Alright, well I've got an appointment to get my car registered in California next week Tuesday (28th) Since I'm not from here I'm not keen on what goes on durring the registration process. Are they going to inspect my car for modifications or simply that the VIN numbers and Make/Model match? I have an RKSport intake which I'm pretty sure is not CARB approved. Will I need to remove it for this inspection? If I can not pass this inspection with my intake would someone be willing to trade or loan me a stock intake for registration?
They do do an inspection but I don't think they care about modifications at that point, mostly just VIN. Your car is new enough to where you shouldn't have to smog untlil '08 at the earliest, maybe '10. RKS intake isn't CARB legal, in fact I don't think any of the 03+ intakes are legal. If you ever need it I can prob loan you an airbox and s tube. I don't think I have the plenum that hooks up to the TB.
There's no inspection from the DMV. Your vehicle has to meet california emissions. You'll
need to get a smog check/certificate, that's where they will tell you if your car is legal. They have a check
list and yes you might have to change your intake back to stock. You'll also need the title or
proof of ownership. If you have more questions go here DMV.
Hope this helps.
Thanks Chad and MJ. The www.dmv.ca.gov dosn't give me any information regarding the inspection and CARB legality unfortunately. Chad, I thought AEM had their intakes CARB approved, or did I misread something? Otherwise my car is an '04, so no emissions testing until 2010 (6 years.)
AEM's are CARB legal 96-01 all engines and 02 w a 2.4L. Nothing for the eco.
When I bought the 03 used I didn't have to do vin inspection or smog. Plus the finace co. took care of the registering. I was going to register the 99 in Cali so I went through all of the processes, but moved out of state before I needed to. The guy just checke over the VIN and mileage.
there was a tb plenium at the junk yard , but need the cam cover piece put back in it , the stock nipple was broke off
and its a little tweaked , car was wrecked , jarett and i are going back to the yard thursday , and i can grab it if needed
If the guy isn't going to check the intake like Chad says, I won't need it, thanks though Eric.
theres 2 types of SMOG.. u shouldnt need either.. Theres just a smog.. hook it up to exhaust make sure no CELs and good to go.. Every so often they will randomly pick people for "test only centers" where they have visual tests and will not look over crap like another smog place would. They check for intake/exhaust/headers etc. But just a reg. smog you should easily pass.
scott keep in mind , that if you get pulled over and cop checks under the hood youll get a ticket for the parts not being CARB approved , then you gotta put the stock parts back on and go to a station to get checked
chad had that issue with his cav when he had the turbo on it , and had to go back to stock , or have CARB approved parts
also pacesetter is the only CARB approved header , so if you ever decied you want 1 you know who to ask
Thanks for the info Eric. I'll definately let you know when I get around to that.
cool , just let me know
so i guess this means your gonna stay in cali ?
Yes, I just got a job with a large aerospace company here, so I'm staying. Will probably get a new car within a year if I can. I'm kind of tired of fighting a losing battle with this thing.
nice going on the job
i know im gonna miss my cavs when they get sold
but ill still have my 97 Z24 race car , now that ill be able to get started on it
you outta keep the s/f for a daily driver
On second thought Eric, I'd like to have the air box just in case.
how ya tell me , lol
ill see what i can do for ya
Well, I'd like to have something that'll pass inspection, just in case I do get pulled over, though I don't plan on it. I don't have any money right now, so don't invest too much into it. If someone still with the AZJBO has a spare let them know I'll take if off their hands if they'd like. Thanks for the help.
no problem
just thursday(turkey day) was 50% off at the yard that had it
but ill see what i can do , if your phone changed PM it to me , and ill call ya with a price from the yard
My phone number is still the same old 480-415- number. I can PM it to you if you don't have it anymore. I had the car titled and registered in California today, so it's all done. Both the smog place and the DMV had the hood open, nobody mentioned the intake. A case of "not my job" probably. Yes, it had to get smogged, out of state transfers apparently have to have that done. But, now that I'm in, it won't have to be done until 2010. What's this about pacesetter having a CARB certified header? How would one have that installed without messing with the cat? I'm not up on the CARB rules. I imagine a cat-back is ok? The GM S/C pacakage is CARB approved so I'll be doing that as soon as I can and the intake will be a moot point.
Smog stops right after the cat. Cat back's don't need to be CARB approved, but cops can be anal if it's above 95db.
95dB is pretty damned loud. I hope I don't mistakenly purchase an exhaust that makes my car that loud.
scott ive got a 520 # for you , guess its really old , LOL
so pm me the 480 #
and the more power you make the louder the exhaust will get , unless its a turbo
but chad can tell you his went from 1 level to alot higher level with the s/c added to it
Turbo's do a lot to quiet the exhaust. I can't imagine going NA to SC will increase the exhaust noise much. 95db isn't really all that loud.
Well I'm considering GM's "extrude honed exhaust manifold" header (19131972.) Since it would be an easy bolt up, I don't know what CARB has to say about it but it'll look stock. I've been looking at Gravana's website mostly for parts, so I was looking at the DC sports cat-back, which claims to be 95dB compliant. Gravana's site also says DC's header is CARB exempt. Brakes and seats are also on my list.
All GM products for the 4cyl are automatically CARB legal. DC sports is CARB legal because it's just a manifold replacement, and manifold replacements don't need to be CARB'd. There's no way I would get either of those replacements over the Pacesetter. The higher price isn't worth it, especially seeings how the Pacesetter is CARB legal (just go with coated, but you probably already knew that).
The DC sport catback will be 95db legal on a stock car until you start to open up the rest of the exhaust, intake, and motor mounts. Just because it says it's legal doesn't mean it will be once you add a header, high flow cat, etc. With that being said you probably won't get hassled for an exhaust anyhow. If you are going the SC route I would do a custom 2.5" exhaust with your choice of muffler that has an available silencer.
I have the DC sport muffler w/silencer on my custom exhaust and love it. I also have a 18" Vibrant resonator too.
If you ever want to come up and go for a ride I'll take you around with both the silencer in and out so you can hear it and check out the sc. I dynoed 214 at the wheels with the SC, AEM CAI, PS Header, Upper and Lower motor mounts, and full exhaust.
