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  1. #1

    Default Rant About A Wasted Smog Check Visit.

    Wasted a half hour at the Star Certified Smog Check place today. Been going to the same place every 2 years for over 30 years.
    Just 2 weeks ago I took the Z-7 Coupe in and passed after they gave it the third degree which takes about an hour.

    Today I took the Four-door and expected to be done in an hour. Well, even though it was the same guy from 2 weeks ago, He called over not one, but two other testers to examine the car. After they looked at the motor and manuals for a long, long time he got under the car and looked at that for awhile. After a half hour of this looking at stuff, he pulled the car past the dynamometer and called me outside. He tells me that the catalytic converter is aftermarket. I said I know it is. He wants to see a receipt for the converter. I tell him that it has been on the car more than ten years, I don't even know where to begin to look for it. And that they have been passing the car every two years for quite a while now. He says that the state has gotten stricter on aftermarket converters. You can see it was not put on recently, whats the deal? I went home and dug out the receipt from 2005. The problem is that the license number of the car on the receipt does not match what is on the car. Nothing does. That is because the car was wrecked, had major parts from a different make including the VIN when putting it back together.

    I guess I will try a different place and see what happens. I like this place because they take others coupons and give a free retest if the car fails. I don't know of another that does.
    He did not charge me for the half hour of looking.
    Lots of FREE F/Z info on my site.
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  2. #2
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    82GTforME's Avatar
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    That's rough. I couldn't imagine trying to initiate these levels of testing here.

    So if you cannot find an "OEM" catalytic convertor you possibly may not pass the inspection and therefore cannot drive it in California until you do?

    With the high percentage of newer vehicles compared to years ago and the improvement in emissions across the board since the 70s and 80s you would think the state would cut enthusiasts who aren't blatantly trying to deceive a break!

  3. #3
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    My smog guy is very easy to deal with. 1-2 man outfit. He has told me that he gets harassed for not failing enough cars. He tries to address the issues before the actual smog check. Nothing really gets overlooked. He knows my cars and that some get than 2000 miles or less per year. Probably justification for not crawling under the car every year.
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  4. #4
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    jesus,and I thought Massachusetts was bad.anything 2004 and older doesn't even get checked for emissins here in ma.when I go to put the 85 on the road.it will be just a safety check.good luck with that.

  5. #5

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    We recently killed safety checks all together at the beginning of the year. Its glorious. Litterly, since I live in a non-emissions county, I just go to the DMV and get my plate.

    I like to go to places that only do saftey and emissions. I find the lube guys are usually trying to just drum up business.

    One time I put new brakes on my car, did a basic tune up, new wipers,checked all my bulbs ECT.

    Took the car in, 10 minutes later guy comes out and tells me I got burned out tail lights,no need brakes and I have a bad wheel bearing. He about **** a brick when I told him to show me.

    My favorite was jiffy lube. I started dating all my oil filters, just so I knew how old they were. Took it in to jiffy lube two or three times. Went to check the oil after, they lost my oil cap (in the parking Lot, I didn't even drive off) didn't change my oil filter (oil looked new though) and left my lug nuts loose.

    The less someone else touches my car, the safer it is.
    2 1986 cougars (both 4 eyed and 5.0)
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  6. #6
    FEP Senior Member Dave9052's Avatar
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    No emission checks and no safety checks here in Michigan. I don't know how people in California put up with so many rules and laws and real estate prices 4 times higher than the average in US.
    Last edited by Dave9052; 05-24-2018 at 02:54 PM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave9052 View Post
    No emission checks and no safety checks here in Michigan. I don't know how people in California put up with so many rules and laws and real estate prices 4 times higher than the average in US.
    It's a tradeoff. They have sunshine and regulations. We have no regulations, but grey overcast skies 400 days out of the year.
    '89 XR-7 5 Speed
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    Quote Originally Posted by KevinVarnes View Post
    It's a tradeoff. They have sunshine and regulations. We have no regulations, but grey overcast skies 400 days out of the year.
    I guess Floridians have the best of both worlds then!!!

    Emissions testing stopped here a long, long time ago. Not even a safety inspection now...
    '85 GT

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by qikgts View Post
    I guess Floridians have the best of both worlds then!!!

