to pass it once or regularly? Will E85 help or will it produce more CO2?