APR No Longer Providing Stage 2 Tunes After Labour Day. Other Tuners to Follow

[Desslok]

It's going to be harder for homebrew downpipe makers as well, since companies like Vibrant are pulling their cats off the market as well.

If that is true, this is going to be a much bigger problem than just exhaust parts. That spells bad news for the aftermarket and especially us.
If you want more power but can't modify your car, you will have to buy a more expensive car. From a cost perspective, the end result may not be that much different and you keep your warranty.
It will kill the hobby though and become a shell of what it is now.


It's a slippery slope...

First they came for the downpipes and I didn't complain, because my car did not have one.
Then they came for the tunes and I didn't complain, because my car was not tuned.
Then they came for the springs and I didn't complain because my car was not lowered.
Then they came for the wheels and I didn't complain, because my wheels were stock.
Then they, ah the hell with it!

Worst case scenario, but people in power love to take away anything that people enjoy. For their own good, of course.

 

[Justgotohm]

Before you know it the performance forum will be full of threads about the huge gains from rewinding our electric motors with silver wire. Upgraded cabling, is it worth the cost ?
Ultra light battery pack got my trap speed up by 4mph.
Alcohol cooled power packs for extended life.
EQT is now offering hybrid traction motors for their Stage 3 kits, solid 9sec 1/4 mile results for your daily driver.

 

[Acadia18]

AFAIK, Cobb has skirted this by not disabling any O2 readiness monitor. It only deactivates illuminating the light for certain CEL codes. So, the CEL is still stored and you will not pass an emissions test. Since the secondary O2 is still enabled and monitoring, EQT recommends disconnecting it, since they've seen the tendency to run rich over time from the rear O2 trying to change things. This seems to be a Cobb only issue, which could point to them being the only company who isn't bypassing the secondary O2.

I don't know what other tuning companies are doing to avoid the CEL with the secondary O2, but on my previous vehicle, tunes could force readiness and it was possible to pass smog tests w/o needing to swap downpipes.

That makes sense, since the Accessport doesn't do anything to modify your emissions controls. That's why people have to go through the hassle of changing tunes/downpipes or fiddling with spacers when it comes to inspections.

It's going to be harder for homebrew downpipe makers as well, since companies like Vibrant are pulling their cats off the market as well.

Do you have a source for this? I looked but couldn't see anything online.

 

[gregsju29]

are they really going to come after individuals though? It seems like the EPA document is saying manufacturers. I feel like the companies are going to have to change, similar to the way napster and the music community was. Better get everything you want from APR before 9/7. It'd be so interesting if this increased the value of your car in the tuning world. I can just imagine "FS: RARE, 400 hp, 2016 Mk7 GTI IS38 w/DP, $28k"

 

[Acadia18]

are they really going to come after individuals though? I feel like the companies are going to have to change, similar to the way napster and the music community was. They never really came after indiviudals

Doubtful they'd come after individuals. But it would make things harder for the individuals to acquire the things needed to modify their cars.

Also, I know 2 people who were sued by the RIAA. Both settled out of court. One had to pay $5,000, not sure about the other. Their parents were not happy.

 

[AxMan]

are they really going to come after individuals though? I feel like the companies are going to have to change, similar to the way napster and the music community was. They never really came after indiviudals

It could be at the local level if they start investigating further. But they likely won’t unless they have a reason to.

 

[swcrow]

Saw this on a local Mk7 FB page,

https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/nat...ePMOxfLnXaiB8WJ2TH10YeVMYI3RRMMUULM_Qyh5gwhps

That sounds ominous. The way I read that is not only DP's won't be available but tuning itself wouldn't be allowed. This could destroy the aftermarket companies. Anything that the EPA says could alter emissions.

"Mobile sources are a significant contributor to air pollution. "

ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha......I can't even.....

