M3 owners with CSL Airbox: How do you pass smog?

[skristedja]

Hello everyone!

I've got a 2003 M3 and have been sitting on my Karbonius airbox for a couple years now. I'd like to install it, but never found a good solution to passing smog here in CA seeing as how the CSL software does not work with US emissions computers. Since my car is a MSS54 car, I would also have to either convert to HP or swap in another DME. My plan originally was to get a spare MSS54HP DME with a csl tune on it and run that with the airbox and then swap back to my stock DME and stock airbox to pass smog, but it just seems like too much money and work to have to go back and forth every two years. So how do you guys who have to pass OBD2 smog checks run your CSL airboxes? Alpha-N? Swapping back to OEM? Bribing the smog guy? Let me know.

Thanks!

PS I'm so glad m3f has been resurrected in some form!

[heinzboehmer]

Swap everything back to stock every two years or find a smog guy that doesn't care.

[cozmo kraemer]

My CSL Software works with Arizona emissions testing... Passed several times.

[2004LSB]

From personal experience, CSL software cannot communicate with CA state emissions machines. Keep your stock airbox and ECU and just swap it out every two years. Thankfully it is a pretty easy swap and doesn't take too long to do the job.

[fullyflaredd]

Thread revival - I am having difficulty passing smog, because as mentioned above, the CSL software cannot communicate with CA emissions machines.

I am planning on returning the airbox/MAF and ECU to stock, however I had a couple of questions (some or actually all of them might be stupid).

My car has the CSL air rail/map sensor, can I keep this on or do I need to revert back to stock air rail along with the airbox/MAF/ECU for the car to run right?

My SAP is also deleted. Can I have this coded out on the stock ECU and get all readiness monitors to set, or will I also need to add this back?

The car also has 280/272 cams. Would it run ok momentarily on stock ECU while I got it smogged, or should I also have the stock ECU tuned for these cams?

Lastly, the car has SS v1 headers + SS catted section 1. I am assuming that readiness monitors should set for cats? I don't want to remove these as it's a hassle and most people won't notice this on the visual.

I appreciate any help in advance.

[Arith2]

It's amazing the hoops we are forced to jump through to drive our cars in some states. I would just leave the state. I moved to FL partially because there isn't smog. If they decide to bring it in, I'll leave the state. It's not just an inspection every two years, there are guys waiting to sniff your butt also. If you get caught in a random butt sniffing inspection, you'll be fined and be swapping back over.

It's just an option, though most wouldn't move because of smog.

[EYEHAVEYOU]

Thread revival - I am having difficulty passing smog, because as mentioned above, the CSL software cannot communicate with CA emissions machines.

I am planning on returning the airbox/MAF and ECU to stock, however I had a couple of questions (some or actually all of them might be stupid).

My car has the CSL air rail/map sensor, can I keep this on or do I need to revert back to stock air rail along with the airbox/MAF/ECU for the car to run right?

My SAP is also deleted. Can I have this coded out on the stock ECU and get all readiness monitors to set, or will I also need to add this back?

The car also has 280/272 cams. Would it run ok momentarily on stock ECU while I got it smogged, or should I also have the stock ECU tuned for these cams?

Lastly, the car has SS v1 headers + SS catted section 1. I am assuming that readiness monitors should set for cats? I don't want to remove these as it's a hassle and most people won't notice this on the visual.

I appreciate any help in advance.

I had similar struggles to you in NY, the CSL DME software couldn't communicate with NY emissions machines either. FWIW, I had my stock DME coded to remove MAF (so I wouldn't get a CEL) and swapped that in temporarily to pass NY emissions with the CSL airbox still installed. Required nearly 500 miles of driving around before everything was in readiness state though, which was a major pain as I drove like a grandma given I didn't want to push things on the MAFless tune. No idea if this approach would work for you in CA, and expect it'll depend largely on the inspector.

I've since removed the CSL airbox, as among other reasons I didn't want to deal with this headache every year.

