California and upgraded piping

[Poofies]

Hi my fellow Cali boys and girls,

I was wondering if anyone of you have been ref’ed or somehow been to smog on your fist (or another car) with upgraded turbo piping. My understanding is that it isn’t legal (maybe the dumbest carb rules that there is) and different enthusiast sites are filled with “fails” and retests. However, I’m wondering if I was to “upgrade” with soft pipes in black color if there would be an issue. Anyways, looking for any actual experience you may or may not have with this. Thanks in advance.

 

[Dpro]

Hi my fellow Cali boys and girls,

I was wondering if anyone of you have been ref’ed or somehow been to smog on your fist (or another car) with upgraded turbo piping. My understanding is that it isn’t legal (maybe the dumbest carb rules that there is) and different enthusiast sites are filled with “fails” and retests. However, I’m wondering if I was to “upgrade” with soft pipes in black color if there would be an issue. Anyways, looking for any actual experience you may or may not have with this. Thanks in advance.

Most likely if your pipes are black a smog tech is not going to cry about it. The biggest thing they are looking for is the cat downpipe itself and anything that does not look stock. If stuff looks relatively stock they might not even notice.

 

[Poofies]

Most likely if your pipes are black a smog tech is not going to cry about it. The biggest thing they are looking for is the cat downpipe itself and anything that does not look stock. If stuff looks relatively stock they might not even notice.

In this same vein I want to roll the dice on the whoosh catted since I’m installing the hybrid. It’s tough to see and have a cat so I think it has potential to pass. My car isn’t flashy and just has tint and rallyarmor.

 

[Dpro]

In this same vein I want to roll the dice on the whoosh catted since I’m installing the hybrid. It’s tough to see and have a cat so I think it has potential to pass. My car isn’t flashy and just has tint and rallyarmor.

well when are you due for a smog. I have another 5 years on mine so I will cross that bridge when I come to it. oh and if you run a aftermarket downpipe it will be visible because you cannot put the downpipe heatshield back on as there are no provisions for it on the aftermarket downpipes.

 

[D1JL]

This is from the SMOG Check Manual.




Remember that it is always up to the digression of the Smog Check Tech.
However if you are failed incorrectly, you can always request to go to a Referee Inspection.

 

[Mikey456]

I also have seen a smog tech use mirrors to look under the car. But remember whatever you take off you can bolt back on. It’s best not to go through the Star smog stations. They are even stricter. I took a standard Volvo 240 there awhile ago and the guy was super serious and looked in the engine bay for any missing hoses, mods etc.