What happens when it’s time to smog in CA... or anywhere?

Iilac

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Darn.. the Intercooler also? Egads heh. What about oil catch cans or a HKS BOV? Are those also a no-go?
I would say yes to BOV. Anything that is different from OEM on the air path into the engine needs CARB. Catch cans are a sticking point depending on the smog tech. Some let you pass while some will fail you. I had both happened to me.
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Iilac

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Intercooler does not need to be stock, that is a free mod. Refer to Smog Manual Appendix C. Gasoline powered vehicle DO NOT need a CARB EO number for intercooler changes, diesel vehicle DO need a EO number. Water injection as well, DOES NOT require a CARB EO number, not to be confused with ethanol injection kits. Catch cans are also completely legal, but ONLY if they are a completely sealed system or a system that drains back to the oil pan. They cannot have a breather filter on the top of the tank, no emissions gases should be able to vent to atmosphere.

Really? I have read horror stories online but it's all anecdotal for me. It's been the one issue that has prevented me from installing my intercooler.
 

DRUSA

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I would say yes to BOV. Anything that is different from OEM on the air path into the engine needs CARB. Catch cans are a sticking point depending on the smog tech. Some let you pass while some will fail you. I had both happened to me.
Correct. BOV is considered under the "turbocharger" inspection portion. Wastegate, blowoff valve etc. These must have a CARB EO number as well to be legal. In my experience, most smog techs would rather fail the car when in doubt than run the risk of a fine with the state for screwing up.
 

Iilac

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Correct. BOV is considered under the "turbocharger" inspection portion. Wastegate, blowoff valve etc. These must have a CARB EO number as well to be legal. In my experience, most smog techs would rather fail the car when in doubt than run the risk of a fine with the state for screwing up.

A good smog guy is gold to car guys. I try to be as nice and friendly as I can be to them. If I start out arguing with them, then we are already started on the wrong foot.
 


JNFC3

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You failed because the oxygen sensor readiness monitor/test was not completed. Otherwise the VIR report would read "tamper" if you have it.
I have a question. My friend with a 27won catless dp passed his smog with just the defouler on bank 2. He didnt disable the oxygen he only disabled the catalyst and he passed. I have a prl catless dp and the prl doesnt come with the defouler. Do tou think that can be the cause? He lives in las vegas aswell
 

DRUSA

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I have a question. My friend with a 27won catless dp passed his smog with just the defouler on bank 2. He didnt disable the oxygen he only disabled the catalyst and he passed. I have a prl catless dp and the prl doesnt come with the defouler. Do tou think that can be the cause? He lives in las vegas aswell
I don't know Nevada smog law, but usually they mirror CA smog law. Based on CA smog laws, your friend passed when he shouldn't have. If you remove the cat, it's blatantly illegal. If you replace the cat with an aftermarket unit, it must be a smog compliant part. A "high flow" cat does not fly, high flow usually means increased flow and reduced performance of the actual catalytic converter function. Removing the secondary oxygen sensor, also totally illegal, the secondary oxygen sensor is only used to verify cat converter condition and performance. Adding a defouler just tricks the ecu into thinking a secondary sensor is there by limiting exhaust gas readings to the sensor. The defouler causes a drop in readings between the first and second sensor, tricking the ecu into thinking the cat is scrubbing the exhaust when it isn't. Defoulers are also illegal.

Your friend passed because the smog tech either looked the other way during the inspection, didn't care, or didn't catch it when he should have.
 

DRUSA

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Honestly, when it comes to LEGAL smogs, this is about the only things you can do to a CTR:
-You can change the filter in the OEM intake setup
-You can add an exhaust
-You can reflash with a CARB legal reflash, or be sneaky and reflash back to stock on a off-road program
-The downpipe that goes over the subframe can be changed
-You can change the intercooler
-You can add a water injection kit

That is all the things you can do. Anything else needs a CARB EO exemption number for the part. In all honesty guys, most factory race teams only push 360ish whp, the car set FF production records in stock trim, do more handling mods are rip it around a track and enjoy it.
 

DRUSA

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A good smog guy is gold to car guys. I try to be as nice and friendly as I can be to them. If I start out arguing with them, then we are already started on the wrong foot.
Back when I had my AE86s and getting smog hookups, I would pay the guys an extra $100 and a pack of beer so they would remember me. Take care of your smog hookups, they are rare now.
 

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any "intake kit" needs a EO number. CARB legal intakes do not need to have the sticker present
I used to be a smog tech and this don't make sense. I would I know if it's exempt if it doesn't have a sticker of number on it. You could have just bought it from Ebay. Anyways, a lot of the smog places don't really want to take a chance on "being lazy" because CARB does spot checks on shops to see if the shop is being compliant. The penalty can be very expensive to shops depending on how many violations they have done to the point of closing the shop and paying up to $100k in fines. Anything after the cat is fine as long as it doesn't violate any noise regulations. A tune will most likely pass because as long as you don't have any CEL light on, your good. But new software is always being updated on CARB to see things in the software.
 


DRUSA

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I used to be a smog tech and this don't make sense. I would I know if it's exempt if it doesn't have a sticker of number on it. You could have just bought it from Ebay.
This breaks down into the year of the vehicle, pre-96 or 96-99 or post 2000. What I'm saying is that some techs will fail smog legal intakes because there is no EO sticker present or it fell off, example being a K&N intake but the EO sticker is not present because customer bought it second hand. Some techs would fail the intake because of no EO sticker, but it is the tech's responsibility to consult the ARB parts guide to verify aftermarket parts compliance, the same as you would an aftermarket cat EO number. I've seen lazy techs fail legal parts because they don't want to try to look up the part compliance online. All those eBay intakes are really only legal on pre-00 stuff without thermostatic intakes, post 2000 they want EOs.
 
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fatherpain

fatherpain

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Does this work? How would you access the PO Box in another state? Friends or relatives?

Register your car in a place that doesn't require smog. I keep a po box for this reason.
 

Frantic_FK8

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Does this work? How would you access the PO Box in another state? Friends or relatives?

I was looking into this when I wanted to import a car. It is my understanding that you need to also have a license and insurance in the state the car is registered in or else you can/ will have issues when pulled over in CA. Maybe someone more experienced can better clarify.
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