Atlanta

[FlyerInHi]

Maybe. But it will get harder as time goes by. Or maybe you have the technical expertise.

My bet is that eventually you won’t need to do smog anymore as the info will be sent wirelessly.

[Coronita]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Maybe. But it will get harder as time goes by. Or maybe you have the technical expertise.

My bet is that eventually you won’t need to do smog anymore as the info will be sent wirelessly.[/quote]

Yes, and that is exactly my point.

The vast majority of the people will not have the technical expertise to handle dealing with misbehaving ECU’s. And fixing random ECU problems (that might not even be emissions related) but that could cause you to fail will be an incredibly expensive repair bill for your average consumer who has no technical knowledge.

And of course, those who actually know what their doing, this actually makes things even easier.. Because theoretically, if one has the ability to flash whatever the heck he/she wants onto an ECU, one can theoretically make the ECU read whatever is needed…

So what does this really solve? Not much….

[spdrun]

I actually doubt that smog (at least in CA) would be done wirelessly, as the bureaucrats would want to see the car. Otherwise, you could have a Prius with a 400 hp V-8 with no smog equipment shoehorned in back for all they know. Stock drivetrain would be 100% intact, of course.

Or for that matter a mobile app that’s pretending to be a car to the bureaucrats’ computers 🙂

Also: does CA do physical inspections for things like brake pads, tires, steering, and lights?

[FlyerInHi]

There is visual inspection but only for emission equipment, not safety equip, Maybe there will always be visual inspection.

But manufacturers think the check engine light is enough to cause people to get their cars serviced. So why even do visual?

[spdrun]

Because there’s a whole industry around visual inspections that would scream bloody murder if their gravy train were taken away? And also, lack of visual inspection would make circumvention easier.

[FlyerInHi]

It solves getting the junky polluting cars off the road. I doubt many technically educated people would purposely drive polluting cars. You can still mod using carb approved equipment.

Heck, I don’t even know what data carb/dmv is looking for. It can change anytime. Send the wrong data and your car could be tagged gross polluter.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=spdrun]Because there’s a whole industry around visual inspections that would scream bloody murder if their gravy train were taken away? And also, lack of visual inspection would make circumvention easier.[/quote]

True for at least 20 more years.

[Coronita]

..Part of the dumbest parts of CARB is the visual inspection…That’s the part that everyone complains about…

Because like I said, entirely possible to pass the sniff test (even if you don’t cheat) or pass the ECU test (even if you don’t cheat)…But if some emisisons component doesn’t have a CARB sticker on it…Not legal technically, unless the smog station overlooks it….

Same two catalytic converter from the same manufacturer that performs the same. One is the Federal version that is legal in 49 states, except CA. One is the CA CARB version… The difference? A nice CARB # stamped on the CARB version about about a $300+ price difference…

Of even better. Suppose you are doing an engine swap…

If you car is a CA car, you can’t swap any engine/components from a non-CA car… If on the other hand, you had an out of state car, and brought into to CA and registered it, you can do whatever the heck you want, as long as you pass the sniff test… (assuming pre-2002)……

And since there isn’t any difference in emissions components for cars sold in CA versus the same type of car sold in any of the other 49 states…Can you say bureaucracy?

[Coronita]

(end rant)

…anyway Kev, sorry for the ultimate threadjack….

Again, my advice… Check on the valley first…

[FlyerInHi]

You could fake the carb sticker (I think it’s EO # for California executive order #) while you’re flashing the ECU. Saves you a few $.

[spdrun]

What about the Northeast, New England or NJ/NYC? Still plenty of fork-lost (stick a fork in ’em, babeh! — owing to judicial foreclosure taking 3-4 years) properties that can be picked up relatively cheap, interesting people, good outdoor sports if you’re into them, generally intelligent and interesting people, sizable tech industry in Boston and around NYC.

Not as overheated and prone to bubble and bust as the Bay Area, either.

[Coronita]

[quote=FlyerInHi]You could fake the carb sticker (I think it’s EO # for California executive order #) while you’re flashing the ECU. Saves your a few $.[/quote]

That would be illegal, and if you were caught, that would be a big big problem. And the CARB sticker isn’t on the ECU, it’s usually printed on the actual emissions component, usually etched. A service station that is complying with the rules is suppose to verify visually not only if the emissions component has a CARB EO# on it, but also suppose make sure the E0# on it is actually for the car in question.. Because even if it has an E0# on it, if it’s not for the car, technically it’s not compliant…

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t specifically condone skirting emissions rule unlawfully… The point is that this bureaucracy shouldn’t even exist because a lot of it doesn’t make sense. Most modern day cars are 50 state emissions compliant. Same components… CA doesn’t need to be different from the remaining 49 states. But as a result, I guess bureaucracy does create a lot of new jobs and businesses in CA that otherwise would not exist.

[FlyerInHi]

Correct. I meant if you can fake one, can’t you fake the other one? Have access to some etching machine? Or maybe have a friend who owns a smog station who can do you favor?

But I agree. The EPA has largely adopted CA rules so why have duplicate bureaucracies? The same could be said for many other government functions. The argument is that each state and each locality is a laboratory to try new things.

[spdrun]

Too much money in it not to have duplicate bureaucracies. Someone is making money certifying the parts for CA use, not to mention selling the certified parts for an inflated price.

The ironic thing is that I actually see more smoky clunkers on the road in CA than around NYC. Not sure if safety inspection gets rid of the worst of the worst, or if they simply die due to rust before they can turn into smoking messes.

[FlyerInHi]

Flu, so you know things have simplified.
As of a few months ago, there is no more sniff test or dyno test on newer cars (2000 or newer I think). Just plug in read ECU and do visual.

New equipment is internet based (not old dial up) that allows CARB to query different data from cars (not sure what). They then do whatever statistical analysis of the fleet.

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