Inside a Tuning Shop When the EPA Comes Knocking
Back in December 2020, Leivestad was on a trip to California to help finalize a tune for fellow YouTuber Emilia Hartford’s K-24-swapped Toyota Prius. While trying to get the turbocharged hatch to run correctly, Leivestad received a worrying call from the shop back in Colorado. PFI Speed had been issued a letter from the EPA, which requested information about all of the builds PFI Speed had done, as well as details related to every part sold by the team. The agency made it clear there were no alternatives to complying with this request should PFI Speed wish to remain in legal operation.
As part of the request, the EPA required PFI Speed to turn over an extensive list of documents. Photos and contact information related to
each of the builds and their respective owners, lists of every part installed on said builds, names of distributors and retailers utilized to purchase those parts,
as well as lists of parts sold with client information attached were all requested.
“Just before Race Week 2021,
I was hit with the fine, which totaled $18,000 for selling the Hondata S300 product through our shop,” Leivestad said. “The notice informed us that we were to pay the fine within 30 days, or the figure would jump to $180,000. If I agreed to pay the fine right away, I had to sign a letter that clearly stated that I would no longer modify cars beyond that date. I physically couldn’t do it anymore.
The Hondata S300 is a popular plug-in OBD1 ECU for Honda products that features a ton of aftermarket friendly features, like support for forced induction, ethanol sensor capabilities, and CAN output.
In order to prove to the EPA that the vehicles in question were exclusively for competition use, Leivestad told R&T that the cars needed to be immediately identifiable as racing vehicles. That included the presence of a full roll-cage, non-DOT compliant rubber, an absence of road registration, and a dedicated trailer for transportation. Once this information was provided by the shop and respective owners
“The Clean Air Act does not contain any exemption from the tampering and defeat device prohibitions for motor vehicles used in competition,” an EPA spokesperson told R&T.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...omes-knocking/
You best stop bragging about your ECU remapping, or the next compliment you get may come with a legal summons from the EPA.