    Emissions testing stopped here a long, long time ago. Not even a safety inspection now...
    Pretty much the entire US has the best of both except for Crazyfornia which is convinced they are leading some movement that does not actually exist. So much I want to say but I like this forum and everyone on it. Sorry to the OP about wasting time. I do know how frustrating that can be. Doesn't matter if you are having tires put on or brakes changed, it is frustrating for sure. I would personally only do it 1 time though. Then I would fix the REAL problem.

  10. #10

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    What a joke. "Emissions" supposedly being the grand concern of your coddling and making you safe gubberment, and let's squabble about numbers stamped or not on parts? Who gives a F*CK what numbers are on what, if WTF is coming out of the tail pipe/s is "clean"?... What a farce, a cash cow gravy train... "passing" or not should have everything to do with what's coming out of the exhaust, HELLO, all the rest of this f*cking nonsense is nothing but that, f*cking nonsense. ... afterthought catastrophic converters, another of the farce of the ILLUSION of the internal combustion engine FUNCTIONING correctly... NOT... proper INTERNAL combustion occurs inside the engine's cylinders, NOT outside and downstream within idiotic catastrophic converters... LMFAO!!!
    Last edited by Walking-Tall; 05-24-2018 at 08:43 PM.
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    FEP Member Dogster's Avatar
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    If all else fails, there are CARB certified converters, such as Magnaflow, as you might know. How much $$ is the question. The last smog check I had, I asked about my Mustang and they said carbureted Mustang always fail. Thanks a lot.
    '85 Mustang GT Convertible, Jalapeno Red, Charcoal Int., Black Top, 5.0 H.O., 4 bbl , 5 speed, No AC, All original except for 8.8 Motorsport rr w/3.55 gears & subframe connectors. Owned since 'August 86. 1 of 574.

  12. #12
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave9052 View Post
    No emission checks and no safety checks here in Michigan. I don't know how people in California put up with so many rules and laws and real estate prices 4 times higher than the average in US.
    Remember Michigan drivers are forced to pay insane bs insurance costs and fees when going for plates.
    How come other states dont cry about payouts? What was done 40-50 years ago?
    Govt and automakers cause all this nonsense. Making things worse trying to make them better.

    Why be so strict about car parts?. If they pass they pass. Who cares how they do it?

    Yet Californy pollutes air with wildfires all the time.
    Extreme swings in weather from pollution regulations?
    Particulates in the air help form rain clouds.
    Plants and trees breath carbon dioxide and breath out oxygen, yet they are cut down all the time.
    Holes in ozone layer, yet regulations target ozone production?
    Last edited by gr79; 08-24-2018 at 11:46 AM.

  13. #13
    FEP Senior Member gt4494's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gr79 View Post
    Plants and trees breath carbon dioxide and breath out oxygen, yet they are cut down all the time.
    What most people don't realize is that Pine trees are a crop. We cut them down and replant. Much like the midwest does wheat and corn. It just takes a couple more years (10-20) for the next crop to mature here.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
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  14. #14

    Default

    I had a dredlock wearing pitchule smelling 24 yrar old dnr agent try to explain to me the fine she was going to issue me, not because I burned leaves and branches, but because I burned leaves and sticks that came from in town. Apparently where you burn leaves and sticks is what actually polluted the environment. You cannot make this up. I kindly asked her to get off my property. Now, every time I fart they send me a strongly worded letter

  15. #15
    FEP Senior Member dtmilsap's Avatar
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    Someone from a adjoining state to California needs to sue them when wild fire smoke crosses their state lines. Lol

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by kfxmatt View Post
    jesus,and I thought Massachusetts was bad.anything 2004 and older doesn't even get checked for emissins here in ma.when I go to put the 85 on the road.it will be just a safety check.good luck with that.
    Wow, I just checked.
    It is 2004 and newer in Mass.

    Is that year fixed?
    Or, does it move every year?


    In Conn, vehicles over 25 years old don't have to go for emissions checks.

    Mass has a non mass.gov website/page with the emissions information.
    Huh?

