Is Turbo'ed KA24 legal in California?

[lagcisco]

Yes, I've searched, wasn't able to find the answer..

anyhow, is the turbo'ed ka24 legal in california?

[sdtouge]

no they are nt legal.

even if you have th greddy kit, its still illegal.

[UberSpeed]

actually, if the kit has a CARB # then it should be legal. Of course, you would also need street legal exaust system, computer, suspension, etc. for it to be actually street legal.

[Jeff Abbott]

Why is it illegal? Will it fail the CARB inspection? The visual? The smog test?
If you got passed the visual and it passed the smog you should be ok right?
As long as you dont have a stand alone engine management. The OBDII has to be funtionable.
What do I know though. I am from NY
my .02
-Jeff

[Whisky]

My understanding of the GReddy kit is that it is legal, but not if you use the optional front mount intercooler. It also makes very little power for the money.

California Air Resources Board (CARB) is the authority responsible for certifying various aftermarket components as legal or illegal (for emissions purposes, that is). The smog laws are designed such that a given vehicle of a given age, weight and engine size should emit no more than X amount of CO2, NOX, solid particulate, etc. Unfortunately CARB is a nasty racket. Whats the difference between the CARB approved K&N filter and the "49 state legal"? About $100. Nothing more, they are the same filter. CARB makes some poor excuse about "cold start PCV emissions" from open-element filters, but thats just BS. All they want is for you to jump thru their hoops and, more importantly, pay them money to get your parts a CARB EO number.

Basically, cat-back exhaust is smog legal because it is after the cat, so it has no emissions equipment anyway (with the possible exception of a case where the change in flow causes your car to pollute more). Anything between the engine and the cat must have CARB approval, so unless a turbo kit has a CARB exception, its illegal. Intake-side parts also must have a CARB exception. Its all a money game, and most KA turbo kit manufacturers either don;t have the cash to get their kits approved, or don't think they will ever make a profit if they spend the money to do it.

I'm curious to know the laws regarding what entitles a police officer to open your hood and inspect your engine bay. I don't know if they need probable cause, or even what would constitute probable cause for an emissions equipment check (rather than a contraband search). Just remember, if he asks to look in your car, tell him NO. Make him work for it, in most cases they will just leave you alone, its not worth the hassle.

[Whisky]

Yes, its the visual you fail, even if your tailpipe emissions are within the parameters. I failed once because I had a non-approved K&N filter. What a crock.

[sdtouge]

the greddy kit was carb PENDING, and it failed, so no, it will not pass smog, it is illegal in california.

[Whisky]

Originally Posted by sdtouge

the greddy kit was carb PENDING, and it failed, so no, it will not pass smog, it is illegal in california.

I didn't know that, thats interesting. I wonder why it failed, its not like it makes much power anyway.

[sdtouge]

i dont know why either.

the only reason to get that kit would be for somg legalaity (is that a word?), 370 injectors, 2.5 inch dp, no blow off valve, no intercooler, its really overpriced in my opinion.

you could peice an amazing kit together for 3500, much better than that one.

[lagcisco]

do any of you guys have your ka turbo'ed? should I even worry about this?

if the ka-t is illegal might as well just get an sr right?

[drift180sx]

this is one of the major reasons i'm moving soon. i hate the smog laws here. i love cali but if i cant hav my sr20 or ca18 i'm out.

[SlidnZC4075]

Originally Posted by lagcisco

do any of you guys have your ka turbo'ed? should I even worry about this?

if the ka-t is illegal might as well just get an sr right?

The SR20DET is technically illegal in the United States. Yeah, I know people use them in their cars, and often they don't get caught with them, but they aren't DOT approved engines. The government/police is catching on to them now, so they know what to look for when they pop your hood.It sure would be a shame to put all that money into your beloved car for it to spend the rest of its days in an impound lot. By all means correct me if I'm wrong on this information. I'm not trying to turn this into a debate on SR20s.

[MonkeySlide]

Originally Posted by sdtouge

the greddy kit was carb PENDING, and it failed, so no, it will not pass smog, it is illegal in california.

It still IS pending..it didn't fail yet they are still waiting to hear from C.A.R.B.

I just spoke to a Rep from Greddy today, but since it hasn't been approved yet then as of now its illegal until they hear otherwise from C.A.R.B.

I asked when they will be expecting a response and all they could tell me was hopefully sometime this year.

[sdtouge]

oh, i thought it testred and didnt pass or something. its sooo expensice though for what you get, you really are just paying for the carb thingy i tihnk.

[MonkeySlide]

of course thats what your paying for, I mean it costs money to get C.A.R.B approval right?

Besides..when you think about it in the long run its way cheaper to pay extra for the street legal kit.

Sure you could get a non-legal kit for half the price or even less but time after time of paying off some shady smog guy so you can pass is gonna add up man.

I guess if the car isn't your daily driver and is a track only car then it doesn't really matter, but the majority of the people who buy the Greddy kit are people who still drive their cars just about everyday.

Im planning on getting this kit in the near future...by the time Im ready for the kit hopefully Greddy will hear something from C.A.R.B. and we'll know if it's legal or not..but if I had to put my money on it Im pretty sure Greddy will pull it off.

