[NorCalLT1]

Hello, new to the forum and have been reading various posts on here for a while. Since i live in CA i know i'm very limited in what i can do to my car. So my question is, has anyone installed a mild cam and had it smogged? or is that just completely out of the question for CA? i know technically its not supposed to be done but i'm wondering if a mild cam with not a lot of chop and a good tune if it might pass.

thanks

[kropscamaro16]

no cam but full bolt ons and tune here but havent had to smog yet so that wont be fun...

[Rayvan]

My son and I installed a mild cam in his G8GT a few years back. We also had the heads shaved a bit, and installed upgraded trunions type rockers, and valve-springs, some LS3 intake valves, shorty headers, as well as a tune. We also deleted all the DOD stuff.

I know it's not an LT1, but it passed smog w/o a problem, even though the idle is no where near as sooth as the stock L76 cam. The headers were CARB. approved, as noted by the paperwork and a plaque welded to the headers. We were a bit worried about "having to find a guy" to get it to "pass."

He ended up having it smogged by a hole-in-the-wall facility that was run by a very old Vietnamese man, in a facility that mostly services Toyotas and Hondas (owned by his countrymen).

The tester commented on the lopey idle, but it passed first time, so he didn't ask any more questions. My son just shrugged when he mentioned it. If it was someone used to dealing with large disp. American V8s, the lopey idle may have been more of a red flag. He told my son "it probably needs spark plugs" LOL!

Car went from about 300 wheel to 400 wheel. Build has about 20,000 miles on it now.

I'm told that in these Camaros, you'd have to pull the engine to change the cam. We didn't have that issue. Just pulled the rad. and pushed the AC condenser away enough to fit the cam. We also had to unbolt (but not remove) the oil-pan to gain clearance for the oil-pump removal/install. Not sure how the LT1 compares to this (LS style) set up.

[kropscamaro16]

haha thats who used to smog my old car some old asian guy...


illegal downpipe and intercooler but stock airbox with kn filter and it smogged just fine

[24v]

As long as it will pass a visual, no CEL, and all the readiness codes are good, they will pass it.

[NorCalLT1]

i plan on getting msd IM, CAI since thats a quick easy swap, cnc ported heads since visually they will be the same, lt5 TB, and e85. i doubt any of those should be an issue. just debating whether or not i could get away with a mild cam. thats obviously not a quick/easy thing to change.

24v...have you or anyone you know passed emissions with a cam on the lt1?
thanks for the replies

[Chris_SS]

Originally Posted by NorCalLT1

i plan on getting msd IM, CAI since thats a quick easy swap, cnc ported heads since visually they will be the same, lt5 TB, and e85. i doubt any of those should be an issue. just debating whether or not i could get away with a mild cam. thats obviously not a quick/easy thing to change.

24v...have you or anyone you know passed emissions with a cam on the lt1?
thanks for the replies

Any updates to this? I'm thinking of going down the same route. I'm also interested in a cam upgrade. I think these cars have a lot to offer going down the N/A path if they're allowed to breath a little.