APR Stage 2 ECU
2nd Gear
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 960
From: Sylvania, OH
Are you sure you did not get a stage 2 flash? That usually gets rid of the engine light and slightly tunes the car better. You will probably NOT pass inspection as the Cat pulls tons of polutants out. I live in a state that does not test the cars.
1st Gear
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 40
I'm not sure where you are located (state inspection), but I have recently been having issues with APR Stage 1 and Massachusetts inspection. The short story: You can only run Stage 1 for MA inspection as per Chris at APR.
The longer story: After failing inspection because the computer was giving "not ready" signals, I have had the car in and out of the dealer 7 times in the last year and attempted to get it inspected 3 times - all failed. After the third attempt, Mass sends you to their Motorist Assistance Center. They take the car for a few hours, run all kinds of test and put it on a dyno if needed, then tell you what is wrong with your car. They told me that it is purely a software issue, that the SW is masking codes. I asked all kinds of questions, but he was adamant that the issue was not a failed sensor, or faulty wiring, the software was masking codes.
So I call APR and say "I've got a turbo-back exhaust and software and I'm failing inspection." The immediate response: "Oh, you need to flash back to Stage 1, inspect it, then flash back to Stage 2."
"So this is a known problem?"
"It's not a problem, it's just designed that way."
"And there's no way to have the Stage 1 program be another program in my set of 4?"
"No. If there was, we would have done that."
So basically, if you want to run Stage 2 in MA, you need to cough up an hour of your time and $50 to get your car flashed to Stage 1, inspect it, then go back, another hour, another $50 and flash back. Every year. What a PITA.
The longer story: After failing inspection because the computer was giving "not ready" signals, I have had the car in and out of the dealer 7 times in the last year and attempted to get it inspected 3 times - all failed. After the third attempt, Mass sends you to their Motorist Assistance Center. They take the car for a few hours, run all kinds of test and put it on a dyno if needed, then tell you what is wrong with your car. They told me that it is purely a software issue, that the SW is masking codes. I asked all kinds of questions, but he was adamant that the issue was not a failed sensor, or faulty wiring, the software was masking codes.
So I call APR and say "I've got a turbo-back exhaust and software and I'm failing inspection." The immediate response: "Oh, you need to flash back to Stage 1, inspect it, then flash back to Stage 2."
"So this is a known problem?"
"It's not a problem, it's just designed that way."
"And there's no way to have the Stage 1 program be another program in my set of 4?"
"No. If there was, we would have done that."
So basically, if you want to run Stage 2 in MA, you need to cough up an hour of your time and $50 to get your car flashed to Stage 1, inspect it, then go back, another hour, another $50 and flash back. Every year. What a PITA.
1st Gear
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 40
Every year my friend 
And license renewal every 2 years. It's New England. If we didn't have piles of extra bureaucracy in everything we do, we'd have only half as many government workers employed.
I used to live in Arizona where we renew our driver's license every 25 years. Sounds crazy at first, then you ask "Why would it matter?" and you realize every 2 years is crazy.
While we are off-topic, another marked difference between AZ and MA - the roads. While there are potholes in MA, the real problem in town is the patching from utility work. They are done completely half-hazard. In Phoenix, the city requires utility patches to meet certain criteria and the patches are completely flat and level with the remainder of the road surface. In MA, any road that has seen work looks like your drunk uncle patched it during half-time of the Pats game. This doesn't make for the most enjoyable driving experience when you have a performance suspension.
And license renewal every 2 years. It's New England. If we didn't have piles of extra bureaucracy in everything we do, we'd have only half as many government workers employed.I used to live in Arizona where we renew our driver's license every 25 years. Sounds crazy at first, then you ask "Why would it matter?" and you realize every 2 years is crazy.
While we are off-topic, another marked difference between AZ and MA - the roads. While there are potholes in MA, the real problem in town is the patching from utility work. They are done completely half-hazard. In Phoenix, the city requires utility patches to meet certain criteria and the patches are completely flat and level with the remainder of the road surface. In MA, any road that has seen work looks like your drunk uncle patched it during half-time of the Pats game. This doesn't make for the most enjoyable driving experience when you have a performance suspension.
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jaybquick
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Apr 5, 2007 07:55 PM
