Marky Dissod
Full Access Member
The presence or absence of cylinder deactivation, in and of itself, has NOTHING to do with passing smog testing.I agree more value with DOD delete but in CA you have to pass smog or no sale.
CA does not use aftermarket tuning software, or a hex or binary editor, to check for the presence or absence of any features.
They check that every readiness monitor reports ready. They check for any error codes.
So far as 'detecting a different cam':
A 'Volumetric Efficiency' table is used primarily as a backup for and checkup on the Mass AirFlow sensor's expected accuracy.
Tuners call it the VE table. If the MAF is turned off, it becomes even more important.
The values in that table are a function of the ability of the intake manifold, heads, cam and lifters, and exhaust manifolds to flow
(although not necessarily of engine size - two different engine sizes can share quite similar VE tables).
If fear of CA smog testing skews you against upgrading the cam, GM has cams that are EXTREMELY similar to each other, except for the cylinder deactivation feature.