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California has never been the friendliest state when it comes to high performance automotive products and emission requirements. In fact, California has the strictest emission regulations in the United States, causing many performance enthusiasts to either become creative for performance upgrades or buy pre-1973 vehicles to modify. But there is good news for California residents because there is a new GM crate engine on the market that will pack quite a punch and still conform to California emission regulations. Thanks to GM News for bringing us the latest on this engine.
The GM E-ROD 5.3L engine was just cleared by the California Air Resources Board for use in practically any pre-1996 car. The ‘95 and older cut off stems from the switch between OBD I and OBD II computer systems between the ‘95 and ‘96 model years. So that means any of you who have a ‘96 or newer are still out of luck when it comes to this engine, at least if you want it to be California smog-legal
The E-ROD engine system comes in either manual or automatic configurations and has all required emission equipment, including a properly calibrated engine control module, an evaporative emission canister, and catalytic converters. The 5.3L is the second E-ROD engine to be cleared for use in California.
While more emission components come with the E-ROD systems in order to pass California regulations, they still have plenty of power to push. The 5.3L is rated at 326 HP at 5,300 RPM and 350 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 RPM. While the price is a bit steep at $7,125, it may be well worth it to have a legal performance engine for your California-registered car, and you’re getting a complete turn-key engine package. Anyone who’s spent a small fortune trying to get all the bits and pieces necessary for a junkyard swap will appreciate not having to repeat that experience. We’re glad GM is working to come up with more legal performance engine options for California car enthusiasts.