    The mass.gov web page, https://www.mass.gov/service-details...le-inspections, redirects people to:
    https://www.mavehiclecheck.com/motorists-basicinfo/

    Also, in the official RMV Regulations document, https://www.mass.gov/files/2017-07/R...egulations.pdf ,
    I did not find anything related to the "magic year" of 2004.
    Nor, did I find anything that says something like "cars older than 15 years".


    Near the end of the web page, I found the year exemption on the Mass website,
    https://www.mavehiclecheck.com/motorists-basicinfo/
    it says:
    On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) Test:
    Model years 2004 and newer passenger cars, trucks and SUVs


    However, at the top of the web page, it also says:
    Introduced in October 2008, the Massachusetts Vehicle Check Program provides a combined safety and emissions inspection highlighted by the following:
    All vehicles driven on Massachusetts roads must pass an annual safety inspection.
    Vehicles with onboard diagnostic systems manufactured after model year 2002 must pass an annual emissions test.


    Don't you just love it when States/Counties don't have requirements/things officially public on the web?
    Or, even in a booklet/whatever that can be obtained from a DMV office.
    Conn has been like that from the beginning.
    But, Conn will gladly hand people BS pamphlets that don't have any useful information. Sigh...
    Last edited by stangPlus2Birds; 08-24-2018 at 06:52 PM.

  17. #17
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2nd chance cobra View Post
    I had a dredlock wearing pitchule smelling 24 yrar old dnr agent try to explain to me the fine she was going to issue me, not because I burned leaves and branches, but because I burned leaves and sticks that came from in town. Apparently where you burn leaves and sticks is what actually polluted the environment. You cannot make this up. I kindly asked her to get off my property. Now, every time I fart they send me a strongly worded letter
    I'd fart just to waste the postage then......

  18. #18
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gt4494 View Post
    What most people don't realize is that Pine trees are a crop. We cut them down and replant. Much like the midwest does wheat and corn. It just takes a couple more years (10-20) for the next crop to mature here.
    For sure. Have no problem with trees harvested for lumber, etc.
    Or old city neighborhoods that have rotten ones, no more the tree lined ideal street scene.
    Ruin sidewalks, sewers, power lines. Or malls, subdivisions that cut 100, plant one.
    Foreign countries that clear cut jungle.

    Plastic in the oceans. Govt spraying chemicals on private property.
    Truck cats, DEF, regen, all another story and too political.

  19. #19

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    I'm a lucky soul to live in SC regarding inspections/emissions testing. No such thing. Hell, you don't even need to show them your car to get a tag. State just wants the revenue.

  20. #20
    Venomous Moderator Hissing Cobra's Avatar
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    As previously stated, in Massachusetts if the car is older than 15 years, there's no emissions. However, the inspector is supposed to do a visual inspection of all smog equipment to make sure it's intact and functioning correctly. This includes catalytic converters, EGR Valves, smog pumps, etc.... With the new laws that they have just enacted, the inspectors must now take multiple pictures of your car. This includes the speedometer/odometer, license plate, and pictures of the car from all angles, and upload those to the Registry of Motor Vehicles data base. Also, all inspections of the cars are on a live feed to the Registry of Motor Vehicles so they can creep on the inspectors while they do their jobs.

