Registration: Moving to California

So yeah, I'm at the end of my rope for the location I work at.
Seriously considering moving south, California might be involved.

Anyone know the specifics on how it'd work with my having two vehicles that aren't CARB approved?
(STR Miata w/o any CARB stickers, Engine swapped Subaru Legacy)
And yes, getting rid of one of those is a possibility
I assume that for some period of time I could keep them registered in WA and thus exempt from the ridiculous rules CA has for modified cars?

First question with CA is always - where in CA?

IIRC there are places where you have to get your car smogged annually like the Bay Area or LA, and places in the back of beyond that require one initial smog.

Or you could just aim slightly to the left, move to NV instead and live outside Reno and Vegas. No smog in that case .

The opening I'm looking at in Cali is in Salinas.
And yes I know it'll be expensive to live there vs where I live now.

SnowMongoose wrote: I assume that for some period of time I could keep them registered in WA and thus exempt from the ridiculous rules CA has for modified cars?

Legally, no -- you're required to register a car in CA within 10 days of moving here.

What did you swap into the scooby? If it's just a bigger Subaru engine, it'll probably slide through without being noticed. An LS3 is probably a different story. :)

Salinas is in Monterey County, which requires biannual smog. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/smogfaq

How far from stock is the motor/ECU on the STR Miata?

They'll have to be CARB compliant in order to register them.

I've heard it's possible to get around the visual inspection, but you still have to produce tailpipe emissions within the specs. If you're OBD-II, I expect you have to pass the plug-in test. Even if you manage to get around this, you can very easily get sent to a definitely-can't-be-fooled inspector (I forget the correct name). I do not recommend attempting this.

Sell the Subaru. Revert the Miata to stock or use only parts with valid EO #s.

My commute used to take me over the hills that create the San Fernando Valley. It was always amazing to me to come over the crest and see the layer of smog sitting in the valley. And that's after decades of pollution controls. The rules suck, but the need for them is quite obvious.

(To be honest, the days I could actually see the valley floor and the San Gabriels were the notable ones: the smog is just a constant.)

Scooby has an EJ20 swap, as long as the tech doesn't notice the pair of tiny turbos hanging off the back it'd actually probably burn cleaner than stock.
I assume there aren't exceptions for modifications/swaps that make the car cleaner burning?

Miata has stock ECU, non-CARB approved header and exhaust, rest of the mods are all suspension and presumably a non-issue.
Sourcing and swapping a stock header and exhaust wouldn't even be that hard, every two years

Thankfully (?) neither is OBD-II.

SnowMongoose wrote: Scooby has an EJ20 swap, as long as the tech doesn't notice the pair of tiny turbos hanging off the back it'd actually probably burn cleaner than stock. I assume there aren't exceptions for modifications/swaps that make the car cleaner burning? Miata has stock ECU, non-CARB approved header and exhaust, rest of the mods are all suspension and presumably a non-issue. Sourcing and swapping a stock header and exhaust wouldn't even be that hard, every two years Thankfully (?) neither is OBD-II.

The cat-back exhaust is not an issue, that's not regulated. The header is regulated, but if you can hang a stock heat shield on it it might slip through unnoticed.

There's no exception for better-than-stock. You can do a motor swap legally, but it's a PITA. You need to swap over all of the stock emissions-related components from donor vehicle, which must be newer than the receiving vehicle, and then you need to get it approved by the ref. Probably not worth the effort, but...

In the 25 years I've lived in LA, the air has gotten better even though more and more people move here so the smog rules are working. However, it's still the dirtiest air in the country, supplanted only by Houston, TX on a sporadic basis. There are far fewer Stage 1+ alerts every year. Most days, people mistakenly identify the natural haze present in this basin since prehistoric days as smog. The formulation of smog requires heat so days under 85 degrees or so are just hazy. The Indians used to call this area "Land of the Big Smoke."

More worrisome is the excessive ozone close to the ground where it ages car tires, rubber motor mounts and your lung tissue. So the regs are in place for a reason and that reason, while abated, is not gone. Having said that, your local B.A.R. referee can be impressed with fine quality workmanship and the care you bring to making sure all the smog equipment in your engine swap is as close to original condition and location as possible (exhaust routing and O2 sensor locations for instance). If your swap is clean and all smog equipment present and functioning in in a manner similar to original, they'll usually pass the car. Once you've been passed by a B.A.R. ref, you're good to go with regular biannual smog checks from a normal smog station.

I posted this on another forum. A guy was asking what it would cost him to register his 91 Galant VR4 in California if he waited a year after moving there. Subtract the applicable penalties for being late and this is what you'll have to pay. Also, you'll have to pay for your smog and get a California State license, unless you're military.

