Roadside Smog Check

[phinneas j. whoopee]

Originally Posted by 1200RT

https://www.bar.ca.gov/roadside-inspection-program

Participation in the survey is voluntary. There are no consequences to consumers, regardless of their vehicle's emission control equipment or its emission levels. At the conclusion of the survey, the participants receive a Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) detailing the results of the survey. BAR staff will also alert participants to any mechanical issues that are observed while conducting the survey.



However, they use ALPRs and CHP. IMO (professional opinion), this project has the capability to become mandatory with the stroke of the pen.

Careful what you vote for.

This does seem weird with the voluntary thing but a CHP unit on site. Im getting visions of times when a cop said mind if I search your car? (SDPD, an old cop and a rookie clearly on a training stop)
”Yes”.
Well if youve got nothing to hide you shouldnt mind.
”I object to the expeditionary nature of your request. Lacking probable cause that I am committing any sort of crime, this leaves your motivation purely for your own curiousity, which is not covered by 4th amendment rulings by SCOTUS.”
He continued to argue and ultimately I let him look because I knew I had no contraband.
At what point in this checkpoint would the CHP step in when you said no Id like to refuse this? And is the info gathered really never going to be associated with your VIN?

Its also helpful to know that allowable emissions are reduced every year. Your vehicle passes now but 2 years later with the same profile it will not. I understand clean air is important but thats not realistic to think cars will run cleaner over time.
If your car is at the limit of not passing and its an older model which is subject to treadmill and sniffer theres something you can do on the cheap to drastically lower some types of emissions- namely nitrous oxides. Rig up a water injection setup that you can operate from behind the wheel to decarbonize your combustion chambers. Costs about $30 in parts and you have to be a bit tech savvy to do it but your engine will run smoother, rev more easily and pass smog like a champ.
A borescope inspection will reveal if its necessary.

[Axxlrod]

I'd be annoyed at having to stop for this. Leave me alone, Nanny State!

Vehicles are exempt from smog cert for the first 7 years they are on the road. I lease my cars, so none are over that age. This traffic stop would **** me off.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by 1200RT

https://www.bar.ca.gov/roadside-inspection-program

Participation in the survey is voluntary. There are no consequences to consumers, regardless of their vehicle's emission control equipment or its emission levels. At the conclusion of the survey, the participants receive a Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) detailing the results of the survey. BAR staff will also alert participants to any mechanical issues that are observed while conducting the survey.



However, they use ALPRs and CHP. IMO (professional opinion), this project has the capability to become mandatory with the stroke of the pen.

Careful what you vote for.

I was pulled into one of these when we lived in Bakersfield in 1997. CHP officer waved me over, told me it was optional, etc. No DL check even though I had Texas plates on the car. He told me they didn't even bust people for weed and such, it was strictly a check on the program. They use CHP officers because they know how to pull people over without getting run over. We had a good chat about Texas concealed handgun license rules(he asked about it since I was from Texas), and he thought that the shall issue process was a good thing.

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by phinneas j. whoopee

This does seem weird with the voluntary thing but a CHP unit on site. Im getting visions of times when a cop said mind if I search your car? (SDPD, an old cop and a rookie clearly on a training stop)
”Yes”.
Well if youve got nothing to hide you shouldnt mind.
”I object to the expeditionary nature of your request. Lacking probable cause that I am committing any sort of crime, this leaves your motivation purely for your own curiousity, which is not covered by 4th amendment rulings by SCOTUS.”
He continued to argue and ultimately I let him look because I knew I had no contraband.
At what point in this checkpoint would the CHP step in when you said no Id like to refuse this? And is the info gathered really never going to be associated with your VIN?

Its also helpful to know that allowable emissions are reduced every year. Your vehicle passes now but 2 years later with the same profile it will not. I understand clean air is important but thats not realistic to think cars will run cleaner over time.
If your car is at the limit of not passing and its an older model which is subject to treadmill and sniffer theres something you can do on the cheap to drastically lower some types of emissions- namely nitrous oxides. Rig up a water injection setup that you can operate from behind the wheel to decarbonize your combustion chambers. Costs about $30 in parts and you have to be a bit tech savvy to do it but your engine will run smoother, rev more easily and pass smog like a champ.
A borescope inspection will reveal if its necessary.

Isn’t that considered an illegal engine mod unless it has a carb sticker on it.
As far as crushing cars on the spot, what about the moron cop who who tagged a guy for an illegal exhaust on a new completely stock Hyundai?
Do you really want to give them that power?

https://www.thedrive.com/news/hyunda...exhaust-report

[phinneas j. whoopee]

Originally Posted by aslowdodge

Isn’t that considered an illegal engine mod unless it has a carb sticker on it.
As far as crushing cars on the spot, what about the moron cop who who tagged a guy for an illegal exhaust on a new completely stock Hyundai?
Do you really want to give them that power?

https://www.thedrive.com/news/hyunda...exhaust-report

It could very well be but you dont leave the setup on all the time. Its hooked up with a T to any vacuum line past the throttle body, do it again maybe 20k miles later.

