Hi all-

Have a question for the californians out there -- should I be worried about emissions when moving a non-cali vette (95) into california? What about mods, will I need to show an EO/carb sticker or something? What exactly is the emissions process out there anyway?

Thanks!
Jeremy

 

yes you have to worry about all the mods you have on the car and show them that they o.e. exempted for use in cali. even if your car is out of state it should still come with everything needed to pass the emissions test.
if you don't have the documentation for the mods you have, you are better off putting the stock pieces back on to pass the sniffer test. if your mods have the sticker with the o.e. number stamped on you will probably have to convince the smog tech a little, but there are some that will still hassle you about it. it all depends where you go. if i were you i would do search for the area that you are going to live in here in cali, and ask the local hot rodders and racers where they go to get a smog check.

if you were going to live near bakersfield, cali. i could tell you were to go and not get hassled.

 

I have a 1995 LT1 no mods that I picked up in October 04 that does not have California emissions, nor did my 1993 Infiniti J30, both of them passed smog twice. My 2000 Seville with California emmisions that I replaced the J30 failed. I did have to replace my gas cap on the C4.
If your car is un good tune I think it will fly.

N7

 

what mods?

A few that will not ever pass:

* Long tube headers.
* No cats.
* Removed or disabled emissions control components.
* Modified or aftermarket ignition systems (DelTeq, LTCC, things of that nature).

A few that will:
* Cams, unless really radical
* Roller Rockers
* Injectors
* High flow cats
* Shorties

What it boils down to is what can they see what can't they see. The big thing is passing the sniffer...

 

Damn that would suck to have to change everything back. Why would you believe that it wouldnt pass emissions?? I have alot of mods and I pass emissions fine..

 

[QUOTE=aka_jsn1]Hi all-

Have a question for the californians out there -- should I be worried about emissions when moving a non-cali vette (95) into california? What about mods, will I need to show an EO/carb sticker or something? What exactly is the emissions process out there anyway?

Man thats a huge question, but just havin gone thru it last August, I can or might be able to shed some light on it.

you can email me thru this forum and we can go to it in length, but to start.....

go to http://www.dmv.ca.gov/ and see inder emissions what is required of you.

there is a 10 year rule that I am not familiar with, I have a 96 LT4, so last year i was not at that point. it involves a waiver bring in cars from out of state (check it out)

mods are a sticky issue, you have to have an emission check every two years now, so you have to be prepared every two years.

make sure there is an emission sticker on your cowling, mine had been removed and almost cost me big time. and from what I have learned all vettes from that year are CA emission passable

EGR valve for LT1 needs to be in place, exhaust will be inspected every two years, I think you should be getting it by now.

But if you want to know more just email me...MD

 

The testing is also different where you are loacted, my co-worker has an 88 from out of state, but lives in Blythe a city on the border on I-10 and Arizona, even thought he is in the same county as I am, they do not test his vechicle.

N7

 

Oh, one thing that has not been mentioned: If your car is EPA good from about 1981 to about 2002 or so, it's good in Cali.

You see, the only difference in the California Emissions option was an additional test at the end of the assembly line. That's it.

I brought my 92 into CA 18 months ago, and it passed the first time out. No problems. The NOx was high, but I have fixed that... and newer cats should help, too.

As an aside, I have LTCC installed on my car... and the tech passed it, I suspect it's because the numbers were good, so he wasn't gonna fail it for a mod of that nature.

 

I find the tougher part to be the visual inspection. It has to run clean, but they look to see if the car has been modified. If it is modified, all the parts need a CARB number. All the parts also have to be stock for that year/make/model. Even if it runs clean.

