Whipple Supercharger w/ BTR stage 2 cam in Cali?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

OP
OP
J

jnord

TYF Newbie
Joined
Sep 17, 2024
Posts
4
Reaction score
4
Whipple kits with a CARB EO# (like I have on my Tahoe) are CA legal. But you cant change anything else (such as a cam) and retain emissions legality. Does your Whipple kit have a CARB # and Whipple provided smog legal tune? IF not, you are going to have a fun, quick truck that isn't CA compliant
Yes it does. I bought the kit from Whipple directly. I just curious if anyone had any experience or knowlege here if there is any 'room' in the tune to allow at least a state 1 cam and that won't cause a smogging issue. I messaged Whipple last week...but still have gotten a response; I'm thinking they aren't going to want to give an answer and will just stick to what's safe for them of "no modifications" with the kit.
 

justirv

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Posts
85
Reaction score
93
I have a 2007 Yukon Denali that I have a Whipple kit to install.
Question is...I just bought a BTR stage 2 cam kit that has a VVT delete.
Anyone running this setup in Cali? I worried about if it will pass a smog test.
A local shop is saying that it won't run right with the BTR cam and VVT delete on the ECU flash that Whipple has, and will need a custom tune, which will make it not pass smog.
Any way around this (other than not installing the BTR cam and VVT delete kit)?

thanks
If I recall correctly, in CA, smog will be visual, reconciled with any CARB EO's, then OBD-2 scan. If no MIL, and all State Req'd tests are "ready", you should pass. Whipple provides a CARB certified tune, they more than likely will not provide any info on modifications that skirt that certification. As far as camshaft selection, it is my understanding that on an N/A application, one can go as high as 212°/218° at about .550" without being noticed by the test facility. I'm not sure if the whipple tune would be able to adjust to this non-stock profile, but it should perform better than the stock cam. I want to S/C my 2002 Z71 Tahoe... being DBC my choices are limited vs 2003+ DBW. Following!
 

J5races

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2023
Posts
45
Reaction score
30
Yes it does. I bought the kit from Whipple directly. I just curious if anyone had any experience or knowlege here if there is any 'room' in the tune to allow at least a state 1 cam and that won't cause a smogging issue. I messaged Whipple last week...but still have gotten a response; I'm thinking they aren't going to want to give an answer and will just stick to what's safe for them of "no modifications" with the kit.
If your kit is like mine, it switches main fuel metering to the provided 3 bar map sensor. So I would think you would need. retune to safely make any more power as I dont think the map sensor is going to know you need more fuel to go with the extra flow of a better cam at the same boost level.

Also, I spoke to Calloway a while back and they said my truck (2018 6.2L) is pretty much out of fuel at what we are making for power. They said we would have to upgrade all kinds of things to make more power (LT4 High pressure pump, Fuel line size, in tank pump) etc.

Id love to hear from someone making more than 640hp crank horse on a 2015-2020 setup with stock fuel system (I really hope it can be done safely)
 

Doubeleive

Wes
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
Posts
26,187
Reaction score
39,250
Location
Stockton, Ca.
as long as you have the carb sticker for the "visual" inspection, there never going to know anything different as long as all of your sensors show "ready" when they plug into the obdii port
even with the new check they started doing last year
 
Last edited:

J5races

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2023
Posts
45
Reaction score
30
as long as you have the carb sticker for the "visual" inspection, there never going to know anything different as long as all of your sensors show "ready" when they plug into the obdii port
even with the new check they started doing last year
Are you sure? I thought I read that the OBDII checks fora tune, and then compares legal (registered or known tunes) versus a custom one. And that you fail if its not a known tune CARB has approved.

Is that a bunch of nonsense or could that be how it actually happens?

Thank you

Jon
 

Doubeleive

Wes
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
Posts
26,187
Reaction score
39,250
Location
Stockton, Ca.
Are you sure? I thought I read that the OBDII checks fora tune, and then compares legal (registered or known tunes) versus a custom one. And that you fail if its not a known tune CARB has approved.

Is that a bunch of nonsense or could that be how it actually happens?

Thank you

Jon
there only checking that kind of software on diesels, as long as you have the carb sticker your fine
 

justirv

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Posts
85
Reaction score
93
Are you sure? I thought I read that the OBDII checks fora tune, and then compares legal (registered or known tunes) versus a custom one. And that you fail if its not a known tune CARB has approved.

Is that a bunch of nonsense or could that be how it actually happens?

Thank you

Jon
Thanks Jon, there's been a lot of questions here in CA regarding the State being able to look for altered tunes, by way of "checksums" I beleive. I'm not sure what the dates or model years are involved, or gas vs. diesel. If their (CA) intent is to truly check and compare to OEM "checksum", absolutely any tune change would alter that number. I had added e-fans to my 2002 Tahoe Z71, expected the worse, and passed CA Smog this Spring with no problem. Asking the smog tech, he said that minor changes shouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure how a rudimentary OBD2 scan would reveal any changes to the fueling map, timing tables, or EGR delete, etc. Possibly on newer vehicles, or diesel as mentioned. I'm looking to hear from those with more expertise.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
132,294
Posts
1,865,478
Members
96,875
Latest member
Cborunda19
Top