New EPA proposal to prohibit conversion of road cars to race cars

[deevergote]

Washington, DC (February 8, 2016) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a regulation to prohibit conversion of vehicles originally designed for on-road use into racecars. The regulation would also make the sale of certain products for use on such vehicles illegal. The proposed regulation was contained within a non-related proposed regulation entitled "Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles—Phase 2."

Upon reading this, I realized two things.

First, this sucks. Basically, if something like this were to pass, all enthusiasts would suffer. Essentially, EVERY performance part can be considered to be among the parts used to convert a road car to a race car. If any performance parts are allowed, it'll probably end up like current CARB approval... making parts outrageously expensive just because they had to be made and tested to comply with standards. Tracks will close down all over, as the majority of the income for most smaller racing venues comes from everyday people racing their street cars or hobby cars. Only the handful of venues that regularly host big-money professional events with bespoke vehicles (such as NASCAR) will be able to survive (and this may result in the death of a few of those, too!) This will put MANY people out of business (the little gas station in the middle of the woods near the track that sells racing fuel? Yeah, I doubt they'll get by with non-racer traffic...)

However, the second thing goes a bit deeper. The second thing I realized cuts to the core of the modern automotive enthusiast community.
In my 15 years of immersion in the import tuning scene, I have seen one thing that has remained relatively constant... the attitude of "I know it's illegal, but I'm doing it anyway". You want that extra 1/8th of a horsepower from your D15? Replace your cat with a test pipe! Nobody will know! Except for those that read your bragging on the internet... and surprise... that shit remains, long after you've sold your car and moved on to another hobby. All some dude at the EPA has to do is Google "test pipe", and boom... thousands of people discussing the use of such a thing (there are 2000+ results from this forum alone!) You'll find similar results if you Google "o2 sensor" or "EGR system". It is well known in the tuning community that defeating emissions controls is a way to make power. The folks at the EPA are no dummies. If we know it, THEY know it.
It's not just imports, obviously. Owners of big American diesel trucks love "rollin' coal" these days, and that has CERTAINLY drawn a great deal of attention. VW's recent oopsie didn't do much to help the general public love diesel either... and it certainly drew the attention of the lawmakers and the busybodies.


The angle of attacking "converting road cars to race cars" is merely a blanket approach to limit and/or eliminate the modification of street cars, period. Modifying a vehicle for the purpose of using it as a dedicated off-road vehicle really isn't their concern. It's the on-road "race cars" that they're truly worried about. However, by focusing on the distinction between road cars and race cars, they stand a pretty good chance of actually making this happen. People who aren't into cars and/or racing have little knowledge and little care regarding vehicle modification.
A good friend of mine sees cars merely as appliances... a means of conveyance. To him, the most important function of a car is to get him from point A to point B in a comfortable, efficient, reliable, and safe manner. Until last weekend, he drove a beige automatic base-model Corolla. He doesn't understand why a car needs to be faster, if it can reach the legal speed limit just fine the way it is. He doesn't understand why a car needs to handle better, if it's perfectly safe and comfortable as it is.
The lawmakers probably see things little differently than my friend.
Face it, folks... outside of our little enthusiast bubble, we are in the minority.

I have been saying it for years: Abide by the laws as they are written, or don't modify your vehicle. If you don't agree with the laws, go through the appropriate channels to have them changed. Blatantly breaking the laws you don't agree with can and WILL result in the passing of stricter laws.

The impetus for this proposal may have come from a number of sources. Sure, money is probably at the root of it... but who's money? Environmental organizations clearly have an interest in attacking modified vehicles (regardless of how little they actually pollute in the grand scheme of things...) Automakers may as well. The automakers have been catering to the enthusiast crowd more and more in recent years. The Neon SRT-4 was basically a direct response to the emerging tuner movement. The current horsepower wars now involve damn near every major automaker, especially those with V8s in their lineup. The automakers don't want you to buy a 2002 Civic and boost the piss out of it. If you want a turbo Civic, they want you to buy the new Civic Type R. They don't want you to buy a crate LS1 for your 93 Camaro from Summit... they want you to buy the new Z28. Automakers don't want you to modify their old cars, because they're now making cars in abundance that are being marketed directly to the people that would otherwise be modifying. I mean, honestly... I could buy a Hellcat and have more power than I could EVER use. 707hp meets the horsepower needs of any rational enthusiast. Anything beyond that is merely for bragging rights, or for track use... which, if the EPA has their way, won't be a consideration anyway!



