Modding your car and the law

[whataboutbob]

Originally Posted by jstans84

I guess not being from that state all I see is the negatives. I honestly can't name one good thing about that state.

No humidity or mosquitoes. What about GA? :happy0180:

[clayrush]

My job pays much better on average here compared to other states. Even accounting for shitty housing costs. Outside some self absorbed and a few retarded people, I love it. I love pretty much having only 2 seasons. Fall and spring. And like blaine said. Drive a couple of hours and you will find so many different things to do. All sorts of food. A lot of car shops / tuners. And where I live 30 min away from Sonoma raceway 90 from laguna and 90 from thunder hill.

[jstans84]

Originally Posted by whataboutbob

No humidity or mosquitoes. What about GA? :happy0180:

We can do whatever we want to our cars and cops don't give two shits. Zero smog checks. We can own basically whatever gun we want. Fewer hippies. Fewer people of a certain political group. You can concealed carry a firearm. No giant wildfires that destroy houses every year. And the list goes on and on.

[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by whataboutbob

No humidity or mosquitoes. What about GA? :happy0180:

LOL!!!

Originally Posted by jstans84

We can do whatever we want to our cars and cops don't give two shits. Zero smog checks. We can own basically whatever gun we want. Fewer hippies. Fewer people of a certain political group. You can concealed carry a firearm. No giant wildfires that destroy houses every year. And the list goes on and on.

I've lived back east (maryland) as well as texas. There are cool aspects to both, but for your small paragraph of "problems" I can give you a book as to why I would think twice about living there again. There are so many fun parts of living on the east coast, but having lived in both, California offers the most variety....as mentioned, usually within a couple hour drive!

Don't get me wrong, Cali has it's problems, but most can be avoided. I have never worried about smog on any of my cars, all heavily modified (I can provide mod lists if you like. Two carb'd 84 mustangs and two 03 cobras). There is always a nice smog guy that wants a "bonus" that takes care of that. Wild fires that do a lot of damage are few and far between. I'm 31 years old and only know of two major ones that actually destroyed more than a couple houses (I could be wrong on this, but I do receive news feeds to my phone, so I don't think I missed any.) As far as guns, who cares? My uncle has a couple fun guns that will do plenty of damage if the need arises.

Everybody always points out California smog laws as their first arguments. It is actually crazy how easy these are to get around. As of this year, as far as I am aware, the whole check is done by the OBDII port to make sure all systems are functioning. I think they are doing away with the actual sniffer part of the test.

The biggest and only problem I have with California is cost of living. But, hey....you gotta pay for paradise :happy0180:

[strat61caster]

-Jobs, last I checked California was the 8th largest economy in the world
-Technology, Silicon Valley is still a thing until Google gets everyone connected, big driver for the above and will be relevant for a long time to come (don't forget Tesla, SpaceX and all the older government stuff like Boeing and Lockheed)
-Education, some of the best schools in the world are here and are still relatively affordable for residents; UCB, UCLA, Stanford, USC are all world famous (so are some others but I won't bother listing a bunch)
-Land, holy fuck, beaches, mountains, plains, forests, lakes, Yosemite, Tahoe, Shasta, some of the best outdoorsing you can do: camping, hiking, fishing, boating, skiing, snowboarding, surfing, sailing, white water rafting, rock climbing, bicycling, etc.
-Racetracks, Laguna Seca, Sonoma and Auto Club Speedway (Fontana) all host national/international events, not to mention tracks like Thunder Hill, Willow Springs, and countless dirt tracks (nothing like seeing 410 sprint cars on a 1/4 mile track )
-Driving Roads: Highway 1 is world famous, not to mention the lesser knowns along the coast and in the Sierras and Cascades
-Classic cars: if you want a rust free car you're probably looking for a California car (or Nevada/Arizona/New Mexico, but those are fewer, lower population)
-Cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the smaller ones like Santa Cruz/Monterey, are all absolutely lovely and historical tourist attractions
-Like alcohol? Some of the best in the world is made in Napa Valley (oh I just found out recently you can't buy alcohol in grocery stores in other states, what gives with that? You guys are deprived of 24 hour grocery stores for one last load of beer and necessary munchies (it's-it's bar anybody?))
-Like music? California has produced a handful of notables for every popular genre going back over 5 decades, not to mention current attractions like Coachella
-Disneyland?
-I guess sports like the ones with sticks and balls, idk
-Aforementioned things like Mexican food that I completely take for granted
-Yup our government is a bit nosier than some would like, but without it LA would be a toxic barren wasteland (no joke, it hurt to breath on a bad day there in the 70's), I've never felt the need to own a gun, and my tax money goes to stuff like education and roads.

