Thanks VW! EPA Says It Is Targeting Companies That Offer Emissions Defeat Devices Not Race Cars

Alarm bells rang in the auto enthusiast community last week after a trade group warned that the EPA was threatening to ban the type of modified street cars that generations of amateur racers have taken to the track.

Relax, the EPA said. There's no new ban being proposed. Fact is such modifications have always been banned under the Clean Air Act.

So what is going on?

Call it a muddled exchange that nonetheless sheds light on one of the EPA's enforcement priorities in the context of Volkswagen's diesel transgressions. In short, the EPA's concern is not about the emissions of race cars but about keeping all road-going cars free of modifications that would neuter their emissions controls.

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MDarringer - 2/15/2016 10:13:15 AM

+1 Boost

The irony is that the "performance" devices in the aftermarket often degrade performance in some way. The son of a friend has a Subaru WRX STI that he had modded the mods he's put on it. The car has trouble idling, is loud as hell, and now runs hot.

Manufacturers do a pretty decent job of delivering performance and tractability that the aftermarket crap usually degrades.

Agent009 - 2/15/2016 1:38:52 PM

+2 Boost

The automakers do a far better job than before, and yes you are right you can have minor performance issues when trying to extract that last remaining HP.

But also keep in mind the balance is always a compromise for the automakers. You might live in Florida so cold weather performance in sub zero weather is not needed as in Minnesota. Tuning can eliminate the cold weather compromises made and you gain you a few ponies.

Personally I have a cold air intake free flow exhaust, and a re-flashed ECU on the Mini, and together they do make noticeable difference in performance and gas mileage.

When it hits the annual inspection it passes both the OBD-II and tailpipe on a dyno. So no issues there.

The trade off? MPG increased by 2 mpg, the exhaust tone is deeper (a bit more intrusive), I have to clean the air filter more often. Also if the ECU is reflashed as a TSB I have to reapply the tune. Some might consider this too much of a hassle, other call it a small price to pay for maximizing the performance.

None of this needs to sacrifice drivability in your environment or the emission levels.

7msynthetic - 2/15/2016 1:47:18 PM

+2 Boost

MDarringer - you are incorrect that they degrade "performance". They degrade "reliability" - why would someone mod a car for lower performance?

Further, reliability is dependent on how the engine was built from the factory, your maintenance, etc. I can write a 10 page paper on this. Your friend's can could have a big turbo and an extra lean tune to get max hp, but it will run hotter if there is no radiator and intercooler upgrade, etc.

Your assumption is very ignorant of the tuner market but perhaps bang on with kids that mod their cars that go boom two days later because they thought the factory engine could take 85psi and 87 octane.

MDarringer - 2/15/2016 2:07:22 PM

0 Boost

Do you define performance solely as just 0-60? If you want to discuss performance, come by the shop.