CraigT

With Stage III, I have a larger CAT. I was wondering if anybody knew if I will have any problems passing the test? If the car is a 99.5, when will it need an actual test?

Thanks,
Craig
APR Stage III/Flywheel-Clutch

CharlieGSanD

look under the hood, on the bottom there is a sticker that says
"exempt from testing on 2-wheel dynomometers"
i dont know if this means we are free and clear or if it is a smal loophole but i know the closest 4-wheel dyno for me would be in l.a.
and i dont see the cops sending everyone there
just for a smog check

CraigT

Thanks Charlie...we'll see what happens!

Craig

JasonB

CA doesn't dyno test; the car is tested in neutral at different rev points (idle and 3k?)

Audiboy

issued by the referee station in Sacramento - no other place as far as I am concerned, so if you live in LA, tough drive.

And who would have to drive this is APR themselves to get it certified, otherwise you will pay a large fine if you show up to a smog station without any documentation. It is best to take it off before your biennial sniff inspection. Note no dyno testing enforced here yet.

You have to wait till 2003 worry about this, but if you get caught by some overzealous cop, he can impose a fix it ticket with a heavy fine also, anywhere from $2000 to $10000 is what I last remembered from my books (that was 10 years ago)

Audiboy

2200 to 2800rpm to be exact. Idle is under +/- 100 rpm of underhood spec

zain

Seems to me all they do is look and make sure everything looks reasonably hooked up and that the exhaust gasses are ok. I figure if I can find the right place, they won't even notice my A4 has an aftermarket G2 there - looks stock enough.

Is there something about the stage III that's a give-away visual failure (not familiar with it), or am I being too optimistic about the techs just not noticing things.

Audiboy

lots of stock cars at the same time. They stand out very well. Only thing hard to detect are chips. Note that smog techs are techs, not just some non-certified mechanic. We went through several training courses, and only a few passed and got the certificates. So, they know better than the average mechanic.

Note, underhood specs - all those acronyms such as CATALYST in big bold letters, EGR, OS, PCV, CC, etc are all part of the inspection. If it doesn't say turbo or supercharger in there, it will be easy to spot those.
One example, stock air boxes must be there on most cars because 1) they are part of PCV, 2) they may be part of TAC 3) If MAF is modified, errr, it is modified - can't touch anything from MAP (or air cleaner) to catalytic. Federal law also disallows tampering with catalytic, well any smog related device for that matter.

Most of the time, we send them to the referee, unfortunately, they could get asked as to why the data entry was done in a so and so station because the smog machine is hooked up to the Sacramento station via dedicated phone line so it starts sending data when someone is logged on. Last I checked last August, they are still using he same machine I did 10 years ago.

It's a pain for tuners to get the kits certified too, hence not a lot of certified parts out there. One thing nice about jackson racing, so unless PES gets that, you'll have to undo yours in 2 years. Will that stop me from modifying? Depends on the mod but in general it's only a weekend of pain vs 2 years (or 4 for 1st time)of pleasure. Plus the mods I am most interested in are clean - pass sniffers for the most part, including your PES or APR's stuff, so it is only a visual fail in my book, but still good for the environment - until you floor it, but so is a stock car too

I must add, a plus for a KO4 upgrade only (no FMIC or removable) because can't detect that either

HJB

Here is Arizona, emission techs poke around quite a bit under the hood!

jyoteen

Where in CA are you? If in LA, you can be passed. I know some people.