Performance upgrades & Smog/ State Inspections any issues to report?

[SoCalRs]

I live In Ca the Smog inspections are usually every two years although on my 96 import the hit me every year !!!! I Know most cat backs and Drop in air filters are air resource Board approved but with Down pipes a Cat delete or even a Buget tune these can change the rate of emmision and ratio allowed in each state. The ? is who has/ has Not had problems passing a Smog / State inspection either visual or tailpipe with the off road as they Say Mods that we Love so much . such as Down pipe , bypass mod , intake Mod , Cat delete I would Like to install a down pipe , do the intake mod the Bypass mod , cold air intake and either a buget /full or hand held tuner but here in Cali the only thing that can be swapped out easy is the CAI . I once got a ticket for too Loud from a university cop !!!!??? they would not issue a fix it ticket you had to go to the state inspector I did not want that due to a ton of other Mods I had as well dont want him poking around under my Hood , lucky a relative had a friend who was a Cop and he signed it off when no one else would I went to CHP , Local sherrif , city police no Dice they would not sign off ...just a example of Cali and mods go

 

[cndctrdj]

You have a few things going on in your post.
First, diff mods change diff things.
no cat is bad for emissions and that's why its illegal in ca. Dp usually come with no cat.
second, a few mods you listed just make the car more efficient, like cai, ported intake, catback exhaust.
Third, what they don't know won't hurt you, they can't and won't know if you do the bypass mod, ported intake or trifecta. As long as you don't disable things like rear o2 sensors

 

[SoCalRs]

Ca, Cats

Yep its when they find out that it hurts !!!!! well I was looking up different options and cats in Ca, NY and 1 other state are a No No to install or replace after 09 unless its CARB complient with CA, numbers and all got really confusing on magnaflow website they dont even list them for sale after 09.

zzp Midpipe , Highflow 2nd Cat for CA, Cat back system ...might go with that

 

[Sneakerfix]

You won't pass smog with the following in SoCal atleast for our cars.
Air intake system
Downpipe/mid pipe
Header
Bypass mod
PCM reflash

Will pass CA smog with the following
Cat back exhauat
$$
Ported intake manifold.


Last I checked the state REF is closed

Remember CA has one of the hardest smog laws around

 

[SoCalRs]

I think I should had put who In Cali passed the smog with Mods !!! and List them ....

You won't pass smog with the following in SoCal atleast for our cars.
Air intake system
Downpipe/mid pipe
Header
Bypass mod
PCM reflash

Will pass CA smog with the following
Cat back exhauat
$$
Ported intake manifold.


Last I checked the state REF is closed

Remember CA has one of the hardest smog laws around

any So Cali members Chime in on what mods they had and passed/failed the inspection ....

 

[SoCalRs]

I was thinking that it would be a big mistake to change the down pipe here in cali especially if there is a cat in it , also the air intake , that is probably the only thing that can really be swapped out easy before a inspection best thing for tune is to have a hand held tuner so you can go back to stock in a few min , I thought of putting a high flow 2nd cat dont know if anyone makes one for the down pipe section they probably wont install it at a shop though cat backs are $$$ pretty limited here , do you know if someone failed with the solenoid bypass here in cali ?

 

[Sneakerfix]

any So Cali members Chime in on what mods they had and passed/failed the inspection ....

Just did.

You will fail the Visual part of the smog test with the bypass mod same with all the others I listed. The downpipe/O2 housing is a easy swap it's not like its a last min test so you have tons of time to go back to stock if needed.

There is a shop in the SGV that sells a cat back for 300 or so for the sonics had it on eBay.

 

[SoCalRs]

Chime on !!! LOL... Have you Ca Smog your sonic yet ? just wondering how you know about the bypass and visual not passing the sonic came out in 12 ? i figure here in Cali a smog required should be due for those with a 12 soon . The bypass should be easy to reverse its just a cap on the soilenoid itself and a spliced rubber hose that can easily be changed back in less than a hour right? Im thinking the bypass Mod , and the intake porting, along with a cat back might give some great results without a tune , I rev my RS in park and it revs up to 4k or so and loses all power after that does the soilenoid act like a govenor and limits the rpm on the turbo turns it off at 4K or so? great for fuel economy sucks for street performance . I have the ZZP cat back with High flow 2nd Cat on its way I would like to change the cat in the down pipe to a high flow although changing it would make it obvious maybe 1HP not worth it .
just want to get a little more performance and RPM have fun with it maybe a Thursday night Thunder on occasion ...

 

[Sneakerfix]

For down pipe I would go with the mpfab downpipe reving in park does nothing at all.


I have a cruze not a sonic. I also maybe selling my tuning flasher since im going with a bigger turbo.

 

[djfourmoney]

Your information is flawed.

For brand new cars it is seven years from date of original sale (assuming you are the original owner) before your first smog test.

At that point, it's every two years. I forget when exactly but if your complaining about it being every year, well your car is '96, only two model years from being 20 years old.

