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Sent to State Ref, who's been there? (Cali)

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My buddy got pulled over in Fontana CA in his completely stock STI and the cop gave him a fix-it ticket for his stock intercooler on top of the motor, cop said it was because the fancy writing on it. He had to prove that the car came that way from factory, now that was funny.:applause::applause::applause::applause: Great job
 
I'm from NYC and I'm currently in San Diego (I ####ing love it here by the way) visiting my woman and I told her THIS is the #1 reason I would never move here as the emissions standards are the tightest in the country, I would have to keep my cars registered where they are currently to be able to drive them and even then I'd likely be on borrowed time. I came here to Cali for the first time last month knowing how tight it is out here but still expecting to see a good bit of EVO's but I can count on one hand how many I've seen (and I see why) and the few 2G's I've seen are beat to shit anyways.

OP good luck dealing with this state referee as it sounds like you're about to get put through the ringer.
 
Well, I have my appointment set for Monday. I've been looking a bunch of stuff up and it seems that sometimes they just check to see if you replaced whatever you got cited for, and don't even bother to give you the smog. But I'm guessing that's very rare. So I'm hoping for the best and expecting the worst. Thanks for everyone who's been helpful.

If anybody else has had a referee experience, please feel free to chime in...need all the help I can get.
 
I'm from NYC and I'm currently in San Diego (I ####ing love it here by the way) visiting my woman and I told her THIS is the #1 reason I would never move here as the emissions standards are the tightest in the country, I would have to keep my cars registered where they are currently to be able to drive them and even then I'd likely be on borrowed time. I came here to Cali for the first time last month knowing how tight it is out here but still expecting to see a good bit of EVO's but I can count on one hand how many I've seen (and I see why) and the few 2G's I've seen are beat to shit anyways.

OP good luck dealing with this state referee as it sounds like you're about to get put through the ringer.

Everyone I know/heard of with an Evo either crashed it or had it taken from them. They've become pretty rare there.

I'm from NYC and I'm currently in San Diego (I ####ing love it here by the way) visiting my woman and I told her THIS is the #1 reason I would never move here as the emissions standards are the tightest in the country, I would have to keep my cars registered where they are currently to be able to drive them and even then I'd likely be on borrowed time. I came here to Cali for the first time last month knowing how tight it is out here but still expecting to see a good bit of EVO's but I can count on one hand how many I've seen (and I see why) and the few 2G's I've seen are beat to shit anyways.

OP good luck dealing with this state referee as it sounds like you're about to get put through the ringer.


Oh yeah, look up " Race Legal " at Qualcomm stadium... I think they do it once a month now. Or you could go up to Fontana Raceway to watch drags there every Friday. I'm not much into drags anymore but it's something to do... check out the So Cal legal racing scene. Stay away from the street scenes... they'll block you in with semi trailers before they send in the killer whales.
 
Well, I have my appointment set for Monday. I've been looking a bunch of stuff up and it seems that sometimes they just check to see if you replaced whatever you got cited for, and don't even bother to give you the smog. But I'm guessing that's very rare. So I'm hoping for the best and expecting the worst. Thanks for everyone who's been helpful.

If anybody else has had a referee experience, please feel free to chime in...need all the help I can get.

How did the meeting go at the state Ref?
 
UPDATE:

So my appointment was yesterday. Here's what I went in with:

Custom 3" catback with a Magnaflow muffler
MHI Small 16G
PR FMIC + Hard piping
1g Bov
Stock air intake
No MBC
No gauges
Made sure there were no t's in any vacuum lines (heard you could fail for messing with t's also)

I also put in that C2C "Guarnateed to Pass Smog" formula, idk if it helped or not but anyway, I passed emissions with flying colors (was either at or below the average). However I failed the visual due to having hard upper intercooler piping. The ref was mainly concerned with the elbow that connects to the throttle body, he said it needed a carb certification. Tried to argue why if fmic were legal for cars that came turbocharged from the factory but he was still arguing that it affected emissions. I find this to be utterly stupid, as I just passed the emissions test with pretty damn low numbers.

So he just told me to come back after I got that taken care of. So Im just gonna throw on the oem smic. After that, I'm going back to him to re-smog it, but I hope to get certified on my next visit (will probably be in two weeks). He seemed pretty cool, but he of course did everything by the book. He did notice the turbo wasnt factory tho. I told him it was oem mitsubishi, and he saw the TD05-H and didnt really hassle me after that.

Now I know not to take my car for granted. Not having reliable transportaion is hassle, but I guess it's teaching me to be careful and cautious. After this, I also plan on going stealth mode and painting all of my pipes, the front of my intercooerl core, and vc black in order to give it a sleeper look. My injen intake also has a carb sticker, so that shouldnt be a problem.
 
...but he was still arguing that it affected emissions. I find this to be utterly stupid, as I just passed the emissions test with pretty damn low numbers.

This shit pisses me off so bad. I had a similar thing happen in Colorado. Went to get emissions testing, passed with flying colors, but then failed "visual inspection" because the worker told me I didn't have a CAT. Of course I DID have a cat, tried to argue, I even asked him how I could pass emmissions without one, and he replied "Well you couldn't..." NO SHIT.

Dumbasses. :banghead: I had to drive to the state inspection to verify that I did indeed have a catalytic converter on the car because the worker was too stupid to recognize it. Such a pain in the ass.
 
Welp, that's the government's way of giving you a low blow. They will work the system they put into place, just so they can work you to.
Make me the dictator and I will change all that LOL
 
"Sell" your car to a relative you trust and lives out of state. Register it in the other state. Keep California insurance.

I've been here a month, seen tons of cops, never get hassled. Then again, I dont drive like an idiot.
 
Keep some OEM parts laying around for occasions like this. Don't pawn them off on Craigslist. It will most likely happen a couple more times in your life. Put all the OEM stuff back on, smog it, put the aftermarket stuff back on. PITA I know. :ohdamn:
 
Welp, that's the government's way of giving you a low blow. They will work the system they put into place, just so they can work you to.
Make me the dictator and I will change all that LOL


OK my man you are the dick tay tor
please can I pass smog I am six months overdue and running on one day passes. I think my old smog man had a baloon payment coming due!
 
I used to have a smog exempt Plymouth. I miss it.
 
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