    I've been going to the same guy for all of our inspection stickers (5 cars) for the past 8 or 9 years and he's always been good to me. He's inspected my '79 Cobra during this entire time. I think with these new laws, he kind of got nervous this year and he told me he couldn't inspect the Cobra because it didn't have a front license plate. It didn't have one because it doesn't need one due to the fact that I have an older White/Green plate which I got back in 1993. Back then, Massachusetts only required 1 license plate so all cars that still have the White/Green plates are exempt from requiring two. Once I let him know that, he kind of looked exasperated and went back inside. I didn't know if he was going to inspect it or not. A couple of minutes later his lead inspector came out and asked me for the keys. He passed it but now it's got me worried for next year. Why? Because I do not have the smog stuff on the car. I guess I've been getting lucky all these years but ya know what? The car is going to be 40 years old next year and it should be exempt. How many '79's are left, especially up here in the rust belt of Massachusetts?
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  21. #21
    FEP Power Member conmech's Avatar
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    I picked up a Magnaflow C.A.R.B. E.O. compliant cat for my turbo 4 cylinder Mustang for $187 off Amazon.... just need to go to Magnaflow site, punch in vehicle info, get part number and hit up Amazon.
    Any chance of OEM cars working?
    Last edited by conmech; 08-25-2018 at 12:41 PM.
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  22. #22
    FEP Senior Member gt4494's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by conmech View Post
    I picked up a Magnaflow C.A.R.B. E.O. compliant cat for my turbo 4 cylinder Mustang for $187 off Amazon.... just need to go to Magnaflow site, punch in vehicle info, get part number and hit up Amazon.
    Any chance of OEM cars working?
    Just a for instance. I once had a fuel injected Rabbit. The injection went south so I replaced it with a weber two barrel. I could de-tune it to pass inspections but it would barely run in normal operation. I did this by leaning it out and other things.

    With this being said I am sure anything can be tuned to pass but then you might need to re-tune it so you can drive it. our cars were not meant to run on the stuff they call gasoline now.
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  23. #23
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
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    What a waste of our taxpayer money taking pictures of cars for some database, like an insurance co.
    A huge cost to keep up. Employees, equipment, man hours. For what?
    For limited time span, then change of plan. New mandates. Do it all over again and then some.
    They they cry to or simply just raise taxes and fees. Car ownership costs are moving out of control.

    When will people learn it is impossible and unproductive to micro manage everything just because they can?

  24. #24
    FEP Super Member Bryan Knebworth's Avatar
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    In California, I purchased a car from out of state. The California DMV is very clever in that they require all out of state vehicles to pass smog first, before issuing a title. In the yellow pages, I found a place that specialized in Smog Checks. Initially, the car didn't pass. The shop owner told me to use oil treatment and gas treatment, put some mileage on it, and come back. I returned about a week later, and the numbers were "better" but still not on-point. Undeterred, the shop owner revved the car to like 4000 RPM for about 30 seconds to get the numbers where he wanted them, LOL. I guess it worked, because the car passed! Fortunately there are quite a few DMV's across the city, without too much of a back up, at least that's been my experience. With that smog certificate in hand, the rest was a cinch. If a shop is creating too many obstacles, go to a different shop, and maybe they will use that 'rev trick' and get it to pass, who knows?
    Last edited by Bryan Knebworth; 08-25-2018 at 10:52 PM. Reason: sp.

  25. #25

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    Prior to changing the rules, it was not unusual to buy a cheap catalytic converter that we knew would have to be replaced
    again when the next inspection came due in two years. Most of these cheap converters wouldn't last six months. So yes,
    we have to buy more expensive converters now, but provided the engine is tuned properly, those converters will last as long
    as the OE unit. And, other states are adopting the 'California' converter rules, so if you're currently exempt from this bit of
    inconvenience, don't count on that continuing.

    The newer "STAR" station rules are specifically aimed at stopping the practice of "clean-piping", where certain smog check
    stations would use a different vehicle to perform your emissions test, for an extra "fee". My last couple tests have been done
    at one of those stations, on both my '85s respectively. Both passed, and the test was no more expensive to me than what I
    had been paying in the past. My '85 Hatch has a 6-year-old Magnaflow California-approved cat pipe, while the '85 'vert still
    has a 33-year-old original factory cat.

    Everyone puts up with something. A smog check is a one hour event that happens every two years. I'll happily trade that to
    avoid frigid winters and miserable steamy summers that together consume about 2/3 of every year. My heating bills are about
    $25/mo from around late-November until mid-February. Hell, my furnace is 55 years old, and is still in great shape.
    Air conditioning bills? Zero. Zip. Nada. Don't have one, don't need one.

    To all who are glad they don't live here, I'm happy for ya. We got enough 'backeasters' already. Just know that I don't live
    here because I -have- to live here. I've spent time in every corner of this country, and all in between. I can count on one
    hand the number of other places I would consent to live. None of them are east of The Rockies, nor above 35ºN latitude.
    Last edited by JACook; 09-13-2018 at 02:25 PM.
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