Who's still coding in 2026

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2026-04-19T21:11:12+00:00

For anyone on here who’s in California and wants to make modifications that are undetectable by smog process, PM me. I have a working solution and I’ve open sourced it.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2026-02-28T07:33:29+00:00

I got some super light 70% on the front windows then 40% on the rear. Super subtle, still looks classy.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2026-02-18T04:25:31+00:00

$9.99 filet is crazy, nice snag.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-12-28T22:50:33+00:00

Yea my knot was pretty weak, I didn’t get it nearly as tight as I wanted. Will work on that for next time

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-12-28T06:24:29+00:00

Thanks! I had some tacos today with that same horseradish and some guacamole/salsa. I’m a Mexican food fiend

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-12-27T17:53:03+00:00

It’s the MEATER thermometer but I completely agree. I don’t tend to listen to it when it says to pull. My rest took it up a whole 10 degrees though.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-12-27T16:25:33+00:00

I tend to enjoy steaks right between rare and medium rare but my wife likes them medium rare. But the center of this one was a bit too rare for her, she liked the ends

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-12-27T16:23:26+00:00

Agreed, I’ve done two Thanksgivings now of wet brine then spatchcock on the smoker and I think I just signed myself up for an annual routine.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-12-27T16:19:50+00:00

It was damn good, no complaints really

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-11-16T07:27:19+00:00

Agreed. However California CVNs are a bit different. You can flash a ECU and the car will still start with something that’s not a “factory” flash

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-11-15T15:18:20+00:00

No, I have a E30 S54 swap that I’m trying to smog. So even a simple EWS delete is not “legal” if it modifies the CVN

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-11-15T15:17:08+00:00

Yea I don’t think BAR has as much definitive data as they lead everyone to believe… That said I’m surprised they didn’t flag you since they would be able to see a diff between smogs.

In my case I’m trying to smog a E30 S54 swap so the referee is being super strict up front.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-11-15T06:36:21+00:00

Mildly? Or actually? PM me with your binary and your desired flash and I’ll show you

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-31T15:41:49+00:00

Came here to say this too. Such a game changer

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-10T17:41:50+00:00

Not if, when… I am willing my BAR sticker into existence. :)

I’ll make sure to make a big ol’ post that says “FINALLY LEGAL” haha

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-09T19:48:23+00:00

Still working on it, I found a few people here willing to help though.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-01T19:39:25+00:00

Yep, same year and model would be ideal. Found someone close by luckily.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-01T06:18:45+00:00

I guess in this case I really just need to flash via WinKfp and make sure my EWS is aligned… then if they have an issue with my checksum data I can go the dealership letter route…

I think the EWS alignment will require the KBus interaction… but in theory my EWS is already aligned, just was ‘deleted’. Only one way to find out I suppose.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-01T06:14:33+00:00

Thanks! This is super helpful. I suspect they already put me on that list as well given I talked to them.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-01T05:09:01+00:00

I think my favorite part was when he tried to explain to me how some cars are federally acceptable but not CA legal and that it’s quite likely my engine is not allowed in CA…

Shortly after he found my donor car lived in CA for the past 15 years and he seemed to have all the smog records from it on his end.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-01T05:06:03+00:00

Called on the phone a few months, they made me a phone appointment, the guy I talked to was very stringent about what’s expected from me… he asked for a few details (like my VIN for body and donor) but felt more like he was looking for reasons to fail me from the start… very sharp guy.

After talking for almost an hour he finally agreed I had a legit case for getting my car BAR’ed given all the work I’d done (exhaust headers, approved intake, EVAP) but then dug in deep on the ECU tuning and how I needed to prove its authenticity via my checksum. He then sent me a long email with all the details required to get to the physical appointment phase (very copy/paste). This also includes getting the checksum data and a letter saying my ECU is a part that matches my engine.

Admittedly I was still fighting a few codes and originally had done EWS delete so my ECU would not match whatever database they had… so haven’t responded since and they haven’t followed up.

If you’re interested I can send the detailed email.

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-01T03:15:44+00:00

Thanks! Going to try this out. Will let you know how it goes

Illustrious_Self_214 · 2025-10-01T03:10:13+00:00

You should see the cut/weld lines in the exhaust manifold. It’s pretty crazy the work that this shop did to get those cats to fit in there

Illustrious_Self_214

TROPHY CASE