I remember that story about the exhaust. Its a "track" setting that is clearly explained by the manufacturer to be for off road use only. So he wasnt operating the vehicle lawfully and I guess when caught the dealers are going to have to work out a hack to deactivate the system for owners that abuse it. Sounds good to me.

Obviously its a dumb feature but no sympathy if owners think the rules dont apply to them.

I doubt that it actually provides much of a power gain, i bet it just shifts the powerband into higher rpms. This is what typically happens when kids put a pipe and an intake kit on their car or motorcycle. It sounds powerful so theyre wrapping out the rpms with every shift, they declare it made their car faster.
Reality is they lost low and mid range power, the kind that makes it easier to squirt through traffic easily.
Almost none of them use it on a track where they might benefit a fraction of a second.
The only real way to get more power is boost or displacement.

[joosoon]

Originally Posted by 1200RT

..this project has the capability to become mandatory with the stroke of the pen...

Eh. These spot checks have been around for a long time in the history of the smog program so that's really unlikely. What would be the point doing it now? As I said before, it's barely utilized as is and it's not even meant to catch gross polluters. It's an assessment.


When all the cranky old timers saw BAR90 rules on the table and threatened to give up their smog licenses, the state toyed with the idea of taking over the program completely (as in state-run inspection vs. private business). There was a mad dash to train new people in the late 80s to take over, in anticipation of this hole in the program participation. I was one of them. None of these things ever panned out, and I went on to do something different anyway. But the smog check program prior to real-time data collection was a joke. As a teen, "knowing a guy" who would pass your blatantly unpassable vehicle was a big deal and it was easy to do. Even now the system isn't perfect and that's why they gave up on the overly strict standards for non OBD equipped vehicles. So if the state isn't willing to be the operators of the broader actual smog check program, there's no way they'll care enough to make the roadside version mandatory and consequential.




tl;dr - It's not going to happen because the state is happy with what they have.

[phinneas j. whoopee]

Originally Posted by aslowdodge

Isn’t that considered an illegal engine mod unless it has a carb sticker on it.
As far as crushing cars on the spot, what about the moron cop who who tagged a guy for an illegal exhaust on a new completely stock Hyundai?
Do you really want to give them that power?

https://www.thedrive.com/news/hyunda...exhaust-report

Okay i really looked deep into that story, and the 2022 elantra N owners manual does not state its illegal to operate in that mode. Just to be considerate of others and that the "sport plus N" mode is meant for "emotional" purposes.

When that guy tested at the referee his car hit 102db, way above the legal limit. Its Hyundais problem and the cop was wrong to assume he was told not to operate it on the street BUT the cite was appropriate for noise.

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by phinneas j. whoopee

Okay i really looked deep into that story, and the 2022 elantra N owners manual does not state its illegal to operate in that mode. Just to be considerate of others and that the "sport plus N" mode is meant for "emotional" purposes.

When that guy tested at the referee his car hit 102db, way above the legal limit. Its Hyundais problem and the cop was wrong to assume he was told not to operate it on the street BUT the cite was appropriate for noise.

What is the legal limit. Is the same nation wide?
You can pick up power with exhaust, though not the same as displacement or forced induction.
On my viper it got headers and hi flow cats which picked up about 25 hp. The biggest bang for the buck was in air filters good for 10 hp.

[phinneas j. whoopee]

I think the source I saw that at said 95 or 98 db was allowable. Of course youre right theres a federal as well as a state standard and its likely some states (AZ and TX?) May have no limits at all.

As for your comments on performance gains what you describe is consistent with what I did with my 86 corvette (L98) some years ago. Hi flow cat back exhaust, some intake trickery and a mod that lowered operating temps frim 210 to 165 degrees got me something I felt in the seat of my pants. However the Corvette as well as Viper would be vehicles the manufacturer places restrictive exhausts on or they would be obnoxiously loud. I dont think thats the case with your typical hyundai, honda or the like. Such vehicles strike a fine balance in their airflow and exhaust schemes that the average person isnt going to do better than the factory engineers do. I have a 2016 honda odyssey thats about 250 hp. I really doubt that there is an extra 10% gain by simply opening up the exhaust.
Congrats on the Viper, while its probably not a practical daily driver youve got a perpetual and desirable classic. Love the coupe in particular.
Back when I had that C4 (which was mildly flashy with polished rims, exhaust and fresh paint) a black Viper got next to me on the freeway and the driver looked at me. Before I could even decide whether I wanted to play he romped on it and went from 70 to 120 in seconds. Probably right in its powerband. Im glad I didnt have to salvage my ego after trying.