 

If your going to live in the large populations centers like LA or SanFran, be prepared to bend over every two years for the "smog tax inspections". These areas are punished for being the producers of the worst toxic gases in the state. Therefore CARB2 laws say that you must input large volumnes of cash to the liberal legislators to compensate for your gas output. In the more reasonable counties of the state (read conservative), we have CARB1 rules that allow us to smog cert the vehicles less frequently. We still must adhere to the state laws that do not permit unauthorized modifications in compliance with CARB2. And with roadside sniffers spot checking traffic, you get the feeling that Kalifornia has become a complete socialist state. Just time before the State Gestapo takes away your first born and half your life savings...Oops they already do.

And the legislators still can't understand out why businesses are leaving the state. I'm sure it has nothing to do with taxes, mountains of laws, taxes and funding the illegals.......

Why the hell do you want to move here anyway? Even the weather has gone to sheet!

 

Steve,

I take exception to the use of politics in air quality... at least as far as LA is concerned.

We have a unique air problem here... too many people and not enough natural ventilation.

What happens here is that the Pacific Ocean sets up a north/south air dam along the coast.

The mountains on the east set up their own dam.

The smog gets trapped in the middle.

Whenever the Santa Ana's blow in, they push the air away from the mountians and into the dam along the coast... this means folks like us in Torrance get nailed with a nasty layer of ick.

My wife and her mom are native to LA. Her mom remembers growing up as a teen walking in south central (near the USC campus) and having her lungs hurt from the air she was breathing.

I know that emissions have become a political hot potato... and it's a shame... it has everything to do with reasonable practices, and CARB is not reasonable.

I, personally, don't see it politically. This is one of those issues that should transcend politics. It should be a no-brainer that our air quality be maintained as clean as humanly possible... Do we want a repeat of when the Allegeny River caught fire in Pittsburgh? Do we want our air as toxic as those places in Russia, India and China? I don't...

I know that air quality has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 30 years. Particulates are down, toxins are down and the air is generally cleaner. The problem, at least here in LA, is that there are just too many people... and that has caused CARB to get miedevil on our asses. I don't agree with the methods, but I do agree in principle that something needed to be done.

Personally, I would like a system that would allow us more leeway in the tuning of our cars... ones that would maintain the same levels out the tail pipe, but let us decide how we are going to accomplish this. Make it optional... most folks are too stupid to do this right.

 

California is different. I'm in Georgia and went to LA to see friend. They checked my passport at the AZ line.

 

What kind of mods do you have?

 

jriflecoach put it best, "you have to bend over" every two years. lol lol.

 

Californication, I love it!

 

Well, if your cars are stock, you shouldn't have any problems because there's nothing different about a California car then any other car since the early '80's. They all come with the same stuff. To avoid the hype and folklore, read the law - it's here:

http://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/StdPage....ck/default.htm

 

PS - Unless you're in the Military, don't try to avoid registration and keep your Out of State Tags - Your neighbors may go here:

http://www.chp.ca.gov/prog/cheaters.cgi

 

FYI....there are several mountain counties in No. Cal that don't require a smog check at all. So if your lucky enough to be moving to one of them, no worries.

 

Thats a good song by
Red Hot Chilli Peppers

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/shar...alifornication

`

 

If you're moving to a populated area, you'll need to smog it every two years. Other parts of CA only require smog on change of ownership (and once when moving into state I believe).

Within the populated areas, there is biannual Smog1 and Smog2, which are just different degrees of testing, based on zip code. There's also test-only which requires certain cars, probably yours too, to go to certain types of stations.

CA sniffer test is probably stricter than your state, someone on here would be happy to look up the HC, CO, NOx limits for your year so you can compare with your last smog test.

If you have visible mods between the air filter and cat, then you'll need an EO number for those. If you've got too many mods, than you'll have to bribe a smog tech. Good luck on locating one willing. The state has smog narcs that try to bribe techs which can cost them their license and fines.

It's sad how little sense it all makes.


Another tip, is if you know someone that lives in non-smog part of CA, or out of state (more risky), you can register your vehicle there, as long as its not a P.O. box. But cops are getting stricter about where your car is registered. I've been hassled twice about it when getting my first ticket after moving to a new area.