legal turbo?

[SpeedStyle]

i was reading on the nautilus website about the turbo setup for my duratec 01 atx, just wondering why the setup is not street legal, and if its not, why?

[blustreak]

i was reading on the nautilus website about the turbo setup for my duratec 01 atx, just wondering why the setup is not street legal, and if its not, why?

I believe they need to say that because it's not DOT approved or it's an aftermarket kit so they have legal obligations. I'm probably wrong for whatever reason but you'd be fine.

Also, I'd think twice about putting a turbo on an ATX cougar. I don't think it would be a great investment is all.

[B3NN3TT]

Yep; the same reason most ordinary intakes and cone filters aren't street legal. It is a change in your emissions control system. If you look, most every high-flow cat, X-pipe, intake, and set of headers is specified "Off-road use only" for legal reasons. Doesn't stop people from using them on the road. It's a C.Y.A. disclaimer.

It costs a LOT OF MONEY and requires some EXTENSIVE TESTING to get DOT approval on auto parts. It's serious business.

[Naturaltal3nt]

yea B3NN3TT said it lots of states have emissions testing and altering your emissions either adding intake,removing cat, adding performance exhaust, and or adding a turbo, will change the carbon/o2 ratio making more pollution and thus failing and not being able to get your car inspected. sucks if you live in cali they are crazy strict with that stuff...

[DanG]

Along those lines (and as an FYI), my 3L Turbo Cougar had no problem passing Northern Virginia Emissions because 1) my car wasx properly tuned, and 2) Any OBDII car just gets an ECU scan- No codes, you pass!

Inspectors <should> do a visual inspection of all major emissions components to ensure their presence and functionality- For example, presence of catalysts, EGR valve & tubing (mine was disabled, but the valve was still there), PCV, any crank breathers, etc.

[Edward]

As being a former inspector that is true. So long as a 96 or newer model didn't have any trouble codes on the ECU it would pass. Regardless of what was actually done to the motor. Of course there are visual parts of the test also. You have to make sure the CEL works, or if its 95 and older would be a dyno'ed test, you have to check for a Cat. And any car would fail if the gas cap wouldn't seal right. This is in the state of GA though so its gonna be different where ever you are.

Actually gotta renew my Emissions Certification soon.

I've seen plenty of cars OBD-II and ASM(dyno'ed test) that were modded heavily and pass with flying colors. Its all about how its tuned as Dan said.

[SpeedStyle]

thanxs for the info everyone!!, but really, is the atx a waste of time? even with a tanny cooler, is there anyone with a turbo setup on an atx here?

[B3NN3TT]

thanxs for the info everyone!!, but really, is the atx a waste of time?

Send a PM to Nemesis and ask him about that.

[luvmy99cougar]

ill soon have a turbo on my atx, but i also have the zetec.

[Naturaltal3nt]

IIRC out in western states they stick some sort of tube in the actual muffler and drive the car on a dyno type setup and test the emissions that way...all good info tho!

[SpeedStyle]

nobodys sticken a tube in my muffler lol, oh and luvmycougar, ive heard that 2.0 atx are few and far in between, especially turbo'd , ive got a 2.0 but its a mtx, and its pretty quick, but i just luv my 01 2.5 atx(even though it aint that quick....yet)

[DanG]

thanxs for the info everyone!!, but really, is the atx a waste of time? even with a tanny cooler, is there anyone with a turbo setup on an atx here?

There are two primary reasons people say that ATXers are really fighting a losing battle trying to make an ATX "fast".

1) The transaxle design was 10 years old when Ford put it into the Cougar. It's not a particularly efficient transaxle, posting somewhere between 20 and 25% driveline loss. That means that no matter what you do to your engine, 20-25% of it will never reach the ground. MTXs are along the lines of 15-18%.

2) The design is notoriously weak. Meaning that the more you modify your engine, the more in danger you are of damaging the transaxle. A trans cooler will only get you so far- The clutch packs (#2 especially) is really underdesigned for torquey motors such as the 2.5L V6 or 3.0L (or any F/I).

[gamiller]

I still need to get mine legal. At least there's hope.

[brapple]

i hope to pass emissions with my care and the NPG kit. therefore the lower O2 sensors are still on in the tune and I have a high flow cat in there too. since I already passed once with headers and mil-eliminators I am not worried about that.

[papatedroach]

i was reading on the nautilus website about the turbo setup for my duratec 01 atx, just wondering why the setup is not street legal, and if its not, why?

I remeber reading somehwere that the Nautilus kit doesnt fit on the atx :shrug:

[brapple]

I remeber reading somehwere that the Nautilus kit doesnt fit on the atx :shrug:


yeah it doesn't since the atx is near twice as large as the mtx ...