This proposal does bring up a couple interesting questions, though.
What about showroom-stock classes? Those classes usually leave all emissions controls intact. The only additions to the cars in those classes are safety-related. Granted, I would NEVER advise the use of a car with a roll cage on the street... but that's far beyond the EPA's focus, regardless. Would a car with 100% factory emissions components still be able to race, according to this proposal? If so, doesn't that contradict the "conversion of a road car into a race car" issue?
I also wonder what they would intend for vehicles that were built before emissions regulations were passed. If I want to race my 49 Buick Super, would I be prohibited from doing so? I wouldn't be removing any emissions devices in said conversion, as the car would have no emissions devices to begin with.


Anyway, that's my rant. Your thoughts?

tl.dr
EPA wants to prohibit car modifications
It sucks
The enthusiast community shares some of the blame
What influenced this proposal?
How will this proposal handle certain things, such as showroom-stock racing classes, or pre-emissions vehicles?

[cb9love]

the simple solution is, convert to e85, and have your car re registered as an alternative fuel car. it is a known fact this will reduce your tailpipe emissions.
the truth is according to the EPA anything you due to modify your fuel system is already illegal. it looks to be more laws getting piled on that are already not enforced.
In other words most of us are already breaking existing EPA regulations.

Until prop planes stop burning leaded gasoline and jet planes stop burning kerosene, this is the money men trying to make the little guy carry the weight.

greenhouse gases only become a problem when they reduced solid particle earth cooling emissions.
In places like southern california where water is scarce, i find it just ridiculous that they are crying about the earth releasing more fresh water. (glacier melt) Have you seen how lush and fertile the earth below the melted glaciers are?

The only way to stop such legislation is to create petitions.


E85 is considered carbon neutral. it doesn't have to come from corn. the corn it comes from is feed corn not sweet corn. the by product of e85 can still be used as feed. it's similar to silage. The I.CE. is not the problem it is the fuel big business chooses to run it on.

That's my little rant about the whole situation.
simplistic thinking, yes
false,no

If we should have learned anything, it's that our old cars will get grandfathered in, just like the old carbureted cars.


Civil disobedience is the fabric of American culture.
This is America the majority is supposed to rule, not the whining minority. (not talking about racial minorities)

[deevergote]

I agree fully with the e85 thing, and that most of us are likely breaking laws that we're unaware of. It's the blatant lawbreakers that I see as the problem, though! The people that are obvious about removing federally-mandated emissions equipment, just because nobody seems to care (surprise... they do!)
I'm a bit wary of the idea of switching to e85 as a national primary fuel source, though. International automakers would have to be on board, which means it would likely be incorporated into the world market. Sounds great... until you think of how greedy corporations will gobble up all of the corn-producing land, strip-mining it to maximize profits.

I don't think this is going to be for new cars only, though. Honestly, this could impact vehicles dating back to 1968, when the first automotive emissions standards were instituted.
We're already meeting California standards nationwide as of this year. Stricter laws are on the horizon... they're aiming for 2025. I don't see that as being a major issue, though... as new cars are doing just fine on that front. It's the old ones that are at risk.


I'm also a little afraid that this may change importation laws. Will we no longer be able to buy 25 year old imports?
And how about cars that have already been modified? Will enthusiasts be required to return their modified vehicles to stock or face penalties? If previously modified cars are grandfathered in, how will anyone be able to prove that a car was modified after the law was passed? (I suppose that's only a current-day problem. 20 years from now, anyone under the age of 36 wouldn't have been old enough to register a car, and therefore could not legally own it in order to modify it before the passing of the law.)

[cb9love]

If we follow the way new laws have been enforced in the past, then your assessment of only the younger kids(poor bastards) will carry the burden is correct.
As in when the federal drinking age went to 21, those who were 18,19,and 20 were still allowed to drink.

[cb9love]

yes defeating emissions is stupid, especially on Honda's which turn of most emission devices at wide-open throttle anyway.
Catalytic converters is one of those kinda gray areas, it reduces emissions but it causes you to use more resources.

