[clg82]

Hey everyone, I am transferring to Texas for my current job. I was military here in So-Cal and the wifey and I are tired of this state. Long story short, the laws here are abysmal for any type of non "CARB" related modifications. Is there a central place I can go on the interwebs that shows what are illegal car modifications for Texas? Or can anyone give me a simple run down of what to look out for when modifying my already modified Gen 6? Thanks for any help.

[Mike818]

Hard to imagine relocating your life so you can run a camshaft or something.


The way I see it, a modified setup needs a good going over pretty frequently. So swapping back and forth between "emissions spec" and "hobby spec" every 2 years is a good opportunity to get in there and make sure everything is all good anyway.

If you have modified beyond your ability to easily accomplish this, then just build yourself what ever you want and swap in your stock engine for testing.

If thats too hard, you can buy/build a kit car and do anything you want to it. You could aslo buy something 1972 or older and same deal.

California isn't easy mode, but there are plenty of ways to play the game.

[clg82]

Originally Posted by Mike818

Hard to imagine relocating your life so you can run a camshaft or something.


The way I see it, a modified setup needs a good going over pretty frequently. So swapping back and forth between "emissions spec" and "hobby spec" every 2 years is a good opportunity to get in there and make sure everything is all good anyway.

If you have modified beyond your ability to easily accomplish this, then just build yourself what ever you want and swap in your stock engine for testing.

If thats too hard, you can buy/build a kit car and do anything you want to it. You could aslo buy something 1972 or older and same deal.

California isn't easy mode, but there are plenty of ways to play the game.

I'm not relocating my life to run a camshaft . My job is requiring I relocate....I was just curious as to what TEXAS requires as far as emissions testing is concerned.

[Mike818]

sorry, reading comp failure on my part. Clearly I've seen one too many "I'm leaving cali because I can't run my intake" type threads.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by clg82

I'm not relocating my life to run a camshaft . My job is requiring I relocate....I was just curious as to what TEXAS requires as far as emissions testing is concerned.

Not sure about Texas, but here in Tennessee it varies by county, some counties do absolutely nothing, others have sniffers and/or OBD-II checks. Might be worth checking with the clerk of the county you're moving to.

[Bumbleboy92]

I’m sure it depends on the area and county, but Houston you can practically mod anything and be fine

The only ‘limits’ are noise if you care for neighbors and depending on the part of town a front plate. Although I’ve never been stopped for no front plate in Houston, a completely different story if you’re in say Conroe. For inspection, you need both cats not giving issues (let’s just say I’ve had first-hand experience with a P0430 code and having it turned off in HPTuners allowed me to pass inspection), good wiper blades, good tire tread, working lights and that’s about it

Realistically, the only thing you might get into a bit of a pickle for if a officer is looking for a reason is window tint even if your check engine light is on

Welcome to the Lone Star

[clg82]

Originally Posted by Bumbleboy92

I’m sure it depends on the area and county, but Houston you can practically mod anything and be fine

The only ‘limits’ are noise if you care for neighbors and depending on the part of town a front plate. Although I’ve never been stopped for no front plate in Houston, a completely different story if you’re in say Conroe. For inspection, you need both cats not giving issues (let’s just say I’ve had first-hand experience with a P0430 code and having it turned off in HPTuners allowed me to pass inspection), good wiper blades, good tire tread, working lights and that’s about it

Realistically, the only thing you might get into a bit of a pickle for if a officer is looking for a reason is window tint even if your check engine light is on

Welcome to the Lone Star

So both catalytic converters are required? I currently have a catback exhaust, and wasn't sure about going long tubes (if it's even worth it) and getting rid of the cats.

[Bumbleboy92]

Originally Posted by clg82

So both catalytic converters are required? I currently have a catback exhaust, and wasn't sure about going long tubes (if it's even worth it) and getting rid of the cats.

Technically speaking they are required to pass state inspection, there are many of whom who run them without error with usually a tune turning off the error. That’s just for the primary cats, since the secondary aren’t monitored then there’s no way for the OBD-II port to report their status

[GearheadSS]

It's county specific here. Basically, google the state inspection/emissions requirements for the county you are moving to. You must get your state inspection in the county of residence in Texas.

We only have a little more than a year of annual state inspections left in most Texas counties as they are going away in 2025. Larger counties will still have emissions testing though.

For front plate, usually State Troopers are the only LE that will stop you for not having one. Usually a warning or two and then it's a fix-it ticket. My wife has never been stopped for no front plate but I got stopped multiple times in my yellow 1LE. I finally got fed up with it and put the front plate on.

[clg82]

Thanks for the input Gearhead....damn didn't realize they were such sticklers on the front plate haha.....i've never been stopped in california for not having one....are they just as picky with tint on the front windows?

[Standard]

I don't think there are explicit lists of modifications you can/can't have like with CARB. Some areas have sniffers.

WRT front license plate, they probably can't badger you enough to get one; but you do give every cop *probable cause*. I've been pulled not by a cop who wants me to add it; but fishing for something else like warrants.

Perpetual-probable-cause + 'driving tipsy at 2am' . . . would be intersecting lifestyle choices.

[GearheadSS]

Originally Posted by clg82

Thanks for the input Gearhead....damn didn't realize they were such sticklers on the front plate haha.....i've never been stopped in california for not having one....are they just as picky with tint on the front windows?

State Troopers, yes. Most city cops, probably not.

[GearheadSS]

Originally Posted by Standard

WRT front license plate, they probably can't badger you enough to get one; but you do give every cop *probable cause*. I've been pulled not by a cop who wants me to add it; but fishing for something else like warrants.

Oh they can definitely badger you enough to put a plate on. As with any area, it will depend on how cool the Officer/Trooper is.

I was given 2 warnings that turned into tickets the next time. I got tired of being stopped and the tickets so I slapped a plate on the front. They can see your warnings when they pull you over, so most of the time if you've been warned for it already, they will just write you a ticket.

[dfwcowboy]

Originally Posted by GearheadSS

For front plate, usually State Troopers are the only LE that will stop you for not having one. Usually a warning or two and then it's a fix-it ticket. My wife has never been stopped for no front plate but I got stopped multiple times in my yellow 1LE. I finally got fed up with it and put the front plate on.

On my 2018 I only got stopped once for no front license plate. At the time I was coming home from work at midnight traveling through Southlake which is one big speed trap to begin with. Once the LEO realized I wasn’t drunk, just told me to get it put on and didn’t even write a warning. I would venture to guess about 10-15% of vehicles around here don’t have one.