{"id":41617,"date":"2017-07-06T10:25:42","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T17:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=41617"},"modified":"2017-07-06T10:25:42","modified_gmt":"2017-07-06T17:25:42","slug":"the-rpm-act-where-we-stand-and-do-we-need-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/the-rpm-act-where-we-stand-and-do-we-need-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The RPM Act: Where We Stand and Do We Need It?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
Supporters say the RPM Act was written to make it law that Americans can build race cars.
Image Credit: Palm Beach International Raceway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s been quite a lot of hoopla in automotive circles about the RPM Act<\/a>. \u201cCongress is with us and wants to protect our sport\/hobby!\u201d \u201cThe EPA is trying to kill amateur racing!\u201d \u201cThe RPM Act is our last, best hope against the EPA\u2019s attempt to kill racing at all levels!\u201d \u201cHey, the EPA isn\u2019t trying to kill racing or the performance automotive aftermarket. They\u2019re just trying to make sure that rules and laws already on the books are properly enforced.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, what is it? IS<\/em> the RPM Act the only thing standing in the way of the EPA killing at least amateur\/local track racing, or is it just a bunch of hoo-haw? What was in the EPA press release that had SEMA up in arms, what does RPM Act actually say, and what do people in the trenches running performance shops and selling aftermarket performance equipment really think is the future of the sport at the local level?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What Started the Fracas in the First Place?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA<\/a>) sent out an email blast last year that had thousands of people up in arms. I read it and was alarmed and confused at the same time. However, just as I do whenever I hear something about a piece of proposed legislation, I started researching it. The email plainly stated that the EPA was trying to kill racing, at least on the local level.<\/p>\n

Motor vehicles emit poisonous gases that are bad for the environment. That\u2019s a well-known and recognized fact. It\u2019s one reason we have fuel efficiency regulations and ethanol. It\u2019s also why most states require semi-regular emissions testing when registering motor vehicles.<\/p>\n

\"The
Holley\u2019s 1150 CFM 2X4 Gen 3 Dominator Series Carb with 3-circuit metering is specifically designed for racing applications.
Image credit www.holley.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2016, the EPA clarified a long-standing ruling on the conversion of street cars into pure race cars. To many in the industry, it indicated the death of local racing. This clarification was buried in a document called the \u201cFinal Rule for Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles-Phase 2<\/a>.\u201d While trucks, buses and semis are mentioned a number of times in the summary, race cars are not. So one could be forgiven for wondering why SEMA was (and still is) so panicked by this clarification of an old rule.<\/p>\n

Buried deep in the 629 pages of the Final Rule, the EPA affirms its authority over on-road motor vehicles that are emissions-controlled and originally sold for street use and states that \u201coff-highway vehicles\/engines\u201d would remain exempt from the provisions of the Clean Air Act<\/a> (CAA).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But What\u2019s All the Fuss About?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The
With or without the RPM Act, your ability to build a race car is safe for the foreseeable future.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From what I\u2019ve been able to glean talking with officers at SEMA, manufacturers, and retailers, the bruhaha is over the fact that the EPA said it was illegal to tamper with a vehicle\u2019s emissions control systems for racing, even if the vehicle would never be used on the road, but that \u201cnon-road vehicles\u201d – snowmobiles, dirt bikes, etc – can be altered in any way that the owner desires, even if that would normally be illegal, as long as that vehicle is only used for racing.<\/em><\/strong> (<\/em>Emphasis mine). It seems to be a case of \u201cif they can do it, why can\u2019t we?\u201d However, there\u2019s more, and that \u201cmore\u201d is exactly why SEMA got into the act and encouraged the RPM Act: to protect local racing.<\/p>\n

So, SEMA sent its lobbyists out in force and got members of Congress onboard with their proposed legislation, the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act, the RPM Act<\/a>. Don\u2019t be misled, though. The RPM Act isn\u2019t aimed at the local level, to protect you and me and allow us to build race cars. It\u2019s designed to protect the multi-billion dollar industry that provides the go-fast parts we need to build those race cars. Congress would be legislating that it is legal for them to sell us their products, the side-effect of which is that we get to continue buying those products for use on our race cars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My Take on Why SEMA Is So Up in Arms Over the Clarification<\/strong><\/p>\n

Soon after the storm kicked off, the EPA released the following statement: \u201cThis clarification does not affect the EPA\u2019s enforcement authority. It is still illegal to tamper with or defeat emission control systems of motor vehicles. In the course of selecting cases for enforcement, the EPA has and will continue to consider whether the tampered vehicle is used exclusively for competition.<\/p>\n

\"The
The cylinder head on the bottom is Edelbrock\u2019s 70cc Performer Head, Part No. 60759. It is 50 State Legal for use on street or race vehicles. The head on top is Edelbrock\u2019s SBC Pro-Port Raw Head, Part No 775069. It\u2019s only legal on non-emissions-controlled cars and race cars.
Images Credit: www.edelbrock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe EPA remains primarily concerned with cases where the tampered vehicle is used on public roads, and more specifically with aftermarket manufacturers who sell devices<\/em><\/strong> that defeat emission control systems of vehicles used on public roads.\u201d (Emphasis mine.)<\/p>\n

