Exactly.. always a work around.
Sucks to be a car enthusiast in CA, but work arounds exist and likely always will. We just have to be smarter.
Being sent to California smog referee
- Thread starter rolive
- Start date
Exactly.. always a work around.
Sucks to be a car enthusiast in CA, but work arounds exist and likely always will. We just have to be smarter.
the other issue with out of state plates, is that a police or CHP with DOT training can still pull their "safety inspection" nonsense regardless of where the vehicle is registered or the driver licensed.
I am certain that the cars being "refereed" as soon as the smog tech scans the registration, at one point passed a smog with monitors turned off. Seems like the state is just catching up.
I am certain that the cars being "refereed" as soon as the smog tech scans the registration, at one point passed a smog with monitors turned off. Seems like the state is just catching up.
So what can they legally make you do then when you fail their safety inspect?
They confiscate it and title it over to one of the needy sanctuary city refugees: el es juan
I am sure they can ticket you for a nice appointment with a state ref or impound. probably as noted above impound and sell off for proceeds to go to the local Commissar
Lmao wow might as well leave it registered in my home county and pray i never get ref'd. We have no smog here so the only way i would get ref'd is if a CHP pulled me over and cited me for loud exhaust or something.
A bit of an update. I went to the referee today and it failed. Went with the tune and pulley still on. They said the monitors were all on but their new software tells them if it's not a factory tune as soon as its plugged in. They said it gives them a question mark on the computer and that's how they know it's not stock. I had the stock cover on the supercharger and covered the front of it so you couldnt see through it but they peeked through the back of it and said it needed to have the stock pulley. As far why it was flagged it was either the smog tech who flagged it or either shops have updated software that tells them it has a tune. So I have to put the stock pulley back on and get it reflashed by Ford and I have to show them proof to even make an appointment by taking pictures of everything done. So putting the stock tune back on with the SCT isn't gonna cut it. They even pointed out the boost gauge but they noticed it didnt work. I had disconnected it and put the vaccum boost lines back to stock before going in. Hopefully this doesnt happen to anyone else because they literally want EVERYTHING stock!
Note to self, never, ever even consider moving to California
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Sent from my SM-N975U using the svtperformance.com mobile app
I'm on the east coast, and this still infuriates me. I realize we don't want to kill the planet, but common sense has gone out the window. Do a majority of Californians support this?
+1,000,000 that state is legitimately a joke
What in the actual **** is going on in this ****ed state?
Everything I've read said they cannot tell if the tune is stock or not? Did the explain HOW they are actually able to tell?
Now I am seriously getting worried about my GT when I get it back on the road this year. The kit is CARB legal but the tune is not from KB nor are my injectors.
No most of us do NOT support this BS! The problem with California is much like what Washington has turned into. Basically a state that is ruled by a small handful of counties stuffed with socialist ****ing lunatics. Those counties have populations so big that they drive the state and the rest of us are stuck in the back white knuckling it.
@decipha could you please provide some insight as to how they are able to tell our tunes aren't stock? I know you've stated in the past that they can't but it appears they can.
They're pretty much telling you, unless you're famous and have a butt load of money, either drive an electric car or gtfo
After talking with AED they told me there was no way of the referee knowing that the car had a tune, but I guess they finally found a way. All the referee said was as soon as he hooked up the computer to the car it threw out a question mark and he said that means it doesnt have a factory tune. He said a factory tune will load up right away and it won't do that. He did say all the monitors were fine and they all passed. So I assume the tune itself was doing its job with all the monitors on and working but they want to see a factory tune in the car because it's considered "tampered" otherwise.
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This is really interesting and infuriating at the same time. I am really curious as to how they can actually tell. I wonder what happens to the guys running carb legal blowers with tunes from KB, whipple and vortec? Do they all get trip to the ref every year because the tunes aren't stock?
I'm not sure how they can actually tell or what else their computer tells them but it would be interesting to know. I know that for all the CARB legal blowers they would have to run the whole kit how its stated on CARB's EO with specific parts. If the kit states that it comes with a reflashed PCM they'll allow it because its "CARB" approved and it's been tested for emissions with the whole supercharger kit without it affecting emissions. The referee did also mention to me since I didnt have the stock pulley that I could either swap it out and put a CARB approved supercharger, or a CARB approved pulley, or factory pulley since the pulley changes boost pressure and it affects emissions.
So holy... pretty much every single car in California that's got a custom tune will get ref'd when it comes time for a smog check???? (Excluding those that live in counties with no smog).
Why would you try to smog the car with the tune installed??
Come on people.
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an xcal scrambles the first byte of the scp cal code which the handheld uses as its "married* identifier.
The first thing the emissions tester does when plugged in is reads the cal code in order to reference the vehicle specs and emissions level from its database.
an xcal scrambles that very first byte and it will immediately set a referee required as soon as its plugged in.
He could have returned it to stock with the xcal and it wouldnt have set a referee.
can still do it technically but epa requires ford documented reflash as a stipulation
I flash tunes all the time and even ford cannot tell they are altered. I have yet to tune a vehicle that didnt pass california emissions.
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