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Anyone got pulled over for modified smog device?

kw8z3boi

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
May 21, 2007
Messages
752
Location
Westminster, CA (Orange County)
Anyone here got pulled over for modified smog device? I got pulled over today because of my tinted tail light then the cop started to look at all my mods and asked me to pop my hood. Then they gave me a ticket for "tail light cover" and "modified smog device." So if I take it to the state referee to inspect it, and if I passed it. Will I get any paper proof that it passed smog so I can't get a ticket next time?
 
im assuming your "modified smog device" probably is an air intake that you installed on your car.

What most people dont get is that air intakes have nothing to do with emissions.

Or you can just say you have no idea what a modified smog device is, or claim you bought the car that way and didnt know that it was modified. Simple enough, if your ticket says you have a tail light cover, and you dont, you arent liable for it.
 
What most people dont get is that air intakes have nothing to do with emissions.

Or you can just say you have no idea what a modified smog device is, or claim you bought the car that way and didnt know that it was modified. Simple enough, if your ticket says you have a tail light cover, and you dont, you arent liable for it.

You're forgetting the OP is from California, where emissions laws are the most stringent. I've heard of people getting tickets for open-element filters, but that's just hearsay. Unless someone from CA has specific experience, I'd leave this one to a local lawyer.
 
but the modified air intake won't fail visual smog right?

Yes it will. It needs a C.A.R.B. sticker, showing that the California Air Resources Board has approved its use.

This has been law in California for decades. It has not been well enforced for years except during smog checks. A recent development is that law enforcement is starting to get into this again, with police departments providing training of what to look for.

As for if it effects smog or not, it might. It must be realized that the occasional smog checks we go through are not definitive tests like the automakers must go through to get an engine certified. These are merely validation checks, with the assumption that there have been no modifications. The testing they go through for engine certification actually collect tailpipe gases in a bag and then the contents are measured. The "smog check" tests take very limited readings. That is why suppliers of intake systems need to go through extensive testing to show that there is no significant impact on emissions. Without the C.A.R.B. certification there is not way to know.
 
Yes it will. It needs a C.A.R.B. sticker, showing that the California Air Resources Board has approved its use.

This has been law in California for decades. It has not been well enforced for years except during smog checks. A recent development is that law enforcement is starting to get into this again, with police departments providing training of what to look for.

As for if it effects smog or not, it might. It must be realized that the occasional smog checks we go through are not definitive tests like the automakers must go through to get an engine certified. These are merely validation checks, with the assumption that there have been no modifications. The testing they go through for engine certification actually collect tailpipe gases in a bag and then the contents are measured. The "smog check" tests take very limited readings. That is why suppliers of intake systems need to go through extensive testing to show that there is no significant impact on emissions. Without the C.A.R.B. certification there is not way to know.



oh. Well here's another question. Since I got the ticket and the cops took pictures of the engine and the car. When I get it inspect with the state referee, can I put my OEM before I take it to inspection or do I have to leave it how it is for inspection?
 
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change it back to OEM and show them you did.


When I had to see Mr. Judge when I lived there he had asked if I had changed what I was pulled over for.

The trooper had also told me that if I changed it before my court date to just have another trooper sign off on it and I'd be on my way. O opted to speak to the judge though.
 
change it back to OEM and show them you did.


When I had to see Mr. Judge when I lived there he had asked if I had changed what I was pulled over for.

The trooper had also told me that if I changed it before my court date to just have another trooper sign off on it and I'd be on my way. O opted to speak to the judge though.


Oh I'll change it back to OEM then. Hmm... you think they'll make me change my exhaust system back to OEM? All I did was weld on a Magnaflow as a replacement for OEM resonator and a Blitz tip
 
you shouldn't have a problem with the exhaust. Unless they cite you for a noise violation. I can't see them having a problem with a replacement muffler. Even so, most cat-back systems are either "off-road use only" or are CARB certified.
 
Oh ok. I wonder how the cops know that I had an intake because they asked me to pop my hood.

think it would be a safe guess that someone that had modified the exhaust and taillights would have done something under the hood.

also sometime open element filters are louder the stock at idle ...
 
it's become standard procedure for the California cops to look for that stuff.
You don't have to pop your hood but if you don't they can really make life hard on you.

You should ask RecoveryOne what he thinks. He was a cop in San Bernadino.
 
think it would be a safe guess that someone that had modified the exhaust and taillights would have done something under the hood.

also sometime open element filters are louder the stock at idle ...

when its cold out (its winter go figure) and im outside scraping off the ice and snow. i can hear the the loud sucking from the intake, it goes away once it finally falls down to normal idle.
 
Emission laws suck. Move to Ohio where you can practically get away with ANYTHING :laugh:
 
sounds like what you got is called a fix-it ticket.if you leave it it will cost you a couple hunderd dlrs either paying the ticket or going to court.all you need to do is the the factory peices back on the car intake and taillights and find a cop tell him what happened and show him your car and fixed the problems that were written he will sign it off saying it was fixed and go to your local traffic court and it will be a 10.00 fee to process the paperwork.
it will have nothing to do with smogging you car next time,just a way for the city to make some money
 
Emission laws suck. Move to Ohio where you can practically get away with ANYTHING :laugh:
No kidding! I couldn't believe the jalopies I saw putting around Cleveland on the drive home from SZ.
 
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