2015 Silverado 5.3 can I delete dod/afm and cam.still able to pass smog in California

Jtv213 · December 31, 2021

Hey guys I have a 2015 Chevy Silverado 5.3That just dropped lifters in cylinder 7 Ticking pretty good.But my question is if I’m going to have to replace the camshaft and (valve train/ rollers) Can I upgrade the camshaft to like a stage one or maybe two with DOD delete and AFM delete and still be able to pass smog. I called the Dyno shop because it would have to be tuned after, they said it might not be able to pass smog because of the new laws in California.So has anyone had any experience in this yet Because right now I don’t know what to order stock or upgrade since I’m getting in there

CamGTP · December 31, 2021

That shop is right, if they scan the computer as part of the smog it will fail because it's been tuned.

A small camshaft with the 3 factory cat converters should pass the sniffer test though. A higher idle would help and maybe even a little bit of E85 mixed in the tank for good measure.

Jtv213 · January 1, 2022

1 hour ago, CamGTP said:

That shop is right, if they scan the computer as part of the smog it will fail because it's been tuned.

A small camshaft with the 3 factory cat converters should pass the sniffer test though. A higher idle would help and maybe even a little bit of E85 mixed in the tank for good measure.

So a small cam wouldn’t need a tune? what about the dod/afm delete since the reason it dropped the rollers on the number 7 cylinder in the first place was cause of the v4 mode crap I would want to delete it

CamGTP · January 1, 2022

It would require a tune.

I'm just saying that a small camshaft is still likely to pass the sniffer test portion.

steelerdude15 · January 1, 2022

@CamGTPI have a question for you. How much of a difference emissions wise does it make when you run in V8 mode the whole time as opposed to running around with cylinder deactivation on?

CamGTP · January 1, 2022

If we just go by what the engine is doing, technically the emissions are cut in half when it AFM/DoD is active. There are 4 cylinders that are shut down so the engine only creates tail pipe emissions on the other 4 operating cylinders. If you think about all the engines in trucks and cars that do this sort of thing, that is a lot of green house gas emissions that are not being sent into atmosphere.

Even if those systems are only active at certain times, it can still add up to a lot over a long period of time.

steelerdude15 · January 1, 2022

Thanks @CamGTP. The reason why I asked is because I will have to start getting emissions testing done once my truck turns 7 years old. I live in Delaware. Right now, I run it in L5 all the time and I planned on turning cylinder deactivation off via a tune once my powertrain warranty expired, but I guess we’ll see because I don’t want my truck to fail inspection.

CamGTP · January 1, 2022

If you have no fault codes for the cat converters I see no reason why it wouldn't pass emissions.

steelerdude15 · January 1, 2022

6 minutes ago, CamGTP said:

If you have no fault codes for the cat converters I see no reason why it wouldn't pass emissions.

Thanks. I think the only thing they do is the sniffer test and just look to see if your check engine light is on.

Supreme Pizza · January 1, 2022

California has very strict smog laws.

The rest of the planet:

pokismoki · January 3, 2022

disconnecting the lock up on the converter will also help pass emmissions by letting the engine rev a bit higher between shifts and cruise speed on the rollers

ppvsteve · February 1, 2022

This question is still unresolved in CA. I have report of one person with a DOD delete and a tune get through the CA smog check after July 19 2021 (when the ECU testing began ) . See pic below. Problem is this example is on a very limited production car (Caprice PPV) so it is possible there was not enough data gathered by the BAR to make a determination on that car. I thought once this program went into effect I would have heard from all you truck guys who have been deleting DOD for years. There should be plenty of data on the trucks. Thought I would see the posts of all the failures on message boards but I have not seen a one!! Has anyone in CA failed for MODIFIED SOFTWARE ??

My suspicion is the data showed that so many cars and trucks with AFM/DOD had all these different CVN check digits so they might just be ignoring all GM vehicle with DOD/AFM engines. Because I did find one corvette that failed for Modified Software but those do not have the AFM.

So all that being said you can risk a bigger cam and a tune if you want. Not sure if they are actually ignoring AFM engines how long they will continue to do so. Or you can go with a CARB approved DOD delete kit that comes with a tune that is CARB approved. Down side is basically this is a stock swap so no performance gain. $1000 in parts and no HP gain. Hard pill to swallow.

Livernois sells the kits

Here is the one for a 6.0 liter

https://www.livernoismotorsports.com/product/LPP802116/livernois-motorsports-06-gen4-6-0-6-2l-dod-delete-system-for-non-vvt-engines

Gmcjujitsudaddy · May 31, 2023

On 12/31/2021 at 3:07 PM, Jtv213 said:

Hey guys I have a 2015 Chevy Silverado 5.3That just dropped lifters in cylinder 7 Ticking pretty good.But my question is if I’m going to have to replace the camshaft and (valve train/ rollers).........

What did you end up doing? I have the exact same issue and live in California also. I want to upgrade the cam and do the dod delete kit. Hope it all worked out I love my truck but not this system