![]() While designed for off-road applications in Civics, Integras and Preludes from the 1990s and early 2000s, there were popular OBD2 conversions available for this part. The Hondata S300 is a popular plug-in OBD1 ECU for Honda products that features a ton of aftermarket friendly features, like support for forced induction, ethanol sensor capabilities, and CAN output. If I agreed to pay the fine right away, I had to sign a letter that clearly stated that I would no longer modify cars beyond that date. “The notice informed us that we were to pay the fine within 30 days, or the figure would jump to $180,000. “Just before Race Week 2021, I was hit with the fine, which totaled $18,000 for selling the Hondata S300 product through our shop,” Leivestad said. When they did eventually hear back from the EPA the following June, the message didn’t come with good news. Leivestad further noted that PFI Speed did not receive any follow-up with the EPA for over six months after the shop turned over the documents. My case wasn’t even that big, I can’t even imagine what it is like for some of these other shops where there are hundreds of builds.” “It truly took so much time that it is unbelievable. “All of the different documentation that they wanted literally took us months to put together,” Leivestad said. Having previously dealt with the EPA in the early 2000s without contrition, Leivestad and his team went to work compiling the data without serious concern. ![]() Photos and contact information related to each of the builds and their respective owners, lists of every part installed on said builds, names of distributors and retailers utilized to purchase those parts, as well as lists of parts sold with client information attached were all requested. ![]() EPA Is Hunting America's Largest Tuning CompaniesĪs part of the request, the EPA required PFI Speed to turn over an extensive list of documents.NJ Allegedly Hunting Facebook For Illegal Diesels.Diesel Exhaust Company Fined $1.6 Million by EPA.I didn’t think about the Clean Air Act, I didn’t think that anything I was doing was wrong. I thought that they were auditing the world to figure out what is what, trying to get a handle on things. I just thought it was another one of those things. Whether it is the county or the state, there is always someone who wants something from you. “Being in business, there is always some sort of thing that someone needs from you. “When we first got the letter, I honestly thought this was just part of some overview process,” Leivestad told R&T. The agency made it clear there were no alternatives to complying with this request should PFI Speed wish to remain in legal operation. PFI Speed had been issued a letter from the EPA, which requested information about all of the builds PFI Speed had done, as well as details related to every part sold by the team. ![]() While trying to get the turbocharged hatch to run correctly, Leivestad received a worrying call from the shop back in Colorado. Today, PFI Speed is a well-respected name in the Honda community, but you may also know Brent and the shop from their popular YouTube channel.īack in December 2020, Leivestad was on a trip to California to help finalize a tune for fellow YouTuber Emilia Hartford’s K-24-swapped Toyota Prius. After realizing this workflow would be too expensive to maintain in the long run, Leivestad purchased his own dyno and PFI Speed was born. After building a hot-rod Honda CRX of his own, Leivestad started to put together cars for other enthusiasts during the week, heading to California every weekend to reserve dyno time. He had found himself enthralled by the interchangeability of the Honda components, which allowed for budget-friendly modification across platforms. In the early days, Leivestad served as a parts locator, searching junkyards for valuable JDM parts. Leivestad started the venture back in 1995, at which point it was known as Parts Finder International. PFI Speed is a tuning shop in Frederick, Colorado. In order to get a better understanding of what these EPA lawsuits related to the Clean Air Act are like from inside a shop facing down the government agency, R&T sat down with PFI Speed founder Brent Leivestad. Just this year we’ve seen massive changes to the product lines of major tuning companies, with the EPA bringing huge fines against sellers, even levying criminal charges against aftermarket part suppliers. The EPA has been flexing its might against the automotive aftermarket as of late. ![]()
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