California Question

[EVOL_TURBO]

Has anyone here ever been issued a ticket for emissions violation in the state of California? Ever gone to court for it or had to see a state referee?

 

[BoostedTalonTS]

Damn, that is some good information to know. Would have been better if I knew it before going with a bigger SMIC. At least I get the sleeper look and attract little to no attention.

Edit: Just realized there was a thread in the Norcal section on aftermarket FMIC's and CARB that I posted in that had this information in it. I just stopped reading it when it was posted. hahaha

...my solution was to lightly dust the front of the FMIC with some industrial flat black paint. -Never been pulled over for the FMIC, and if you keep your IC pipes flat/low gloss black as well, MOST smog techs/cops won't even know if they were stock vs aftermarket... Hell, I even had to show a smog tech where my EGR was

 

[Defiant]

Tell 'em your hood latch cable is broken. Problem solved.

Maybe. Unless the cop decides to impound your car.

 

[EVOL_TURBO]

How do you know for sure? As I mentioned above, I got a (rather confusing) letter sayong I could pay a bail and not show. It was $360. I believe if I just went to the ref it woulda been $10 for ref fees and nothing else but that wasn't really an option for me.

State refs know their shit, at least around here. My friend put his talon back to stock even down to the stock BCS and all stock vac lines in stock routing but left his boost gauge. The ref flipped out when he saw the T fitting for the boost gauge and made his assistant watch the boost gauge while he unhooked the line while the car was running. They don't look over anything. They have access to all factory vacuum line routing diagrams.

The cop put a sticker on my ticket with a "Vehicle Code" that states that the vehicle can not be driven until there is proof of correction from the state ref. Also, the letter I got from the court instructs me to send proof of correction with my bail amount of $391.00.

 

[97redEclipse001]

I definitely did not do enough research before moving out here for college. Time to either transfer schools or just wait until I graduate and move back to Maine. I'm not sticking around CA for more time than I have to after reading this thread.

 

[eclipsegsx1736]

The cop put a sticker on my ticket with a "Vehicle Code" that states that the vehicle can not be driven until there is proof of correction from the state ref. Also, the letter I got from the court instructs me to send proof of correction with my bail amount of $391.00.

Damn, thats really a drag. I didn't get a sticker on mine or anything like that. Cops don't really know the procedure and often leave things out which sometimes can void the ticket entirely. Always look over your tickets very carefully to see if he wrote anything down wrong (car info, time/date, location, etc). If he did, you can almost always get the ticket thrown out.

 

[EVOL_TURBO]

Funny you should mention that! I thought the same thing because he did write down an incorrect vehicle code. He wrote a code for something about a schhol bus inspection (I looked it up on the county website). He meant to write down a code for no front bumper.

That should work in my favor!

 

[hevenz]

I have always wondered can cali police mess with you if the car is tagged out of state? Out here in kansas we heard that if your car "looks" modified they will impound your car and crush it.

RIALTO, Calif. - Charles Hoang winced when the whoosh went out of the tires. Daniel Maldonado took pictures with a digital camera as glass exploded and rained down to the ground. Authorities destroyed six vehicles Wednesday at an auto graveyard, hoping would-be racers think again after looking at the mashed machines. Illegal street racing is responsible for or suspected in 13 deaths in Southern California since March.

The thrill-seeking, adrenaline-pumping activity is rampant in Riverside and San Bernardino counties east of Los Angeles where rows of tract homes line wide streets that attract racers.

Nearly 1,000 people — drivers and spectators — have been arrested for investigation of street racing activities over the past two years in San Bernardino County alone. Police need a court order to destroy the cars. They must prove that the serial or identification numbers on a vehicle or its parts are removed, altered or destroyed.

Police said they have managed to reduce illegal racing and related fatal collisions, but know the underground hobby still thrives.

"We are making a dent," said Ontario police Cpl. Jeff Higbee. "But it's summertime and ... we expect to see more activity."

350-horsepower engine
Hoang said he was caught late last year racing his prized car, on which he spent at least $10,000 to get into top shape. The 350-horsepower engine topped out at 160 mph, Hoang said, swearing it could beat a Corvette or even a Ferrari.

When police popped open the hood, Hoang said, they found a stolen transmission. Hoang flashed a receipt for the transmission he bought from his father who runs an auto shop and doubted the item was hot.

"Everything on that car was practically brand new," Hoang said as he watched his car get moved to auto death row. "They should take out the stuff that matters, auction it off, and give the money to charity."

Because racers put heavy stress on their vehicles, they often burn out or blow up parts. Higbee said the need for the expensive parts has created a "theft mill" where additional cars — usually Hondas or Acuras — are stolen and stripped of the necessary replacements.

Most of the cars police examine are illegally modified. Sergio Zavala, 18, was pulled over in his 1993 yellow Honda Civic for a broken tail light in December. He had purchased a B-20 Vtech engine with a double-overhead cam a couple months before, and after a police investigation, was told it was stolen.

Zavala, who admits he has been involved in street racing, estimates he and his mother spent about $10,000 on improvements to his car.

'Where all my time and money went'
After watching his Civic demolished, Zavala is left without a car as he plans to attend a fire academy in the fall.

"It's heartbreaking to see this," said Zavala, who graduated from high school last year. "This is where all my time and money went."

Maldonado also said he put plenty of time and effort working on his 1992 black Honda Civic. He was stopped in November by police in what Higbee described as an area where racers gather.

The 18-year-old mechanic said a vehicle identification sticker apparently fell off and without it, police suspected some of the parts were stolen. Maldonado stood several feet away from his car as it was pounded into a heap of metal.
Maldonado said he has taken the advice of police by racing legally on one of several race courses around Southern California. For the money spent in fines and other penalties — on average about $5,000 for illegally modified cars — Higbee said street racers could compete about 250 times a year at a legitimate track.

"If you have to race, take it to a legal venue," Higbee said. "But as long as they keep racing illegally, we keep crushing their cars."

All three men who saw their vehicles destroyed said they believe illegal street racing will continue to prosper across the region.

"It will never go away," Maldonado said. "If it's in your heart, you will continue to do it until you can't anymore."




The cars the teens had so meticulously souped up and tricked out were crushed Wednesday as part of a crackdown on illegal street racing in Southern California.

"That's my heart, my dream," said Hoang, 18, of Chino, who was surrounded by friends as his 1998 Acura Integra was put into a compactor. "That's my girlfriend, the love of my life. The cops can crush my car, but they can't crush my memories."

 

[EVOL_TURBO]

That is a scare tactic they are trying to use out here to stop the street racing. Those cars were caught street racing and had stolen parts on them. That is why they were able to crush them like that. They should have been crushed in my opinion.

 

[hevenz]

wow, some scare tactic, from the news we heard out here makes it seem like any import thats modified is ####ed. didnt really understand how that shit would fly. i agree about the stolen items, but to me its the young 18 to 20 something versus the cops word. I dont have reiceipts for everything under my hood. i think its a horible idea...I would think more kids would be tempted to run from johnny law. Another reason why AZ is the furthest west id go.