The first portion of that statement calls into question the need for the RPM Act for people to continue to be able to race and modify vehicles that will only be used on tracks, suggesting that we can continue to build our race cars and override or remove the emission control devices that rob power if the vehicle is never used on the street. We can also continue to install aftermarket performance products to make our strip burners more competitive.<\/p>\n

\"The
Image Credit: Palm Beach International Raceway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The second part of that statement is why SEMA is so worried for its member companies. Loosely put, they\u2019re afraid of the EPA slapping huge fines on manufacturers\/suppliers for selling parts that people can (and most likely will) install on emissions-controlled vehicles that will not only be used on race tracks, but will be driven to and from the tracks. The problem with that worry is that EPA won\u2019t be the final arbiter on whether the fine sticks or not; the courts will.<\/p>\n

As long as \u201cCompany A\u201d has the disclaimer that their product is not legal for use on emissions-controlled motor vehicles, it seems unlikely that a court will uphold or even issue a fine to a company because a customer illegally installed one of their products on a vehicle registered for street use.<\/p>\n

\"The
Most automotive performance aftermarket manufacturers offer lines designed specifically for race cars.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Possibly one of\u00a0 SEMA\u2019s main objections was that the EPA didn\u2019t come out directly and say \u201cHey guys! We\u2019re doing this!\u201d They seemingly buried the verbiage in the middle of a fairly huge document that was supposed to be about something completely different.<\/p>\n

\"The
Holley\u2019s Dominator EFI for LS engines EFI system is legal for use on emissions-controlled vehicles. It can also be easily adjusted for the track.
Image Credit: www.holley.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it comes to the law and the CAA, intent is paramount. Did Company A sell that high performance intake manifold that has no emissions control fittings on it with the intent that Bob the Owner install it on his Ford Taurus, or did they sell it with the intent that Bob put it on his Mustang that\u2019s not registered for street use? Because Company A included the disclaimer mentioned above on the sales brochure, the box and the installation sheet, it can be proven that they sold it with the intent that Bob the Owner install it solely on his race car, the strip burning Mustang.<\/p>\n

Many in the industry simply assumed that the CAA and this section of it didn\u2019t apply to race cars. However, it always did; it\u2019s just that the EPA really isn\u2019t worried about the guy who\u2019s going to put maybe a few miles on his car\/engine over a race weekend. They\u2019re worried about the guy who\u2019s removing or tampering with his vehicle\u2019s emissions control devices to get a little more power out of the engine, or because the emissions control device isn\u2019t working properly and causing his engine to run horribly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What Are Shops and Retailers Saying?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The
Some parts are made for use only on the race track or on cars that don\u2019t have emissions controls. Others are made so you can use them on the highway and city streets in your daily driver\/weekend racer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I spoke with Stefano Bimbi from Nickey Performance over the weekend about the RPM Act. Stefano told me he has no worries that backyard race conversions will ever be illegal. He also said that everything they build is CARB-certified and 100% street legal. None of the performance retailers with whom I spoke had any worries that their helping customers convert street cars into race cars or selling performance products will become illegal in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

I also spoke with my friend Luke Merrill about the RPM Act and whether or not we really need it. You may remember Luke from my article about his first resto project ever – the C-10 pickup he restored for less than $600<\/a>. Luke was quite adamant in his thinking that the RPM Act was a dire necessity in order to save his business – Tinman II Kustoms – and others like it. \u201cYes, I do think it will severely impact the aftermarket world\u2026\u201d if the RPM Act isn\u2019t passed.<\/p>\n

\"The
Speed shop owners aren\u2019t worried that something will happen to make race car (and truck) conversions illegal.
Image Credit: MidWest Truck Series<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When pushed on why he thinks this is the case, he responded, \u201cLook at California. They are already much more strict on emissions and aftermarket stuff. The liberals are spreading to the rest of the U.S.\u201d When I told him that I\u2019ve never had a problem building a race car or a street car in California, Merrill told me, \u201cRight, right. It’s fine the way it is. But, I\u2019m afraid it’s going to become more and more difficult if there isn’t some sort of long term protection plan.\u201d Luke also mentioned that he thinks that any sort of regulation is just a loss of rights.<\/p>\n

The long and the short of it is, racing isn\u2019t in danger of being outlawed, not by the EPA and certainly not by Congress. Ever since the laws requiring emissions controls were passed, it\u2019s always been illegal to tamper with those controls. However, there\u2019s never been an issue if the reason for the tampering was to convert the vehicle to full-time racing use. That\u2019s not likely to change any time in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s been quite a lot of hoopla in automotive circles about the RPM Act. So, what is it? IS the RPM Act the only thing standing in the way of the EPA killing at least amateur\/local track racing, or is it just a bunch of hoo-haw?<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":41624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3470,5029],"tags":[3377,4298,4043,2731,1074,41,3379,1632,4295,156,4933],"class_list":["post-41617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-racing","tag-congress","tag-emissions-standards","tag-epa","tag-laws","tag-mike-aguilar","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-racing","tag-rpm-act","tag-sema","tag-street-legal"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Saturday-No-Box-winner.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-aPf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41617"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41628,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41617\/revisions\/41628"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}