sla07

ssooooooo i will be moving to seattle in about a month, or a little less….one of my biggest concerns is my corvette and any emissions issues …im c/h, and didnt really have to worry about this in texas nor florida (where i currently reside)…any tips, thoughts, suggestions (ie: leave the car in florida instead?)…would really hate to leave it there but if there is no way in passing emissions, the car will just become a headache

aside from that…any car meets?…any of you hang out?…any of you live in seattle?….im literally moving from one corner of the country (miami,fl) to the other…but cant pass up solid opportunities for career growth...

last901

Not all counties in Washington State require emission checks. King County (Seattle area) Pierce County (Tacoma area) require emissions checks every two years. You may have to take one if you transfer your plates to Washington. I think new resident are obligated to do that eventually after something like 60 days??

As for car meets there's usually something every weekend except during Monsoon season (October thru late June ) Check out the XXX-issaquah site for an example. Also Cruzin' Magazine's calendar

last901

Oh, by the way, don't bring an umbrella. You'll look like a tourist.

sla07

@ the umbrella comment…noted

…ive been concerned about that with the vette…im gonna have to figure something out i suppose…

ExRedRacer

Welcome the the beautiful PNW! From the Sunshie State to the Rainy State...

last901

Most of the people on the NW forum apply liberal amounts of Armour-All on their Corvettes every fall.

Seriously, Seattle isn't as rainy as people say. For years it's been a subtle means of discouraging Californians selling their McMansions andcoming up here. We get something like 37" per year, which I believe is similar to Nw York and possibly, San Francisco. What makes some of us feel like i rains all the time is that we have so many cloudy days.

Th eastern side of the state is arguably different. They get more sunshine, but they also seem to be colder in the winter months. I think those of us who are long-time Seattle residents (the ones with moss on the north side of their bodies) would probably not live anywhere else. I really can;t speak for Miami since I've never been there, but in most places up here we're not as concerned about climate change flooding our homes.

last901

BTW, if you're still tan from the Florida sun and people up here stare at you, tell them it's rust.

Please keep us up to date on your move.

Mr. Peabody

Relax except for the garage queen guys most of us drive our vettes year round here the rain (contrary to popular belief) does not hurt them.

There are a number of corvette specialty shops around here that can help you adjust the tune of you car to pass emissions if that's the issue.

Do you have specific concerns about your vette? What year is it?

google corvettes of auburn and wong performance engineering.

Mufflerbearing

www.carbconn.com is a certified emissions station and Alex the owner is a very good tuner. They also have an in house dyno.

sla07

lol…ive looked at the weather out there and have read up on it…it definitely doesnt rain nearly as much as everyone says it does…in fact the two times ive been there (only about 12 days total), 2 of the days were cloudy, and one of those 2 days was "raining" (whatever you guys consider rain, which is basically someone spraying water at you with a spray bottle in comparison to florida afternoon showers )


…i assume there is a little bit of a hispanic community up there but doesnt bother me either way lol


aahh my vette has been my daily driver since i bought it in 2009…up until around august of this past year since i bought a daily driver and started using the vette more for track weekends and just whenever i have the itch type of thing

well, the concern is how strict is emissions…being c/h with a tune, my guess is the emissions test will sniff my car and fail me on the spot…its a 2009 ls3…

i'll look those guys up


my other challenge with the move is that i'll be living in the city…will be walking to work but i need my cars lol…so im going to have to rent a parking spot for the vette since that one would be even less used than the current daily..i would like to maintain both for different purposes though…parking in the city area seems to range in price but i'll cross that bridge soon enough…

thanks guys…i'll keep you all posted…heading out in a couple weeks to go "house hunting" with the consultant they paired me up with...

sla07

thank you sir!

C6 Snowboarder

On your plate that has all the options and codes listed .. do you see one for FE50? if so you have nothing to worry about emissions

Or the other possibility if no FE50 is listed then a CA Code for emissions does the same thing.

Go out to the Washington Vehicle registration web site - ... it will tell you step by step what you need to do and how and what... good info there for you

Welcome to a Great PNW. Bring golf clubs and snowboard - we have a lot of nice courses.

c4cruiser

Depending on the time of year, having a fresh supply of windshield wiper blades will be a big help

Here's some links that will help you with getting your car registered in WA

Emissions testing information

2009 and newer model years have to meet the CA Emissions standards. Might be a good idea to contact some specialty places to see how a tune can help. One good place would be Wong's Performance Engineering in Vancouver. He has done a lot of work for PNW Corvette Owners and is highly regarded. Corvettes of Auburn is another great place for Corvette work. The shop is certified by GM.

License plates and WA driver's license
Washington also has an "Enhanced" driver's license available for a small extra fee. This license will allow you to drive into Canada and back to the US without having to have a US Passport. You will need a copy of your Birth Certificate and proof of residence such as a utility bill.

As mentioned, there are some areas in the Puget Sound area that do not require emissions testing. The ZIP Code where you live will be a factor.

You said you like track days; there are 4 great road courses within a day's drive from Seattle: Pacific Raceways, The Ridge Motorsports Park (Shelton) Portland Int'l Raceway, Oregon Raceway Park (just south of The Dalles on the Columbia River) and Thunderhill is a long 1 day drive but doable.

fperra

The counties that require emission testing do so by plugging into the OBDII port, so as long as you are not showing any codes you should be OK.

sla07

ah i dont see any fe50…i see an fe3, but that looks like suspension code...



thanks for the links…the road courses are definitely going to keep me sane!!!…the ridge motorsports park looks to be about the same distance from seattle, that sebring is to me today


good to know…last i checked i was code free...

MarkBychowski

2009 and newer vehicles that were manufactured to CA emissions standards never need to be tested, even in counties that do testing in WA state.

See the DOL site and look for "which vehicles need to be tested"
http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistr...emissions.html

last901

Mark, I looked in the yellow pages and see no "Goggle Corvettes of" ..anywhere. Why would anyone have a biz called Google Corvettes? Maybe they sell those perspex covers like on the race cars?

JETninja

Well, we've set a record for Rain this year so........and we get lots of Grey days and they drive me nuts. And I occasionally use an Umbrella, so Phil can suck it. My 1995 M3 with 236k on it passed emissions no problem. Has the original cats too.....and its running larger maf, injectors, software, catback.

Starting in April E@RTC (Exotics at Redmond Town Center) (google it) will start up weather permitting, its every Sunny Saturday. Triple X Rootbeer in Issaquah has car shows all Summer, including a Corvette one. Google them for the schedule on their website. Both places are only about 20 mins from Seattle.

last901

FYI John, I do have an umbrella, but it came from Italy as a gift from Alfa Romeo SpA. I worry that it might rust if I actually use it.

JETninja

Ha Ha.....yeah if it came from Alfa I probably would! FYI, thinking of replacing the M3 sometime later this year with a used Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT, you don't see many and they are pretty cheap for the '06-09's....