It's got it's flaws but if you've got a job paying a living wage it's hard to see the downsides. Certainly if the right bait came along I would jump to leave (dream job, family, permanent vacation etc.) but it's pretty damn nice here.

P.S. the weather really is that great: this was taken in the middle of January, I believe it was a balmy 60 degrees.

I'm sure other states have their pro's and con's just like we do, but damn do I feel blessed.
Cheers!
:happy0180:

[djmodernroq]

Originally Posted by whaap

LOL. I lived in San Diego for 15 years. The Mexican food is pretty good over here in Arizona too.

Let me add to this, not only the mexican food but the fine chicks in south cal

[whaap]

Originally Posted by djmodernroq

Let me add to this, not only the mexican food but the fine chicks in south cal

LOL. Yep, you got me there. Damn!!

[tmcmullins]

If I get the TRD intake and exhaust then get the ecu flashed could I still pass CA smog?

[Tim_Asphalt_FRS]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

-Jobs, last I checked California was the 8th largest economy in the world

You last checked long ago. CA has one if the highest unemployment rates in the country. I don't think we're even in the top 10 anymore.

You forgot:
-high taxes
-burdensome, annoying, useless regulation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Tim_Asphalt_FRS

You last checked long ago. CA has one if the highest unemployment rates in the country. I don't think we're even in the top 10 anymore.

You forgot:
-high taxes
-burdensome, annoying, useless regulation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You're right, we're 12th now.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_California"]Economy of California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

I'm very happy to pay my taxes, I wouldn't be where I am today (being capable of affording this car) without 17 years of public education and all the transportation, parks, facilities, and events the state has provided me. What burdensome regulations are you referring to in particular? When it comes to cars and smog, it's for a good reason I think, the air was literally poisoning people before serious vehicle regulation began occurring.

http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_fo...tos-31321.html
http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/Archives/H.../marchcov.html

Greatest thing about America? Don't like your neighbors/government? Move! Fuck yeah diversity! Can't? Well then vote and cause a stir! Squeaky wheel gets the grease and all that.
:happy0180:

[BlaineWasHere]

Originally Posted by suaveflooder

As of this year, as far as I am aware, the whole check is done by the OBDII port to make sure all systems are functioning. I think they are doing away with the actual sniffer part of the test.

This is true, and will make passing smog way easier

[Sonolin]

Originally Posted by BlaineWasHere

This is true, and will make passing smog way easier

I don't understand this.... from what I understand can't you just get a tune to pass smog once that goes into effect? Why would CARB make it even easier to pass smog?

Or does it really save that much time/money that they don't really care?

Another reason to not bend over and give it up to the $$CARB$$ nazis, I guess...

[BlaineWasHere]

Originally Posted by Sonolin

I don't understand this.... from what I understand can't you just get a tune to pass smog once that goes into effect? Why would CARB make it even easier to pass smog?

Or does it really save that much time/money that they don't really care?

Another reason to not bend over and give it up to the $$CARB$$ nazis, I guess...

Boom.

[naikaidriver]

Sometimes I really do love living in Alabama!

If I felt so inclined, I could install an F/A-18 engine in my FRS, power it with rocket fuel, lubricate it with the blood from newborn kittens and it would be all good here.

Scott