I may or may not be joining the march to Cali, but closer to SD. I'd prefer to stay in the desert here, and it may work out that way, but TBD.

My 320i (assuming I ever get it running again - events often seem to transpire against it...) will have this problem, as I switched to carb. Luckily, the last parts car I had I kept the injection system. I'll have to clean everything up to get it working, but at least at some point (there's always hope) I could make it fly in Cali.

I've heard of people printing their own EO stickers or finding other creative ways around it but in general yeah everything here in Cali gets smogged

The "not gonna fool him" guy is called the State Ref.

If the drivetrain in your Subaru is a completely OEM USDM drivetrain of the same age or newer than the chassis, you can actually have it certified as legal by the State Ref.

This guy has a pretty good writeup of his experience getting his swap certified by the State Ref - http://www.performanceforum.com/wesvann/honda/cert/cert.html

Just sell the cars where you are located. I see cars all the time on craiglist in CA that just sit there for months because they are not smoggable. I guess the sellers' thinking is that someone will buy the car due to all of the great work done to it, but it is useless in CA if you cannot register the car. Don't move down here with the 'hope' it will somehow pass. It won't pass CARB and you will be screwed with a car you cannot even park on the street.

Seems like the easy answer is sell the Subaru and put a CARB certified header on the Miata.

In reply to jimbob_racing:

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
That or, you know, buying a car that I actually fit into.

Scoob has a newer engine and trans in it... but from a Japanese Legacy (TT)....
Not helpful.

Sell the Subaru in WA, people around here pay absurd prices for those things.

Jaynen wrote: I've heard of people printing their own EO stickers or finding other creative ways around it but in general yeah everything here in Cali gets smogged

Yeah they killed that, now they enter the EO number on all equipment and confirm that it matches the year make and model of the certification. Not to say you cannot put say a certified header EO sticker on another make of header but if they catch you I have heard the fines are in the five digits.

I read the title of this thread as Resignation moving to California. I feel like I dodged a bullet when my move to California in the early nineties failed. It would take one heck of a paycheck with stability to make me want to move back to the PRC.

Good luck.

SnowMongoose wrote: In reply to jimbob_racing: Yeah, that's what I was thinking. That or, you know, buying a car that I actually fit into. Scoob has a newer engine and trans in it... but from a Japanese Legacy (TT).... Not helpful.

Now that this has been established, tell us about your scooby! Enquiring wallets want to know.

In reply to singleslammer:

94 Postal (RHD) Legacy with an EJ20R (TT) + 5-speed tossed in.
Swap is not yet complete.

wearymicrobe wrote:

Jaynen wrote: I've heard of people printing their own EO stickers or finding other creative ways around it but in general yeah everything here in Cali gets smogged

Yeah they killed that, now they enter the EO number on all equipment and confirm that it matches the year make and model of the certification. Not to say you cannot put say a certified header EO sticker on another make of header but if they catch you I have heard the fines are in the five digits.

Yeah thats what I meant IE put a header EO on your header that just isnt one with the carb eo, given how cheap miata headers are just buying a used one with an EO seems cheapest option or as mentioned sell the cars before you move

Makes me glad I live in Indiana. I think if I lived in CA, I might just give up on modding cars and stick to bikes. Too much of a pain in the bunghole.

Salinas eh? I'm living like 15 mins over near Monterey! Sadly I sold my lightly modded Subaru 2.5RS when I left MA for CA 2 years ago (and have regretted it ever since). No name unequal length headers, high flow cats, oh so constant CEL for cat converter efficiency haha.

There's no legal way to get that swapped car smogged unless it's a USDM EJ205 etc... and has ALL the USDM emissions equipment. Considering the rolling piles of garbage belching smoke on the road out here with valid tags, there are definitely sketchier ways (bribe a smog shop, just find a lazy place that doesn't do a visual, or get the car "stock looking" if pre OBD2 car and find a place that just does a cursory look) Worse comes to worse, befriend someone with a miata of similar generation, and swap stock stuff over for smog and then register it? At least that's one easy way past that. I definitely miss MA when it comes to modding older cars, I can't wait to move back. Also, I have a somewhat fugly/rusty exhaust manifold and downpipe if you need to swap taking up room at my place.

Pumped the brakes on the move, biting the bullet and doing some cross-training at work (and finishing out my lease) before I get out of town.

We'll see if any spots in that region are open come July, and if I can really handle such a jump in living expenses.
(I share a 2br, 2ba, 1 car garage half-duplex with a lawn, rent plus utilities is ~550/mo each... rent down there is terrifying!)

Thanks for the input y'all.