ReD715

iTrader: (11)

I know smog questions pop up every now and then and its kind of important in California but I have some questions that I didnt find throughout my searches.

How many of you actually had a physical underhood check during your smog check? Do they look for the CARB #?

How do the smog techs know which cars came with EGR and which didnt? If so, how? Id like to get an LS6 intake manifold. Changing the LS1/6 before/after the inspection is not a problem though. Im aware that SLP has one with the provision but thats $150+ for the same thing with a brass connection on top.

Ill be moving back to Southern California in January but I want to get my exhaust done now. Im still teetering between shorties and long tubes. With the shorties, I wouldnt have to worry about smog bullshit but with not as much power gain. On the other hand, Ill have more power but will be more likely to fail smog using the long tubes. I would not mind swapping out the long tube headers for smog but the chances of me having space to work on the car, probably wont be that great.

If I get could some reponses from a few of you, that would be great.

ReD715

iTrader: (11)

Any input?

jsteele90

iTrader: (13)

smog it then do your upgrades.

hlaalu

iTrader: (3)

It really depends on what shop you go to. they look up your car and find out about egr. what i would do if i were you, grab some donuts and some coffee and sit outside of a smog shop like a stalker and see if they get under the car and snoop around

OEM_TA

I brought my car in from Georgia two years ago and this is what I ran into.
Inspection station guy raised the hood, looked for a moment or two and shut the hood stating "this won't pass" and refused to do anything else.
When asked why, I was told my headers were not C.A.R.B certified even though they had all the proper emissions connections.

I then took it to a Referee station to find out what all needed to be done.
Things got worse.....they decided that the cam sounded like it was not stock and asked for the part number and or C.A.R.B. number.
It was not an approved cam, as there are only two after market cams approved and only for only the 94-95 year model cars here.
On the bright side, the Random Tech cat was an approved item.
Since my engine had almost 175K on it I had it rebuilt using all CA certified parts.

They have a large database that will tell them exactly what came on each year model of car.

As far as headers, be aware that there are NO long tube headers that are legal for street use anywhere in the country. This is due to the fact that you would have to move the cat(s) from the stock location further back. This is a violation of Federal laws (called tampering with emissions system).

Its not the length of the headers that will cause you to fail emissions but rather the above mentioned tampering. There are plenty of cars built with no approved parts that will pass the smog sniffing test, but you can't get by the visual inspection.

Check this site to get a list of what is approved here.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermk...es/amquery.php
Study this list well, if the part is not listed for your model car it is NOT approved.
Also the rest of this site has a lot of good information.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/homepage.htm

Now, all that being said I know of many cars running long tubes, no cats and other non-approved parts and they do get them registered here.
This usually requires either a friend or relative that runs an inspection station or finding one of the few shops where your accidentally drop a few large $$ on the floor and magically your car squeaks by the testing. In other words you need to know the right someone out here.

There are many good performance shops out here and some may be able to help you get the car built like you want and get it pass smog inspection.
Just be careful how you talk about it so as not to suggest they help you break the law. Conspiracy charges can bring hefty penalties.

I hope this helps, If you have any more questions feel free to PM or email me.

PS if you don't absolutely have to move here then I would pick another state.
California is a wonderful place to visit but I cannot recommend living here. Too many folks out here with nothing better to do than tell you how to run your life.

ndt/oos

mod it after smog. worry about it in two yrs...

dred500

iTrader: (3)

2 years come quick though
but like stated above
smog first then mod

jsteele90

iTrader: (13)

just save all your stock parts. you can change an intake and headers out in a weekend no prob.

ReD715

iTrader: (11)

Alright guys thanks for the help, especially OEM_TA. After being quite a few places, theres no place like home. I was born and raised in Redlands, it may not be much but its a hell of a lot better than Milwaukee.

Ill just find a spot and swap over the stock parts.

MrElectric03

iTrader: (71)

You would either want to swap parts or find a place to "Smog it for you".

The chances of finding a place that wont notice the LTs are very slim. They may not look for the CARB number but they will see that you have moved (or removed) the cats.

Vee 6

OEM TA is 100% correct. I also had a similar experience trying to smog my modded IROC many years ago when I was in the military. I had SLP shorty headers which were CARB legal, EO number and everything. But because I didn't have the CARB EO number sticker on the car I failed. The shittiest thing was I passed the sniffer but still failed the visual because of the missing sticker. CA smog check program is the biggest BS scam out there IMO.

Also why can't you keep your car registered in Wisconsin? I keep all my cars registered at my old home address in Texas and renew it every year online....no smog check BS either! I know there's a certain time frame to register your car in CA if you move here from out of state...but **** it, I've been here for over 2 years and have never been questioned by the police.

At least you can have several BS excuses why you haven't registered your car in CA. But it's hard to BS your way out of why you have long tubes and no cats!

ReD715

iTrader: (11)

That thought also crossed my mind but I dont know how long my parents will be living in this state. I do have an uncle that lives in Georgia which I could register there. Than again like you said, how long will it be until they realize they see a gold and loud car with Wisconsin plates for quite a while? It will cause a little attention.

highgear

Just keep your car registered out of state. If you are ever stopped, just tell them, no you don't live here, don't go to school here, don't work here. You are just visiting. Of course get the peeps where you live to back you up.
Mine is registered in Nev.

test only

Been reading on www.ls1tech.com for a couple of years now. It amazes me the troubles we all have to go through to keep our cars registered. We all wish that there were some form of "modified" tax we could all pay so we could modify our own cars and not have to worry about (f-n) smogging our cars. Too bad we gotta dart, dash and watch our backs to drive our own (f-n) cars.

I have spent many many late nights researching online and asking all the smog techs that I know, the ins and outs of this whole bs smog requirement scam. The smog requirement is bs. All I know is that if your vehicle is 1975 or older, it doesn't have to smog, thats bs. We all have to dart, dash and watch our backs so we can pay $$$ under the table to drive our own cars. That bs.

This is what i have gathered from my extensive research.

1) You do not have to put your vehicle back to stock, to pass smog.
2) If you gotta turbo or supercharger, run it. You can make it pass.
3) If you got headers, whether homemade or aftermarket, you can pass.
4) If you gotta chip or FAST/standalone unit, you can still pass.
5) Engine swaps, no problem, they can still pass.
6) Even if you got race cams, you can make it pass smog.

Things to watch out for:
A) If your car runs too rich at idle, and it smells, fix it.
B) Exhaust too loud, either install an exhaust cut out, a muffler, or fix it.
C) Atmospheric BOV's are the best way to (f-n) snitch on yourself.
D) Race stickers, exhaust tips, and hanging dice, don't make you any faster.
E) Gotta make your car look stock, if not, you will have to worry 'bout your car getting rolled and your hood popped. And, secondly, you will always have to worry 'bout thieves, crooks and punks taking your car for a joyride.
F) Drive responsibly. If you drive on the street, as if you are on the freeway, you are gonna get stopped and fk'd with.
G) Doesn't make any (f-n) sense to spend top (f-n) dollar on your ride, wash, polish and take care of it, then park it unsecured, where some crook, punk or thief can fk with it.

My best wishes to all that have to deal with this bs smog requirement. I think its bs. When I first started researching the smog subject, my turbo ls1 was sitting in my garage unregistered cuz I couldn't pass (f-n) smog. I got my turbo ls1 to pass, so can you.

What I wish to accomplish by this post is to open a dialog on how we can legally smog and register our vehicles without breaking any rules, laws or regulations. We are all adults here, lets act like adults. There are always proper ways to do things. Let the discussion begin.

Heres another bs smog thread: https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...199&highlight=


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