How to live with mods in CA? Question from someone not in CA.

[drwankel]

Hi all,

Asking some potentially sensitive information. To be clear here- I am absolutely not asking for a smog hookup here. However, due to the sensitivity of my questions, feel free to PM me if you dont feel comfortable answering in a public forum.

Anyway. So I currently live in Washington state. In washington, we no longer have any emissions checks whatsoever, and no inspection of any kind. It amazingly enough has become one of the best places in the country to own a modded car.

I currently own a 2012 M3, with a harrop supercharger, and test pipes. I plan on changing those to high flow cats soon.

I was born in California, and lived the first half of my childhood there. I've always dreamed of returning.

What I am trying to figure out is what is the lay of the land (unofficially) in terms of how to live with a modded car.

From what I understand, I'll need inspection done every couple years, of which I will need to bribe my way though. How much are you typically spending to get a car passed?

What exactly are the cops doing when they see a modded car? Can they search the car on the side of the road? Provided the car isnt louder than stock options, can they just start checking for stuff?

I'm afraid that they'd hear the car with the supercharger whine, and then start inspecting the car, and possibly impound it. I just dont know what happens with this situation.

Can anybody explain just the general lay of the land here?

[BayE30]

if you get pulled over and they suspect illegal modifications, you will be issued a CA BAR Referee ticket. Which means you have to take the car in for inspection, or hire a lawyer. Many people revert their car to oem for ref inspections, or bi-annual smog checks. Others find ways around this....

[drwankel]

I was reading in other places you can simply pay the referee ticket and then you don't actually have to get inspected. True?

[Vuu]

Keep your car registered in WA.

[JRunSW20]

Much easier to just keep your car registered out of state.

[SAMM3Y]

If you have relatives in Washington keep it registered there. Keep up with a Washington DL too that way if you get stopped you don't get questioned on why you have a Cali license and Washington plates. Just make sure you have a talk with your insurance company and get something in writing as to where the car is garaged mostly.

[m3less]

I've had modded cars all my adult life, and haven't been pulled over and asked to pop my hood... it's not that serious... unless you have a loud cheap car like a Honda or those types, or if you blatantly fly past a cop etc... smog is different and you'll have to comply whichever method you choose.

[SCREAM3R]

Originally Posted by m3less

I've had modded cars all my adult life, and haven't been pulled over and asked to pop my hood... it's not that serious... unless you have a loud cheap car like a Honda or those types, or if you blatantly fly past a cop etc... smog is different and you'll have to comply whichever method you choose.

I’ve been pulled over ~20 times. Almost always for window tint and front license plate. Of all those times I had a cop ask me to pop my hood one time. He didn’t say a word about anything other than asked me what I had modified on “this”.... he was pointing at the missing valve cap for the AC line

Knock on wood, but all the times being messed with by police were 7-10 years ago. Have always had modified cars and window tint and don’t even get looked at anymore. I think it depends on more how you drive and certain areas of the state they will be more in your business. If you can find a smog hook up well done. Most of us aren’t so lucky and have to do the stock parts swap. Better off keeping it registered in Washington like others have said.

[Zalamander]

In a somewhat similar situation. About 2 years ago I moved from NJ to CA and opened a business out here, so I’ve been doing quite a lot of research into how to handle this. I’m also running test pipes and am currently contemplating adding a Harrop Supercharger as well.

From what I understand, it’s very very rare to find someone who will just outright pass you for inspection. The best you can hope for is someone who will not look under the car/open the hood, which is why I’m considering the Harrop in the first place, as I would plan on unplugging it and flashing to stock(can be done). The bottom line is you’ll need the car to pass when plugged in, which means you’ll need to swap your cats back on for inspection.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the referee tickets. It’s rare to even be issued one unless you’re over the top with your mods.

If you don’t want to deal with all this, keep the car registered in WA. My m3 is still registered in NJ and I haven’t had a problem yet. With what’s going on in CA right now the last thing the cops are concerned about enforcing are emission laws

[UBERV8]

Originally Posted by m3less

I've had modded cars all my adult life, and haven't been pulled over and asked to pop my hood... it's not that serious... unless you have a loud cheap car like a Honda or those types, or if you blatantly fly past a cop etc... smog is different and you'll have to comply whichever method you choose.

Same here...I think most people that reference state refs as soon as they hear California and modified cars are the same people still stuck in the early 2000's Hot Import Nights era.

There was about a 10 month period back in 2018 (AB-390) where a cop could use their discretion to determine if you had a "loud" exhaust or not and it would be an instant state ref, but that has been repealed since then. It was stressful times however lol.

Some cops are actually car enthusiasts too like my relative who is a cop and has a M2C on E85 haha.

[chief]

So my son got a referee ticket earlier this year in his car (registered under my name) - he had pulled the mufflers off (cats still on the car) and had a cold air intake.

Because of COVID all the ref locations were closed for an extended period of time. If the car was found on the street for any reason the officer - any officer, could have it towed and impounded on the spot. This whole process was a big pain the ass! After several months of trying to get an appointment, he finally got the car inspected and tested (smog and sound). All in, the process cost approx. $500 plus wayyy toooo much time.

This topic drives me nuts and I wish there was a legal work around in California. Such as paying for a smog exemption certificate (time limited that could be renewed ever 1 to 5 years). This would solve the problem in most cases and simplify the aftermarket business immensely - or at least that's what I perceive.

[brettcp]

Just throwing in my two cents here..

I think it was around 2015 I had an M4 I bought from NY.. I had to take the car to the actual DMV (versus Auto Club for in-state transfers as I usually do) for an inspection. They looked closely under the hood, and even used one of those mirrors on a pole to look underneath the car, like you'd see at the border for a drug smuggling inspection. They asked me twice how the car was modified (it wasn't - it was completely stock) before passing its inspection. I then had to take it to get smogged.

I've had a few lightly modded cars over the last decade here in so cal. Been pulled over for tint and no front plate (both of which were just fix it tickets), but that has been all. Had a miata with an aftermarket turbo and exhaust on it, had it smogged twice without issue - the tech looked under the hood each time and just proceeded with the emissions test.

[roastbeef]

you can be sent to a state referee if they suspect non-carb compliant mods. however, they rarely do it because they know its a pain in the ass and probably not necessary. if you're doing donuts in an intersection takeover, things will be different.

rule of thumb, be respectful and don't play dumb. they know you know. you'll just have to swap your equipment every two years.

[The Movement]

Don't drive like a jackass....(rule of thumb).