[repoman89]

This is the one auto related item Massachusetts is lenient about. My 05 officially no longer gets an emissions inspection as of this year, only safety .. 15 year cutoff. I installed the airbox in 2019 but ended up skipping 2020 inspection since I barely drove the car. Won’t have to find out if the DME communicates or not

Oddly enough if I move to the live free or die state at some point within the next five years like I want to I will have to deal with emissions again, since they have a 20 year cutoff. If my DME won’t communicate with their computers my plan was to just flash a MAFless stock tune.

[Sharocks]

Step 1. Don't live in California

Step 2. See Step 1.

In all honesty, you'd have to swap it back every time you're up for an inspection.

[Lip]

Thread revival - I am having difficulty passing smog, because as mentioned above, the CSL software cannot communicate with CA emissions machines.

I am planning on returning the airbox/MAF and ECU to stock, however I had a couple of questions (some or actually all of them might be stupid).

My car has the CSL air rail/map sensor, can I keep this on or do I need to revert back to stock air rail along with the airbox/MAF/ECU for the car to run right?

My SAP is also deleted. Can I have this coded out on the stock ECU and get all readiness monitors to set, or will I also need to add this back?

The car also has 280/272 cams. Would it run ok momentarily on stock ECU while I got it smogged, or should I also have the stock ECU tuned for these cams?

Lastly, the car has SS v1 headers + SS catted section 1. I am assuming that readiness monitors should set for cats? I don't want to remove these as it's a hassle and most people won't notice this on the visual.

I appreciate any help in advance.

I posted about this in my own thread. Search for it for more details.

Essentially, you need the emissions cable plugged in with the car on. Initiate the emission computer to begin reading. Turn off car then turn it back on. Again, check my thread for doors details.

At the time, I had a tune from Kassel and supposedly have the emissions “patch” in my tune. Honestly I don’t know if they did anything special with the CSL file.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ATB88]

FWIW, in all honesty, I don't really find having to switch back to stock every 2 years to be an imposition at all. It's like 2 hours of work every 2 years. Good time to take care of any other maintenance items under the box (clean your ITBs, clean your ICV, replace sensors, etc).

I love living in California and this kind of thing isn't even somewhat on the order of magnitude of changing that.

[Tbonem3]

I don't mind swapping, but I like wrenching.

[usdmej]

My SAP is also deleted.

you're not gonna pass visual based on the SAP delete, there's a diagram of it on your inner hood skin, most techs can/will read that and fail you

[Nate047]

SAP delete is gonna be tough for visual, and the headers too. You should probably just find "a guy"

[fullyflaredd]

Unfortunately moving out of state isn't an option lol. As much as some of the rules in this state suck and the pitfalls of the state, I like it here enough to reside here.

I posted about this in my own thread. Search for it for more details.

Essentially, you need the emissions cable plugged in with the car on. Initiate the emission computer to begin reading. Turn off car then turn it back on. Again, check my thread for doors details.

At the time, I had a tune from Kassel and supposedly have the emissions “patch” in my tune. Honestly I don’t know if they did anything special with the CSL file.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

thank you! Just read through it. Might contact Kassel and see if they can go through my ECU.

SAP delete is gonna be tough for visual, and the headers too. You should probably just find "a guy"

Yeah I've tried to find a guy. Unfortunately it's very difficult for cars above MY 2000 nowadays. There are a lot of smog techs that don't really fret the visual as long as the car isn't blatantly modified. SAP maybe, but headers I highly doubt as it's barely visible with the heat shield in place. But yeah guess I'll possibly throw the SAP back on as well. I don't mind reverting the airbox back to stock as it really doesn't seem like that much work.

Anyone know about the cams? Should I be okay on stock ECU or will it run rough / cause potential damage? Fortunately I have the stock spare ECU that came with the car, so might have to turn that into a special smog ECU tuned for the cams.

Just throw on stock airbox, SAP, plug MAF in, and should be good to go?

My other option is to create a Montana LLC 😂. Then I can permanently register my car for a flat fee which is pretty awesome.