Smog test with snorkel?

Anybody have trouble smogging their truck with an aftermarket snorkel installed?

I swung by a smog place the other week, and the guy asked me if I was an undercover CARB person. This alarmed me, so I left without asking for a test. The issue was the snorkel, but our conversation was super vague due to fears on both sides.

I drove two blocks to the next shop and passed the inspection like usual.

I'm not trying to complain about CA smog laws here, just want to relay the experience.

 

Just passed my smog test last November on my 04 with a snorkel installed. The state only cares about engine mods done at or after the MAF

 

https://www.smogcheck.ca.gov/Consum...spx#310-what-are-the-elements-of-a-smog-check

3.10 What are the elements of a Smog Check?
Smog Checks are designed to measure the amount and type of pollutants your vehicle is emitting. A Smog Check may include any of the following tests:

• Visual inspection of emission control components and systems
• Functional inspection of the vehicle's check engine light, ignition timing, exhaust gas recirculation system, fuel evaporative system, and gas cap
• Functional inspection of the vehicle's On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) system
• Tailpipe emissions inspection

On a previously owned vehicle I had replaced the air cleaner with a conical one which included removing the CAI tube from the fender well. Twice it failed the visual inspection so I would revert back to the stock intake system before taking it in to be smogged.

I guess it depends on the Tech if they consider a mod to the intake to be part of the "emission control components" or not.

Since I see plenty of snorkels on CA vehicles I'm sure some of them are CARB compliant.

 

No issues here

 

Mine passed last year with a snorkel, TRD intake and exhaust chop.
CARB has a massive undercover operation designed to catch both shady smog guys and play gotcha games with legit shops. They have an entire fleet of vehicles, some modified, some box stock but with minor things done to disable smog equipment.

Fines, criminal convictions and even jailtime are possible so a lot of smog techs get nervous when they see something that isn't 100% stock. I have a regular shop I have been going to for years, since they know me they don't stress. They won't do anything to "help" my junk pass smog but they know how to handle legal, modified vehicles.

 

But you don't have get smogged lol your truck is new. In CA I think it's after a vehicle is 8 years old you have to start getting a smog and visual inspection every 2 years

Edit - unless maybe you brought it here from TX (guessing by your handle)... then they might require a visual inspection for registration

 

actually brought her over from Guam. Had to get smog test for registration

 

I feel bad for the smog shops. With such relentless sting operations, I'd probably turn away legally modified vehicles too.

Abandoning my previous call to keep this non political: I wish CA smog testing relied on actual measurements, e.g. tailpipe emissions and fuel system integrity. You know... the actual factors that affect air quality!

Why not set ambitious emission standards, then let the market and individuals come up with innovative ways to maintain and improve their vehicles, while enforcing the standards through periodic emissions testing?

Instead they've abandoned tailpipe testing and crushed aftermarket innovation with a sticker-based extortion scheme.

Up next: California lawmakers solve poverty by forcing everyone to wear name-brand clothing!

 

My feeling on emissions is it should be on the manufacturer to meet fed compliance. Beyond that I think there isn't a return on investment enough to justify the existence of the entire program.

99% of people leave their vehicles box stock for life. Many people keep a vehicle for 5-8 years before replacing it. CA has exempted new vehicles from testing, that leaves the majority of the testing burden on those who either by choice (gearheads) or by necessity (low income) own older vehicles. The latter make up the majority of old vehicle owners and can ill afford not only the cost burden of testing but the cost of bringing a beater up to snuff to pass.

The state is expending an enormous amount of money and effort on the entirety of the program to catch a couple of car enthusiasts and to force people who are least able to afford to replace their cars to, well, replace their cars.

Pollution standards placed on auto manufacturers and industry have made the air a ton cleaner. Creating a giant bureaucracy that continues to snowball to make things that last 1% cleaner by placing undue burdens on individuals just doesn't seem to be justifiable.

 

Just to reply to this it's 6 years until initial inspection if the vehicle has been purchased new then has legally changed ownership. It's 8 years if the vehicle is still owned by the original owner.

Californias smog program is god awful and the laws placed around it which has already been discussed has way too many fallacies. It has become a political tug of war as the state has its own ARB division (CARB) which has always swung in favor of the state. There have been new talks of changing the program yet again by 2025, but for better or worse is just as much my question as it is anyone elses. That was the last I heard of it, as I try to keep away from the insanity that is the California smog program.

Every decade it seems as if the state has tightened it's chokehold grip over new vehicle emissions as well as the oldie vehicles. It's gotten so bad that vehicle manufacturers went and started picking sides of who they prefer to base their emissions for. Not to get political here, but I found this article some time ago and I found it pretty funny at that.

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UT...browser&q=vehicle+manufacturers+picking+sides

 

The issue is that with older vehicles a lot of people tend to let them run into the ground without keeping up on maintenance...having to get smogged every 2 years forces them to address issues with their cars that effect emissions. In highly populated areas like LA I think it's a necessary evil. As much as I hate getting smogged and CARB and all that crap...I really do enjoy having relatively decent air to breathe. Price we gotta pay for having so many people on this planet I guess

 

There is truth to this, but it only applies to vehicles older than 2001. I guess the figure is that by after that year, OBD2 system got intelligent enough to do their own self checks and determine if the engine is running healthy or not, because vehicles after that year just get a PCM plug in to ensure there are no codes/ monitors are ready and a visual inspection.

 

IMO, that "price we pay" check was cashed the day those (compliant) vehicles rolled off the assembly line. That is what cleaned the air up.
If they kept all the compliance required for new cars and industry and scrapped the entirety of the individual vehicle testing program, I doubt any of us would notice the difference.

 

CARB regulation is why we don't get diesel Toyota in the States. Toyota knows that it's too much of a hassle for them and would get very little performance gain after all the gov restrictions.

A friend has one of those new Chevy full size diesel trucks. He likes it, but has to do routine maintenance for the diesel CARB components, just like another fluid change.

 

My home state of Colorado does it right, because they actually care about reducing smog, instead of just wanting to dig their claws into the economy like CARB.

They have these mobile smog check stations that they set up at freeway onramps during rush hour. It's a van with some smog techs and instruments they set up on tripods. They measure the amount of smog-causing emissions as your car passes by, as well as other factors like your speed and license plate number.

There is no risk to driving past one, even if your car is running on half its cylinders with open exhaust and you are smoking cheap cigars with the windows down -- they do not penalize you for "failing" this test. Who knows, maybe your engine was cold, or a gust of wind brought that smog over from someone else's car, right? But, if you drive past, and are accelerating briskly (hence the speed measurements), and you don't trip their smog detectors, then they know your car is running clean. And, if you "pass" one of these tests a few times per year (maybe twice, I forget?), then you don't have to go to a smog station at your next renewal (hence the plate readers).

There is no way to fail, and they announce when and where the test are located, on their website and with signs before the ramp, so you can avoid them if you want. Ultimately, they're using modern technology to identify clean-running vehicles, and it eliminates the inconvenience of smog inspections for a huge percentage of drivers on the road. You quickly learn to seek them out if your renewal is coming up and you haven't already passed by that van a few times that year.

And it's based on whether or not your car is causing smog, not whether or not the manufacturers of your engine components paid enough bribe money to power-hungry bureaucrats at CARB.

I'm 100% in favor of smog testing -- I just wish the rules were formulated around modern engines and modern smog detection technology, rather than the bloated legacy of laws made during the 1970s smog crisis.

In the end, I guess I'm just angry that the current system penalizes honest folks with clean-running cars, while still letting cheaters run rampant so long as they swap back to stock on test day.