 

[wasbaggedonce]

Before you know it the performance forum will be full of threads about the huge gains from rewinding our electric motors with silver wire. Upgraded cabling, is it worth the cost ?
Ultra light battery pack got my trap speed up by 4mph.
Alcohol cooled power packs for extended life.
EQT is now offering hybrid traction motors for their Stage 3 kits, solid 9sec 1/4 mile results for your daily driver.

 

[docwyte]

Well, the APR downpipes moved the cat to underneath the car. That's illegal. Their tune deleted the rear O2's. That's illegal. Not surprising that they decided to stop selling them. AWE stopped selling downpipes a few months ago.

I'm debating picking up a Cobb AP and EQT stage 2 tunes now, even though I won't install them for awhile just in case I can't get them in the future

 

[2018gti]

So now, people who would have no problem ordering a catted downpipe to help with emissions can't even do that anymore. Do they think their enforcement will suddenly make no one want to modify their cars anymore? Now that there is no available option to buy an aftermarket catted exhaust, won't this drive people to just buy a cheap catless downpipe from wherever it's available or simply take off their exhaust and gut the cat material?

 

[DarkArrow]

Do you have a source for this? I looked but couldn't see anything online.

No news source. I saw it posted on a golf fb post, and if you search for "catalytic" or "catalytic converter" on Vibrant's website have 0 results. I don't know if the website populated results prior.

are they really going to come after individuals though? It seems like the EPA document is saying manufacturers. I feel like the companies are going to have to change, similar to the way napster and the music community was. Better get everything you want from APR before 9/7. It'd be so interesting if this increased the value of your car in the tuning world. I can just imagine "FS: RARE, 400 hp, 2016 Mk7 GTI IS38 w/DP, $28k"

With so many others higher up in the pecking order, I highly doubt they go for individuals unless it's blatantly obvious, like rolling coal in front of a LEO. The small fry isn't worth the time and money to pursue. Part manufacturers, tuning shops, mechanics installing illegal parts, and shady smog shops would all have a bigger target on their backs than an individual.

So now, people who would have no problem ordering a catted downpipe to help with emissions can't even do that anymore. Do they think their enforcement will suddenly make no one want to modify their cars anymore? Now that there is no available option to buy an aftermarket catted exhaust, won't this drive people to just buy a cheap catless downpipe from wherever it's available or simply take off their exhaust and gut the cat material?

I agree it's going to backfire and cause more people to run catless due to the difficulty or cost of trying to find a good quality cat.

 

[Acadia18]

No news source. I saw it posted on a golf fb post, and if you search for "catalytic" or "catalytic converter" on Vibrant's website have 0 results. I don't know if the website populated results prior.

Not saying I don't believe you, I just find that odd. The EPA is a US based government entity, and Vibrant is a Canadian based company. I wouldn't imagine the EPA's rules would have to directly be followed by Vibrant.

 

[DarkArrow]

Not saying I don't believe you, I just find that odd. The EPA is a US based government entity, and Vibrant is a Canadian based company. I wouldn't imagine the EPA's rules would have to directly be followed by Vibrant.

No worries, I don't believe everything I read on the internet either. That's why I searched their website and noticed all catalytic converters are not listed. Maybe it's because I'm using a US IP.

 

[hans611]

Such a ridiculous crusade, a tiny percentage of the world wide pollution is passenger vehicles...

If they would know how all their shit gets shipped across the world on container ships.....

Each one of them pollutes as much as a small country and there is thousands out there.

Im about to buy a downpipe, i was planning on getting it next year but this messes with my plans....

Hopefully here in Florida we have at least 4 more years of no emissions testing...

 

[Clem604]

Not saying I don't believe you, I just find that odd. The EPA is a US based government entity, and Vibrant is a Canadian based company. I wouldn't imagine the EPA's rules would have to directly be followed by Vibrant.

It's probably more likely that Vibrant can no longer directly sell their cats in the US. You will be able to get them through other channels i'm guessing. If all else fails just come up to Canada for a DP and a tune and get some ketchup chips and poutine while your up here.