How will the Cali guys with CIS pass smog in the future?

[evan9eleven]

I got thinking about California P-car owners with '76 - '83 cars and CIS-- as we all know both Bosch and Porsche aren't supporting CIS any longer. No new parts, just rebuilt. I have no idea if this will ever be an issue or not, but am curious. If I have understood correctly, no car newer then a '75 gets a smog exemption in Cali, so CARB requires the induction to be stock, and if parts get scarce some years down the road, then what? Its pretty unreasonable to render an entire automobile un-registerable just because its old enough to have NLA parts on it-- especially when modern (more efficient and less polluting?) induction options exist.

Not trying to start a political battle about the great state of California, just a guy in Norway dreaming of sunshine and trying to learn something.

[911nut]

CARB's ultimate goal is for everyone in the state to drive an electric car or ride a horse. They would prefer that not a single vintage car exist within it's boarders.
It's going to take some serious intervention on the part of the car hobby to change this.

[Matt Monson]

There's a solution. Aftermarket fuel injection suppliers can get their parts CARB certified.

[patz]

They used to have a rolling thirty year exemption. Ahnold the asshat got rid of that. Jerkoff.

CARB certification isn't cheap. Best to get another exemption or hobbyist bill passed.

[wayner]

Doesn't the state issue something called an SB100 for project cars? Maybe that is the way to go?

[Aurel]

Isn't there an age limit in CA where cars are no longer subjects to emissions, like in any other states? Even in bleeding heart liberal Massachsuets, my 78 is now exempt to pass emission. Which is great because I am running 74 heat exchangers and not cat...

[motofoto]

Cars 76 and newer here need to pass smog. It's not a "rolling" model year exemption, and SB100 is for kit cars.

[Craig_D]

Problem with exemptions is the decade from 76 to 86 was the birth of emissions controls, and those cars are the ones that my state of Colorado is most strict about. I have to do emissions, at California's level, every-single-effing-year!

This is why I spent $2k on a custom exhaust with new tech dual cats, that also makes it faster and lighter. It's still a major pain in the a$$ to have the former/future felons that work for the state, man handle my pride and joy every year.

[jason2guy]

you have to cheat. most smog guys dont know what is stock on these cars. at one point i didnt even have a o2 present, that gave the guy a small headache. finally he gave up and just passed me. most premufflers look like a cat anyway. the cheat part involves disconnecting the o2 and hooking up a AAA battery at 0.7v connected to the o2 connector. that leaned my car out enough to pass without elevating the HC too much

[wayner]

Cars 76 and newer here need to pass smog. It's not a "rolling" model year exemption, and SB100 is for kit cars.

I wonder where a backdated 72 RS "replica" fits compared to let's say a 550 spyder replica? It would be interesting to see😉

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by wayner

I wonder where a backdated 72 RS "replica" fits compared to let's say a 550 spyder replica? It would be interesting to see😉

Not really a question. A "72 backdate" was built using a car with a VIN number. The year of the original car will always be the year of the car. Period.

[joe payne]

I say if the parts become obsolete then we should be exempt. But that's because I think smogging my 78 is hideous and I would love to get some SSI's and pick up some usable h.p. and a nice sounding exhaust.

[Peter Zimmermann]

CIS is a fine, stable system that should carry our cars forward with little or no problems. Tuning is important, of course; but the biggest problem that I see is lack of technicians who truly understand CIS. A couple of inspections ago the smog shop that I use told me that my '82 SC ran cleaner than a five-year-old Honda. If the car has its original, functional equipment it should pass.

Let's not forget that ignition, with vacuum controls, also plays a part, as does having a smog pump and EGR system ('76-79 models) in proper working order. Those items can cause a fail result even when the CIS is working/adjusted perfectly.

[SD Swede]

Originally Posted by joe payne

I say if the parts become obsolete then we should be exempt. But that's because I think smogging my 78 is hideous and I would love to get some SSI's and pick up some usable h.p. and a nice sounding exhaust.

On a side note Joe, that's actually quite possible. In my backdated car, (a '78 SC to RS hot rod) I have a '84 3.2L ROW motor, running SSI's and a custom built, great sounding, exhaust that incorporates a CA approved cat and a Magnaflow muffler. It is bolted straight up to the SSI's. This setup was approved and smogged by the referee when I brought the car in from out of state. Due to the engine swap the ref was the only one who could approve. You can PM me if you want more details. Not hard to do at all. In addition, between the 2 year cycle, I usually unbolt that custom muffler set up and run an M&K. Takes about 30 min to swap out.

[Bird911]

All this will just raise the value of earlier cars even higher.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by Peter Zimmermann

CIS is a fine, stable system that should carry our cars forward with little or no problems. Tuning is important, of course; but the biggest problem that I see is lack of technicians who truly understand CIS. A couple of inspections ago the smog shop that I use told me that my '82 SC ran cleaner than a five-year-old Honda. If the car has its original, functional equipment it should pass.

Good to know.
I really believe a cleaner running engine is a better running one and more reliable in the long run.

Let's not forget that ignition, with vacuum controls, also plays a part, as does having a smog pump and EGR system ('76-79 models) in proper working order. Those items can cause a fail result even when the CIS is working/adjusted perfectly.

No EGR or smog pump on the 80- SC's

[Peter Zimmermann]

Originally Posted by Peter Zimmermann

Let's not forget that ignition, with vacuum controls, also plays a part, as does having a smog pump ('76-79 models) and EGR system ('76-79 models) in proper working order. Those items can cause a fail result even when the CIS is working/adjusted perfectly.

Originally Posted by pmax

Good to know.
I really believe a cleaner running engine is a better running one and more reliable in the long run.



No EGR or smog pump on the 80- SC's

Oops! pmax; I see what you did there!

[Trackrash]

Not directly related but I just found out that in CA cars newer than 2000 AREN'T SMOG TESTED any more.

At the smog test station they plug in a tester to the OBD port. No codes and it PASSES!!!!! REALLY?

[Ferrino]

Yeah, I just had our 2005 minivan smogged and there was no sniffer - pure OBD2 readout.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by Trackrash

cars newer than 2000 AREN'T SMOG TESTED any more.
At the smog test station they plug in a tester to the OBD port. No codes and it PASSES!!!!! REALLY?

Yes. I moved to Cali 6 months ago. Mind I had planned this in the preceeding years and sold the SC before moving - I only brought pre-smog or modern cars with me. The modern cars were plugged via ODB port and passed, no sniffer whatsoever...

Now if I could only get the title to one of my cars...(mistake on VIN, corrected, 3 months wait from the DMV.... which is swamped by the new mandate to give illegals driver's licenses, according to the facilitator I used... slowww)

PS: I should point out I didn't sell the SC because it wouldn't pass emissions, but because it wouldn't pass visual. That car actually passed Cali SMOG for 10 years with gutted catalytic converters (which I had no clue about until I took them out 10y later).