924Board.org

[RobE]

I might be moving to California within the next six months and wonder if it is worth the hassle to keep my 924 N/A? I currently reside in Colorado Springs Colorado, we have emission testing and the car currently passes here. My concern is that I will have to spend b***loads of money to "get" California emissions done. Any advice will be appriciated. Anybody currently living in California have any problems with emissions with non-California emission spec vehicles?

[dwak]

Don't they have an age limit in California for e-tests? In Ontario, Can. if the the cars over 20 rears old, you are more or less exempt from testing.

[d12-Matt]

I'm in California. I'm pretty sure the car has to be 30 years or older here to be exempt from smog tests. I don't know if anything special has to be done to get a 924 to pass or not, as I haven't done mine yet.

Oh but my other car (which is almost as old) failed the first time I tested it, but after getting new spark plugs, timing adjusted, and air/fuel mixture adjusted, it passed with flying colors.

[ This Message was edited by: d12-Matt on 2002-01-10 16:00 ]

[RobE]

Mine failed in Colorado the first time also. That is what worries me, I've heard that CO emissions are simular if not the same as CA but I fine that hard to believe since there is a special emission package that manufactures are required to place on a car to sell in the state of California. Just looking for some claification as to what to expect. Thanks again. Rob E.

[924_fan]

California has a tiered smog testing system. The standards that a vehicle must meet vary from area to area within the state. The areas are listed on the California DMV web page.

i.e. In the highly populated areas (more smog) like L.A., the car is run on a rolling dyno to test for pollutants. However, in less smoggy areas like the central coast, a sniffer is placed in the tail pipe while the car sits there running.

Currently, cars built in 1973 or older are exempt from smog testing. Supposedly the rule applies to cars 30 years and older. So in 2004 1974 vars become exempt. Last year a bill was proposed to change this and not to allow any more exemptions. Thanks to the electricity crisis that bill never made it through the legislature as it was written.

_________________
Skip Denton
'79 924 Sebring

[ This Message was edited by: 924_fan on 2002-01-12 05:44 ]

[Peter]

Good question Rob. I too plan to move to Ca, but in about 2-3 years. I would be heart broken if I couldn't take my '84 Euro 924 (no anti-smog components) or my '80 931 track car.
A friend of mine moved to CA about 4-5 years ago and took his mid-80s, diesel turbo Peugeot with him. He had to pay a one-time fee, I think about $500, to pass/ be exempt from emission testing. I am not sure about the specifics about older cars paying a fee to be exempt in CA. Maybe you would know Skip?
In NYC, if the cost of repairs to make your older car "smog legal" exceeds a certain statutory set limit, then you pay up to that limit and are exempt from emissions --or something to that effect. Of course, some people just bolt on a cat-back exhaust when it comes time to emission testing.
-Peter A. Holiat

[RobE]

Colorado has a law very simular however your car has to be 25 yrs old or older and you still have to pass once, or pay somthing like $500. I will be in the Lompoc/Santa Maria area. Vandenberg AFB for those of youthat know where that is. Hopefully I will find out if I get to go for sure or not within the next few weeks. Thanks for the info. Rob

[924_fan]

I believe that the "pay a fee because your vehicle is from out of state and not a California car" has been stopped (declared illegal).

Yes, there are limits on what the state expects you to pay to make a car smog legal.

Rob if you move to Vandenberg, there is a decent Porsche shop with reasonable rates in Santa Maria. The test in this area only uses the tailpipe sniffer (not a dyno).

The way to get your car smogged is to have a (friendly) shop test the car to get sample readings to see if it passes or fails unofficially. If it passed, then they log the smog machine into the state system for official testing. If it did not pass then the shop looks to see what repairs are required. Do not take the car to a smog only station (aka referee station) unless you have to. They will not test the car without logging into the state's system.

As far as smog equipment is concerned - the car is supposed to have what ever the car originally shipped with. You are not required to retro fit a 49 state car to California standards. I don't think that this applies to European models; since, in most cases an imported Euro model is supposed to meet federal smog standards for the year of mfg. So, if the car does not have the proper equipment on it, technically it is illegal on a federal level.

There may be areas in the state, like the high desert, that do not require a smog test - but I'm not sure.

Also, vehicles are smog tested every two years (rather than every year as in some states).




_________________
Skip Denton
'79 924 Sebring

[ This Message was edited by: 924_fan on 2002-01-13 10:44 ]

[Roger Hall]

The 924 has very low emmissions engine. Mine is from California my mom owned it for twenty years. I brought it to Florida and I have been driving it for a year. I just found out today that the oxygen sensor was disconected. Who knows how many years the car passed smog tests without it. I have heard read that the car can pass somg test in most areas after the catalalitic converter is gutted. If the engine is in good shape dont wory about it you should pass.

I belive that the law only requires you to meet the smog requirements that the car was built for. There is paperwork you will need to fill out when you register the car. California doesn't want people to but cars out of state and import them just to beat the smog laws, but if you have owned the car for awhile you are not responsible to meet the stricter smog laws in California. You are only responsible for meeting the smog requirements the car was built for.

Also you are only required to spend a cerian amount of money to improve the emmissions of your car. After you spend that amount of money you are exempt but only untill the next test then you could have to spend that same amount again.

Its been 10 years since I lived in California so some of the laws may have changed. But I wouldn't worry about passing the somg test.

[RobE]

Thank's for the info. Looks like I shouldn't have any problems taking my baby with me. I'm hoping to get there somtime june/july time frame. Thanks again Rob