[deevergote]

The converter design on our cars is pretty free-flowing, though. Removing it offers little benefit. Not enough to justify incurring the wrath of the legislating bodies.

But yeah, it's very true... the transient enthusiasts are usually the ones that will ruin it. The ones that don't want to do things properly. They just want it cheap and easy. Plus, "every horsepower counts" (I love the idiots that hollow out their cat for that purpose... unaware that it's actually costing them power!)

I expect to be an automotive enthusiast for life. I don't know if I'll be as big into the modifying as I once was, as new cars already do pretty much everything I'd want to do custom... but I DO have hopes of getting on a race track someday. Something I'll never be able to do if this goes through without attempting to go professional (I'm already pushing 36... not happening!), renting time behind the wheel of a "dedicated race car", or moving to a country where such modifications aren't illegal (because that's practical!)

I would also like to try a restomod when I can. It may never happen, as a proper restomod is a major undertaking... but I'd absolutely love to have a Volvo P1800 or a Chevy Corvair that has been modified to use a modern engine, transmission, suspension, and electronics. (at least the P1800 and Corvair are pre-1968, so they may not be affected if the worst case happens!)

[F22Chris]

Would this strictly be an emissions thing? I'm all for clean cars, but I'm also all about low cars. If we can't kill wheel gap I'm out.

Everything says "for off-road use only" to get around regulations. That means no Coilovers, exhaust set-ups, intakes, steering wheels, even most aftermarket headlights say that shit. It's pretty much taking away a large group of people's way of self expression.

The only good thing I see from this, is the fact kids won't buy shitty headers and super unsafe shit off eBay.

Still. Stupid.

[MrTShoff]

I just dont see it passing. If it would hurt something as big as NASCAR which is the fabric from which america is made of it just wont happen. What will actually happen however is a bunch of small laws that culminates into something very similar in the end would pass.

[deevergote]

Would this strictly be an emissions thing? I'm all for clean cars, but I'm also all about low cars. If we can't kill wheel gap I'm out.

Everything says "for off-road use only" to get around regulations. That means no Coilovers, exhaust set-ups, intakes, steering wheels, even most aftermarket headlights say that shit. It's pretty much taking away a large group of people's way of self expression.

The only good thing I see from this, is the fact kids won't buy shitty headers and super unsafe shit off eBay.

Still. Stupid.

It's the EPA, so emissions (and other pollutants, such as refrigerants and lubricants) are all they have jurisdiction over, fortunately. However, that doesn't mean they couldn't simply spearhead the passing of laws regarding other aspects as well.
A lowered vehicle is noticeable. As is a raised one. "For off road use only" simply puts the responsibility on the owner of the vehicle, currently. If a law like this were to be passed, it would prohibit the sale of parts intended to convert a road car to "off road". We wouldn't even have access to ebay junk anymore! I'd imagine anyone circumventing the law would likely get hit with heavy fines, or possibly even have their car impounded (it'd be an illegal vehicle, after all.)

I just dont see it passing. If it would hurt something as big as NASCAR which is the fabric from which america is made of it just wont happen. What will actually happen however is a bunch of small laws that culminates into something very similar in the end would pass.

It's unlikely that anything this drastic will pass, true. Still, it's a terrifying effort on behalf of the EPA. We are on the radar. We are on it in a big way.

It's up to us to obey the current laws, and make concentrated efforts to change them as necessary.
Civil disobedience may have been the catalyst for change in some instances... but this is not one of them. If we ignore this, we're going to lose our freedom to do as we please with our cars.
This is why I'm always so harsh on people doing illegal, unsafe, or otherwise questionable modifications to their vehicles.

[sonikaccord]

And this is why I hop on the electric conversion bandwagon...no emissions, no problem. Wanna go fast? add more batteries.
Wanna pull tree stumps? add more batteries.
Still range limited, unfortunately.

The term "racecar" is very vague. I highly doubt that it will pass too.

[oni_cb7]

E85 may not be as good as everyone thinks. Please research the topic. The excerpt below is from a Scientific American article from 2007. This is a very reputable source.

