SR20 + Legal Issues

[izzy_domain]

Hey guys,

So lately I’ve been thinking about getting an SR swap.

I’m a very calm driver and I don’t usually get pulled over unless it’s for a legitimate reason. I’ve always heard about people being harassed by the MTO, and the police about illegal mods, mufflers etc. and in some cases their cars have been impounded or taken away based on these facts. Until last Saturday when I was pulled over for the first time in months, because the police officer thought my girlfriend was not wearing her seat belt, I never thought I’d get asked to visit an MTO officer to have my car checked for these things. I had nothing to worry about though because I know everything on my car is completely stock. Regardless putting my incident aside, it got me thinking.

I would really hate to invest my time and money into an SR swap just to have it all taken away at the blink of an eye, because the police or MTO decide to inspect my car one day when they pull over for whatever reason they choose.

With the increasing popularity of ‘street racers’, and what cars suit the description. I’d like to know everything I can, and do everything I can to prevent my car from being unnecessarily being impounded or taken away from me.

So saying all this:

Am I over reacting? Am I thinking to in depth? Can the MTO or police ACTUALLY take my car away based on the fact that I have an engine swap, or illegal mods? What will/can the MTO do if they see that there is a different engine, other than the one that is supposed to be in the car? Is there anyone that I should inform, or register with before doing a swap? Are there VIN/serial number on the engine that I should have registered to my car to make everything legit?

I don’t plan on have any 'illegal modifications. I simply want to install an SR engine with MINOR mods to have a healthy reliable engine, so I can drive like everyone else in the world without have to look over my shoulder every second for the police feeling like I’ve done something wrong. I’m trying to avoid investing time and money into something, that can be taken away just because I missed some bullshit legal issue along the way. I don’t want to do an SR swap, just to get pulled over and have the police say “Oh! By the way… that bolt in your engine isn’t tighten enough, were going to have to crush your car. Good day!”.

Any insight would be appreciated!
Thanks for the help!

[Noga]

MTO took my car in an inspection not 1 week ago. They took it off the road as I had my front signals from silvia swap not hooked up yet, no horn and a few other minor things. Said nothing about sr20 in my car/3 inch exhaust.

[izzy_domain]

@Noga

MTO took my car in an inspection not 1 week ago. They took it off the road as I had my front signals from silvia swap not hooked up yet, no horn and a few other minor things. Said nothing about sr20 in my car/3 inch exhaust.

They didn’t mention anything at all about the motor? Or did they say something along the lines of, ‘we did notice you had a different engine but we haven’t found anything illegal or abnormal with it’?

[spd-dmn]

izzy_domain,

Given the current political climate in the GTA, your concerns are warranted. However it’s not quite as bad as you might think.

There is no law anywhere that says you cannot drop another motor into your car. An SR swap, when done properly, is fully legal.

At worst, you are looking at a few $300 tickets for emission equipment violations.
This can easily be prevented by keeping your emissions equipment intact and working properly. This includes having the PCV system recirculated (no open breathers), the air injection system present and working, BOV recirculated, and a working cat.

The recent slate of police vehicle seizures and impoundments has nothing to do with engine swaps or equipment failures. It happens when people do 50km/h over the limit or race on the highway.

Now, that being said, the MTO has the authority to pull the plates off your car if they think it is unsafe. Note that they don’t seize the car, they simply restrict you from putting it back on the road. This means a tow home.

Can they do that for an SR? No.

Can they do it for having a ghetto car on the road without half its shit working or with holes in it? Yes.

Technically you should report the change in engine displacement to the MTO when you swap motors. MTO inspectors may or may not clue into this.

Other than that, there’s no reason to worry.

If the car would pass safety with an SR, and if it would pass etest with an SR, there’s no reason for anyone to be pulling it off the road.

Are you saying you already had MTO inspect your car? On what basis?

[izzy_domain]

@spd-dmn

izzy_domain,

Given the current political climate in the GTA, your concerns are warranted. However it’s not quite as bad as you might think.

There is no law anywhere that says you cannot drop another motor into your car. An SR swap, when done properly, is fully legal.

At worst, you are looking at a few $300 tickets for emission equipment violations.
This can easily be prevented by keeping your emissions equipment intact and working properly. This includes having the PCV system recirculated (no open breathers), the air injection system present and working, BOV recirculated, and a working cat.

The recent slate of police vehicle seizures and impoundments has nothing to do with engine swaps or equipment failures. It happens when people do 50km/h over the limit or race on the highway.

Now, that being said, the MTO has the authority to pull the plates off your car if they think it is unsafe. Note that they don’t seize the car, they simply restrict you from putting it back on the road. This means a tow home.

Can they do that for an SR? No.

Can they do it for having a ghetto car on the road without half its shit working or with holes in it? Yes.

Technically you should report the change in engine displacement to the MTO when you swap motors. MTO inspectors may or may not clue into this.

