Is it possible for me to take a vehicle currently registered in california, go register ii in AZ and "presumably" make non CARB changes to the vehicle, because it is legal there where I would register it I wouldnt even need a smog check and than come back in 6 months as a new car into cali and register it here and be good with the non carb stuff? Isn't it the rules that they have to accept it as long as it passes the sniffer? Since I would be "moving" back to cali? To drive the car here in cali would I need to also get an AZ drivers license?

I just don't see anyway to get around a very stupid law that will allow me to actually make my engine run MUCH Cleaner, but because it didnt come that way they want to say I cant do it...

Any ideas on this one?

 

No, anything you do to modify an emission control system without the proper E.O. certification is illegal (federal offense actually). When you bring it back in and they make you get your smog check, you will be failed for having tampered with the vehicle. No questions asked.

This is the entire reason that they make us do the visual inspection, to make sure that people don't illegaly modify ECS's. Most people think they are going to get thier car to be cleaner, but the fact is that they end up screwing it up. Not saying you're gonna end up that way, but that's how it is.

What are you planning to do to it?
Just curiosity.

 

I am not talking about removing the smog system. I am talking about adding things like running dual cats, using non CARB approved headers, though they have the A.I.R lines, 49 state legal for example... Using fuel injection instead of a carb, basically everything that would make the engine run more efficient and cleaner. Everything perfectly "49 state legal", hence why I would register it in arizona, do the "mods" which in AZ are perfectly legal, wait the mandatory 6 months, than reregister it back here in cali. Technically as I understand it I just have to take it to the DMV and get a smog tech to look at it with a smog check that says I pass...???

 

All I'm saying is that without E.O. numbers, nothing will be legal. In California, you MUST have E.O. numbers for everything you do to an engine. I am a smog tech, and I'm not saying I agree with the rules, that's just how they are.

As far as going Dual exhaust/Dual Cats, I don't agree the fact that they don't want you doing it. Going to F.I. is allright, as long as it was a setup that came in your year vehicle. Otherwise, it requires an E.O. number saying that everything was installed correctly.

Headers are the most debated thing there is. The problem is that most of them don't have the EGR stuff or AIR stuff.

All mods that you do to an engine MUST be 50 state legal if you want to drive it in California. Period. The state doesn't care.

I've never heard of a mandatory 6 month waiting period, but as soon as you try to re-register in california, you will be required to undergo a full inspection, which BTW, is the only way to do it, which incluse Visual, Functional and Tailpipe tests.

Sorry to give ya' bad news, but anything you do MUST BE 50 STATE LEGAL. No way around it.

 

I think you are looking at this from the point of view as a smog tech and someone making changes inside the state. It changes a great deal when you are bringing a vehicle from out of the state. Remember that new cars have california emissions and non california emissions. You are allowed to bring a Texas vehicle in and they just need to pass smog. My thing is more a problem with am I going to have a problem because it was once a cali car, however the truck originally was built and delviered to a michigan dealer...

 

Nope, I know exatly what you are talking about.

We have 2 sets of certification, Federal and California. Federal cars typically don't have the same emissions systems on the vehicle, such as a fed. car not having EGR, but a Cal. car does. As far as Smog inspection goes, EVERYTHING must be stock unless you have an E.O. number for it. It doesn't matter if it has 49 state legal headers on a fed car. When you bring it into California, if you don't have headers certified for California, your screwed. They have to go. Doesn't matter. It sucks, but that's how it is.

 

I would listen to the smog tech if I were you. He knows his stuff and the law better than anyone. I agree with what he's said.

 

Well, the only thing that doesnt make any sense to me is how can you tell someone that just decides to move into the state "you need to install a whole new engine" etc... Or you need to change this just to drive it in the state, when the modifications were made it was legal to do so. As I understood it, they just require you to pass the sniffer at that point? What luck would I have with a smog ref?

Saying I can't get it smogged and registered here, I can keep it registered in AZ, but use it here. Am I asking to be pulled over more because of AZ plates? Also if the vehicle is AZ registered and I get pulled over and have a Cali license is that going to be an issue? If not I will just leave it registered in AZ and put on those plates. Since my I have lived there and my dad has a vacation home in the white mountains I wont need to ever smog it again and I can go real wild with it.

James

 

Unless you change your vin # (different car), it makes no difference what you do. Once a California car always a california car. The car keeps the same vin forever, and as soon as that vin pops up even if it has been registered out of state for 30 years, it comes up a California car. If it was originally sold in California, it will always be a California car forever!