"Environmental engineer Mark Jacobson of Stanford University used a computer model to assess how the air pollution in the U.S. would react if vehicles remained primarily fueled by gasoline in 2020 or if the fleet transferred to a fuel that was a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, so-called E85. Under the latter scenario, levels of the cancer-causing agents benzene and butadiene dropped, whereas those of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde rose: In other words, it was a wash.

Because burning ethanol can potentially add more smog-forming pollution to the atmosphere, however, it can also exacerbate the ill effects of such air pollution. According to Jacobson, burning ethanol adds 22 percent more hydrocarbons to the atmosphere than does burning gasoline and this would lead to a nearly two parts per billion increase in tropospheric ozone. This surface ozone, which has been linked to inflamed lungs, impaired immune systems and heart disease by prior research, would in turn lead to a 4 percent increase in the number of ground level ozone-related deaths, or roughly 200 extra deaths a year. "Due to its ozone effects, future E85 may be a greater overall public health risk than gasoline," Jacobson writes in the study published in Environmental Science & Technology. "It can be concluded with confidence only that E85 is unlikely to improve air quality over future gasoline vehicles."

[deevergote]

I'm sure there's much more to it than this little blub. Most of these things define every little word to be used in the proposal!

I like electrics as well. More than I want to, honestly! Right now, though, Tesla is the only one offering anything truly worthwhile... and even they're a bit range-limited. Any of the available conversion kits on the market, or DIY plans that I've seen, offer very little utility. I'm waiting for the day when we can slap electric bits under... well... anything... and have a fast, clean, quiet monster of a car. Imagine a fully electric AWD 57 Chevy with a 400 mile range, and an 11 second quarter mile! Purists would have a heart attack... but it sure would be a fun.

[sonikaccord]

It can be concluded with confidence only that E85 is unlikely to improve air quality over future gasoline vehicles.

Or Let's do a real experiment...with measurements. Shouldn't be too difficult. Simulations are great and all but seriously how hard is a sniffer comparison between two like model vehicles?

[dhill_cb7]

This is startling. I heard this tossed around a few years ago on news stations in my area. They had a picture of a Honda and tried to demonize the import tuner crowd.
It is a shame because my family lumped me into this crowd and made me feel awful.

I have not done any performance upgrades in a few years but I wonder if this will be part of future inspection checks?

"Your car failed inspection due to your cold air intake." "Your car passed inspection but you see that CAI, give me an extra 20 and I will not report you."

Any time the EPA gets involved trouble arises. Look at the the river that was polluted last year by the EPA. Not one EPA worker went to jail!!!!! Yet they want to throw us under the bus?

I hope we get a president in the white house that starts doing away with all these unnecessary alphabet agencies. These agencies are delegated to make laws because congress did away with their lawmaking power. Essentially there were 80,000 pages of laws that were written last year and the majority were written by the alphabet agencies.

This is a major issue, not just for our community, but the entire american population. I get the fact they want safe cars, but telling us that we can not mod our car is ridiculous.

It is like the Obama administration pushing smart guns. No one wants a smart gun. When you need to use it to protect yourself you have to digitally unlock it. Sometimes you only have a few seconds before an intruder is on top of you.

My analogy is that they should educate the public instead of immediately trying to ban something. Hell look at the war on drugs. We ban them (illegally without an amendment) and throw only poor impoverished people into jail. If the government spent more time educating the public instead of incarcerating them we would have a totally different mindset.

Sorry I went off on a rant but this stuff really aggravates me. Especially since I took Business Law over the winter session. If anyone has the opportunity to take that class I would highly recommend it.

[F22Chris]

We should start the TPA. Tuner Protection Agency.

We should make it illegal for people to buy cheap eBay crap, make roads a bit wider for motorcycle riders, require classes for basic/beginner level automotive principals, require strict tests for obtaining a license, ban automatic transmissions for people without disabilities so maybe they'll pay a bit more attention to the road, ban overly big SUV's unless deemed nesessary, to actually make roads flat with no enormous holes or dips, make insurance companies account for modifications, and make it illegal for big car companies to make their new vehicles smart phones on wheels. Only raw, handling, performing, reliable, and safe machines.

And, if your car has more than 1/2" wheel gap, you get fined unless it's a jeep or truck over 3800lbs