[mechaniac]

The Air Resources Board likes to take their freakin time. (They don't care about us, we need them.) Hopefully the Greddy kit attains smog legality.

Getting a turbocharged car to pass emissions is not that hard. SR20s can pass the sniffer, just not visual (which is a bunch of bologne anyways)

Remember, SMOG is a.k.a. "Government Business". So expect it to get more stringent, not more lax.

[nightracer]

California's laws suck! You guys can't breath without a carb sticker.

People's Republic of California

[Whisky]

Like I said, there are currently no California street-legal turbo kits for the 240SX. If you want to go turbo, buy a kit based on the performance and reliability it can provide. For about the same money as the GReddy kit you can have 240whp and drive it every day with the NSport kit.

I don't work for NSport or anything of the sort, I have just driven a few cars with their kits and they rock. Its not a cheap as some, but I can tell you it works.

[UberSpeed]

earlier someone said catback exausts are street legal. This is not always true. They may have a CARB number, but if it is above 95db or whatever the cop decides is too loud, then it is still illegal.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Make him work for it, in most cases they will just leave you alone, its not worth the hassle.

Man you must not get pulled over alot. You try actually asking a cop why he wants to do anything and you get trouble. They automatically think you have something to hide and therefore you are screwed. Cops are like wild dogs, don't run from them, don't look em in the eyes, for god sakes don't feed em cause you'll never run em off and try to act as non-threatening as you can, you'll be better off. Actually a new law passed that they do not have to have probable cause to search your car for drugs any longer and since that is usually the standard reason they use, they can pop your hood whenever they want and there ain't a thing you can do about it. California has always boggled my mind. You guys are supposed to the be the "Car" state. The state that is the Hot Rod capitol of the world yet it's the hardest place in the entire world it seems to have a fast car. Nothing against you guys in Cali but your state sucks.

Whats funny is that I have never even seen an OE sticker or whatever you call it. Hell man, we don't even have emissions tests where I live. 30 mins outside Atlanta they don't have emissions tests. It's the land of no cats and free exhaust. Cars are allowed to breath and everyone is happy. Shoot, if you roll up to the local choke and puke in a Skyline, you are more likely to get stopped so they can check it out cause they have never seen a right hand drive car than you are to get harrassed. Makes me wonder why all the cool sports go to Cali first..... Seems a waste of time and money to me. I'd rather sell parts in a place that I didn't have to shell out the moolah to get em CARB certified.

[sdtouge]

Originally Posted by UberSpeed

earlier someone said catback exausts are street legal. This is not always true. They may have a CARB number, but if it is above 95db or whatever the cop decides is too loud, then it is still illegal.

catback exhaust dont need a carb number, they do not affect emmsions at all, they must just be under a noise limit wich is probably different through out the states.

[Whisky]

Originally Posted by UberSpeed

earlier someone said catback exausts are street legal. This is not always true. They may have a CARB number, but if it is above 95db or whatever the cop decides is too loud, then it is still illegal.

Yes thats true, but if you read what I wrote...

Originally Posted by Whisky

cat-back exhaust is smog legal because it is after the cat, so it has no emissions equipment

You'll see that I said "smog legal." I've been harassed for both noise and so-called "smog law" "violations" before. I'm always very polite, but I'm not going to back down to a cop over my rights. There are 4 cops (two LAPD, one LASD, and one CHP, got em all covered) that live within 100 yards of me, so I'm used to dealing with them, but if they try to impinge on my rights, they can kiss my...

Besides, turbo cars, ceteris paribus, tend to be quieter than naturally aspirated because of the sound absorbed by the turbo itself.

[Wayne]

Originally Posted by Ghost of Duluth

Hell man, we don't even have emissions tests where I live. 30 mins outside Atlanta they don't have emissions tests. It's the land of no cats and free exhaust. Cars are allowed to breath and everyone is happy. Shoot, if you roll up to the local choke and puke in a Skyline, you are more likely to get stopped so they can check it out cause they have never seen a right hand drive car than you are to get harrassed. Makes me wonder why all the cool sports go to Cali first..... Seems a waste of time and money to me. I'd rather sell parts in a place that I didn't have to shell out the moolah to get em CARB certified.

alright its official i am going to college in ga, is the whole state like this ? or just the "boondock" towns. can i live with you jayPLEASEEEEEEE im sure the misses will love me, i make great fried chicken

[SlidnZC4075]

Originally Posted by Wayne

alright its official i am going to college in ga, is the whole state like this ? or just the "boondock" towns. can i live with you jayPLEASEEEEEEE im sure the misses will love me, i make great fried chicken

Actually...Most of the South-Eastern United States is like this. Just so you aren't too close to any major cities, most people really don't care too much if your car has an engine it's not supposed to have, or if it doesn't pass emissions. In fact, alot of locally owned places don't even really do emissions testing. If they do,alot of the time it's not by emissions testing equipment, but they just listen to how your exhaust sounds. Also, alot of places won't even look under your car to make sure you have a cat unless they have reason to believe that you don't have one.