Quote:
Originally Posted by AKAFAZT
Just curious, what is the plan for when we finally have to get our modded beasts smog tested? I live in CA. and I will never get past the visual part. I have over 5 years to figure it out. Just like to know other peoples options.
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The quick answer is to move to a state that doesn't require smog testing.
The longer answer if you're staying -
California's regulatory agency for smog and auto repair is the BAR - Bureau of Automotive Repair. They're well aware of what has been happening and they're cracking down on the fraudulent smog tests and the people and shops doing them. What this means is there are very few people left that are willing to do these for whatever the going rate was.
With this crackdown I heard there were some DMV employees doing this (not smog testing, but falsifying smog certificates), but recently there were some arrests for falsification of registration. So...
Since 2014 the new equipment for smog testing on 2000 MY and newer is the BAR-OIS system which consists of a DAD, or Data Acquisition Device. This plugs in to the DLC and has access to the vehicles data. Currently they are just gathering data, but other things are in the works as far as Calibration File numbers and Calibration Verification Numbers. (CVN)
CVN's have been around for awhile now and they were implemented for some of the catastrophic failures that GM was warrantying, most notably on Duramax's. This was the advent of branded titles/warranty blocks...for the powertrain. Essentially the CVN is a Checksum that is generated to validate that the files are stock. If a program is a million lines of code and you change one line and one word from "the" to "it", the CVN numbers will not match.
What this means is even if you were to get a fraudulent smog test, there might be a time when you get a notice in the mail to "bring your vehicle to a Referee Station to have your vehicle inspected." You're kinda' SOL if the vehicle is modified at that point.
I would say any modification that does not have CARB approval is done at the risk that the vehicle might not pass smog, and if that's the case, it can not be legally registered in the state of California.
This was one of the reasons I bought this car as I might have a few years of seat/track time before I get bored with it.