They test you every year because cars this old tend to be gross polluters.

Now after having a friend worked for CARB and many conversations with CARB engineers, the bottom line is this -

If it runs clean, your fine. If it can't been seen and still runs clean, you'll be fine.

Anything visible by inspectors is a no-no. As it currently stands if it's not listed in the CARB database and doesn't have a Executive Order sticker (E.O number) then you can't use it.

If your car looks modified and you get popped for speeding, you may be forced to pop your hood. If they find an intake or header or something else out of place usually shiny parts, then you'll be ticketed to see the CARB inspector.

You'll then have to remove all your parts.

Now that said, they don't test cars at WOT and there's no way for them to tell your PCM has been flashed by a tuner. Dealers can sort of tell, but they can also rewrite it...

My recommendations for California based turbo Sonics -

K&N or equivalent drop-in filter, flash tuning, post converter exhaust upgrade (cat-back) and serious consideration for water injection instead of doing the obvious thing such as an intercooler upgrade.

My SRT-4 appeared stock, was quieter than stock since SRT-4's have resonators and not mufflers; I upgrade to full 3" from the turbo to the tips in the stock position. My intake was made by AEM who made the Mopar Performance version of it. Only difference is Mopar was available polished only and the AEM in a few colors. Both have CARB E.O numbers and easily seen on the intake tube.

My car was a 2003, bought in 2006 and it's first smog would have been in 2010. My exhaust system even though it had a cat and was in the stock position it's technically illegal as it was all changed from the hotside outlet down to the muffler.

They don't break out measuring tapes but since most cars need to meet more strict emissions standards nationwide, most newer cars have what is called a close coupled converter, making exhaust modifications impossible beyond adding a cat-back exhaust.

In closing, you can play in the deep side of the pool if you want and add your favorite upgrade; but I highly suggest you tone down your driving style and any racing is done only at the track.

Make sure your exhaust is about the same as stock or slightly louder (90 db).

 

[djfourmoney]

Chime on !!! LOL... Have you Ca Smog your sonic yet ? just wondering how you know about the bypass and visual not passing the sonic came out in 12 ? i figure here in Cali a smog required should be due for those with a 12 soon . The bypass should be easy to reverse its just a cap on the soilenoid itself and a spliced rubber hose that can easily be changed back in less than a hour right? Im thinking the bypass Mod , and the intake porting, along with a cat back might give some great results without a tune , I rev my RS in park and it revs up to 4k or so and loses all power after that does the soilenoid act like a govenor and limits the rpm on the turbo turns it off at 4K or so? great for fuel economy sucks for street performance . I have the ZZP cat back with High flow 2nd Cat on its way I would like to change the cat in the down pipe to a high flow although changing it would make it obvious maybe 1HP not worth it .
just want to get a little more performance and RPM have fun with it maybe a Thursday night Thunder on occasion ...

There is more power tied up in the exhaust, especially if you up the boost; sometimes as much as 20hp.

Like I said above, you can take the risk, it is a risk however you must understand that.

Forget any CAI, a K&N drop-in the stock air box is usually not that restrictive.

If you are maxing out the stock turbo and looking for the last 10-12hp, then upgrading might be worth it.

But at near stock levels, I don't think it's worth the risk. For the cost of a CAI, you can pick up more in less obvious ways.

If your serious about going to Irwindale, I would invest in some drag radials.

At near stock power levels, drag radials are more than enough and you'll have a much easier time launching the car resulting in much better time slips and less playing around with the throttle/clutch.

 

[CheapFuneral]

This is why ill never live in cali.

the bypass should not be easily seen so i would think you would pass a cops inspection if you got pulled over and you could just change it back for regular inspections. for the tuner you might see if you can get trifecta to give you a select a tune (they said they stopped but they may do it upon request...) that will allow you to go back to stock by pressing the cruze button on the steering wheel. If you dont like that option diablo sports tune should be out soon (taking for ever ) and it is a hand held tuner and so far ive had pretty good results. down pipe doesnt take that long to change over but you will need to drive it after you change it, and it will be obvious to anyone who knows what they are looking for. I am not sure a cop would know that you should have a cat on the down pipe because there is one later in the system so again i think you would be ok until an actual inspection. I think the water/meth is a good idea and may get you some extra hp.

 

[SoCalRs]

Just did.

You will fail the Visual part of the smog test with the bypass mod same with all the others I listed. The downpipe/O2 housing is a easy swap it's not like its a last min test so you have tons of time to go back to stock if needed.

There is a shop in the SGV that sells a cat back for 300 or so for the sonics had it on eBay.

Wrong I Passed ....old post I had my first smog check since new in oct 2013 it's now Sept 2021 I have the following and passed solinoid bypass mod , ported intake BNR throttle body spacer , trifecta turbo advantage tune K and N drop in filter passed passed passed .....if any of these mods effected emissions I would had failed almost every one of those mods were gas milage related not emissions related it was in tune mode when tested trifecta claims there tune is not a emissions changing tune