 

It was originally sold in Michigan, where does that put me? Do I just need to go with michigan standards?

 

I've seen quite a few stories of people bringing modified cars into CA. There are lots of posts on LS1.com about it. If you want to register a car in CA, it must pass a regular CA smog test, no matter where it came from. You dont just "pass a sniffer" test, its a regular CA smog check, including visual.

And, you have a certain amount of time from when you bring the out-of-state car in to get it registered. If a cop pulls you over with AZ plates and a CA driver's license, that will raise a red flag with him. And if you have an AZ license and tell him you're "just visiting," it'll still raise a red flag if he sees you more than once.

 

What if you are a citizen of both states? If you spend 6 months in one and 6 months in the other? I am actually opening a satellite mortgage location there so I will be spending a lot more time there and like I said my dad, who shares the same name, already lives there. I think if I told the cop "honestly" that I live and work in both states, and that this vehicle is primarily used to getting to the house in the white mountains and I only drive it out here once in awhile I am not sure what he can say? Is there a specific law against doing that? Also 90% of my driving would be on the 60 freeway just next to the 10 Only way to get here from AZ

 

If it was originally a Michigan car, it is a 49 state car. It would threrfore have to meet the 49 state standards in force at the time it was built. To answer your question about being registered in Az. and living in both states, it would probably depend on how often you were seen in the area by the same police officer. If you do end up living in both states and travelling back and forth between both states, then you can legally register the car in either state and get a driver's license in either state. Just make sure your driver's license matches your registration. Also be prepared to explain to an officer who sees your car repeatedly in the same area on a weekly basis, if he pulls you over to find out why you have Az. plates on a car that he repeatedly sees in So Cal.

 

The law is pretty clear. You want to register your car here, it has to meet California standards. They dont care whats been done to it, where, whatever... it does not matter. If it doesnt pass visual (ie: obvious non EO parts), or doesnt pass the sniffer, or both, it will never be issued registration in this state. Bring it from Russia if you want to, it still has to pass the test or no registration.

 

Man **** that, If I make a mod in my Camaro and need to smog it ill just take it to some town in L.A. and pay the guy $150.00 and hell pass my punk ***...

 

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Just so everyone is clear on this, getting someone to pass you illegally is a FEDERAL offense. People do it all the time, and yes, there are people out there, but what you have to think about is if the guy gets busted by the BAR, and he says yeah, I passed a bunch of cars, they WILL go through the shops records and call in vehicles that are suspect to have been modified. If they do catch you, it's like $5k/day since the last smog was done on that vehicle.

Most people don't know this, but I have seen a bunch of people try to tell me that it was unfair that I failed them, then they took it to the BAR, and BAR said I was right on the money, so they slapped them with a nice little fine. Just something to think about. The thing about Federal vs. California standards is this, the only difference is the actual TAILPIPE EMISSIONS standards. The certification has NOTHING to do with the visual inspection. Period.

 

There are specific emissions parts on California cars that are not on others, so the visual is a factor too.

 

Right, but what i am saying is that if the vehicle isn't stck, as far as the visual goes, then you have to have an E.O. number for it. it doesn't matter if it's a Federal or California car. For example, on older C10 checvy pickups with a 305, the California car had AIR, but the federal didn't. But, if you get a set of 49-State Legal Headers without AIR bungs, and they don't have an E.O. number, they are not legal in california, but on the other hand, if you got the headers without the bungs and they do have an E.O. number, then they are totally fine.

What it come down to is the fact that a company paid the state of california to say that they were OK. The state gave them a number that proves it. I mean, for the most part, there is a lot more that goes into it, but it comes down to who paid who off.

If it's not factory, then you need an E.O. number for the modification. Period. I don't get what's so hard to understand about that. If it's not the way it came from the factory, whether it's Federally Certified, or California Certified, it fails without an E.O. number, it doesn't matter if it's 49-state legal or where you got the modification done.

Like I said earlier, I don't agree with all the rules, but that's how they are. I just have to follow them, and when someone asks about them, I tell them how it is.

Just curiosity, if you aren't gonna remove any emissions parts, then why not get parts that are legal and then not have to worry about it?

 

There are also those parts that fall into the category of 'stock replacement' that do not have an EO number and dont need one.

 

That's true, but it's exactly like it sounds, it's a stock replacement. Not Headers, not a completely different intake, not even an adjustable Fuel Pressure regulator. It's an exact copy of a stock part in fit and functionality. There is nothing performance about it, it is just like a stock part.