OK! my heart was broken when I was researching my future t3/t4 bt setup and found out there is no way it will pass smog in CA! I dont want an eliminator setupbut it seems that is the only way to pass the visual smog test in CA. I could take off my BT setup every 2 years for smog, but I am not going to do that. And if a cop see's it i am also screwed! Are there BT setups on the street out there in CA, if so what did you do? Thanks for the help.

 

Can you not pass emissions with a cat welded on the dp? Its not hard to do.

 

yeah, just stick a cat on there. then you'll pass no prob. or get an elim setup and use the stock cat or get a hfc

 

The cat is not the issue. of course i need one but in ca it is illegal to have any turbo modofication. Thats why eliminators work, because you cant see them because they are on the stock manifold. With a Real BT setup it will not pass the visual smog inspection test.

 

If you are ever in San Diego I can get that to pass for you.... EASY.. and only like 50 bucks

 

He is correct. California has just about the most strick laws known to man for aftermarket parts.
You could get away with an eliminator, but its still considered "illegal" in the states because it isn't a CARB certified item.

Every aftermarket part must go through california testing and get acertified CARB tag to be used legally on the streets. So far only a few intake systems such as K&N, and some parts from companies like Edelbrock have CARB certifications. There are NO turbo modifications allowed at this point it time. Even a K04 is illegal, if it were detectable they would fail you in the emmisions visual test.
You would have to completely take apart your car every 2 years and put all the stock componets on the car to earn your registration tags. This is the same reason im contemplating getting an eliminator over a t3/t4 set up myself. Im too damn lazy to do that more than once.......

 

thanks auditech 79, I pm'ed u about this a couple weeks ago and you broke the bad news to me. Thanks for the exact info and laws. Just wanted to c if anyone in cali had made it through the ringer.[&o]

 

is this visual inspection some guy looking under your hood? do they know what the stock turbo looks like?

here's a t3t4 that looks almost stock (Jeff's old a4)

 

dam chaos that is pretty undercover! Auditech79, what do you think? Is Jeff a CA guy? Some smog techs might be smarter than others I guess? I have hope again!

 

yes the visual inspection is a guy looking under the hood, usually for the cat.