Other than that, there’s no reason to worry.

If the car would pass safety with an SR, and if it would pass etest with an SR, there’s no reason for anyone to be pulling it off the road.

Are you saying you already had MTO inspect your car? On what basis?

Yep. I was pulled over by Halton police in Oakville on Saturday.
The officer pulled me over, and asked me to drive my car to 407/Trafalgar GO parking lot. I replied with what for? He said the ministry was there and he would like to go have my muffler inspected. I asked him I could reschedule as I was in a rush to get my wallet from home before I went out for dinner. He said no, the only way I can let you go is if I give you a $300+ ticket for your muffler. So I went. When I got there they MTO officer came up to the vehicle asked me my name and birth date. He then proceeded to ask me to pop the hood of the vehicle. He asked if I had any modification done to the car I would like to let him know about. I said nope, I bought the car with the muffler already installed, and the engine in plain factory. He then asked me to start the car, he looked at my cluster, and I can only assume he was looking for other gauges. Other then that they gave me a ticket for not having my license on me (I had accidentally left in my work pants at home, and I was on my way to pick it up just as I got pulled over), and off I went.

[spd-dmn]

What does your car look like on the outside?

Another member, Benson, also got pulled over and asked to attend an MTO inspection, however his inspection date wasn’t until several weeks after he got pulled over.

He has an SR in his car and I think he said they didn’t mention anything about it.

[izzy_domain]

Very plain. It’s 92 hatch. It’s black, with stock rear and side skirts, and bings front lip. It’s not lowered, nor does it have tinted windows. It even had my snow tires still mounted at the time. Had I had my rims on at the time I could see SOMEWHAT of a valid reason for the officer being mislead, and thinking… hey look rims and muffler… must be a street racer. Theres no rust on the car, meaning the police officer would have no reason to think the car is unsafe and full of holes.

[Solarian]

I think the cops only have the power they do because we fear them. You’re well within your rights to have a 1000whp p-ported 4-rotor with a turbo for each rotor if you somehow have legal emission equipment. The only thing actually banned is nitrous, and I believe that’s legal too, as long as it’s not connected. Most people get nailed for simple common sense shit, as someone posted in this thread, signals not working, horn not working, insufficient tire tread, etc…

[R33]

@izzy_domain

Very plain. It’s 92 hatch. It’s black, with stock rear and side skirts, and bings front lip. It’s not lowered, nor does it have tinted windows. It even had my snow tires still mounted at the time. Had I had my rims on at the time I could see SOMEWHAT of a valid reason for the officer being mislead, and thinking… hey look rims and muffler… must be a street racer. Theres no rust on the car, meaning the police officer would have no reason to think the car is unsafe and full of holes.

did they put ur car on a hoist? were they inspecting tires? what exactly were they looking at when u popped the hood?

[GTS]

@Solarian

I think the cops only have the power they do because we fear them. You’re well within your rights to have a 1000whp p-ported 4-rotor with a turbo for each rotor if you somehow have legal emission equipment. The only thing actually banned is nitrous, and I believe that’s legal too, as long as it’s not connected. Most people get nailed for simple common sense shit, as someone posted in this thread, signals not working, horn not working, insufficient tire tread, etc…

Does this also apply for a KA-T, assuming it passes emissions?

I’ve never understood the visual inspect an officer gives when they pull someone over. Assuming they’re trained to spot sources of forced induction (excluding nitrous) - can they enforce anything?

[spd-dmn]

no. turbos are not illegal.

[DJPyro]

It’s a fear tactic. To get you to blurt out anything stupid because you’re worried they’re gonna see it.

[white240]

So… after reading this whole post…

If I get pulled over in my convertible, and they ask me “is that the stock engine?”

What is the correct response? Any thoughts on the most police-tically correct response?

[Solarian]

Just tell them the truth. They can’t do a damn thing about it anyway, and you’re bound to get in some sort of trouble if you’re caught in a lie.

[DJPyro]

“It’s not stock for this particular model, however it’s a direct bolt in from the Japanese version of this exact car”

But personally, I don’t tell them any more than they ask.

[XSNRGE]

@Solarian

The only thing actually banned is nitrous, and I believe that’s legal too, as long as it’s not connected.

Okay, I find this a valid statement, but to save my butt when I do eventually do something stupid (sorry if this goes a bit off-topic from the original SR20 topic), but what if I were to install a ‘dummy’ nitrous system? Specifically one intended to be used as a gag trick and for basic shits and giggles. Any harm in doing that?

Here is the specific ‘dummy’ nitrous bottle in question:

[DJPyro]

I did that last season in my car for hilarity’s sake. I had 4 of them across the back of my rear seat, used some spare lines from work and just ran them under the carpet… It was funny, but I didn’t get pulled over with it, so I don’t know if police would find it as amusing.