CARB requirement - STX Setup
 

Hello good people of SoCal. I may be moving to Anaheim soon and currently i have a STX car tuned by Drift Office here in the PNW. For those of you guys who drives a STX 86 in SoCal, what are requirements to pass CARB? I currently have a Motiv HFC, Perrin CB/OP and Gruppe-S UEL Catless header along with the tune.

any advice or input is appreciated.

You have to have stock header and stock front pipe to pass smog/CARB, then you can do w/e after that

So how do SoCal people do it to compete? Do people put on stock header/front pipe just for smog/CARB and take it off after?

Pretty much. There is another options but it takes knowing people and $$$. Usually not worth it unless FI or swapped.

People who have bought the car new or had it transferred without needing a smog test have 8 years from the date of initial purchase before needing a smog, someone who bought in May 2012 are good until May 2020, after that it's every 2 years.

Edit: cars brought in from out of state must be smogged and the two year clock starts then in perpetuity per current laws.

If you decide to play the parts swap game make sure you flash the stock tune a few days beforehand and drive the car enough to clear and reset all the emissions monitors. There might be a way to shortcut it but from what I've seen there's not much you can do to avoid driving the car 50-100 miles after it's been 'fixed'

With CARB you can modify anything after the cat. Because you are out of state it will require an inspection+smog. Best thing is to swap back to stock and then switch back after you pass smog. Rinse and repeat every 2 years. At least you will have access to e85 now :burnrubber:

You got to know that Chinese or Vietnamese

Can't because STX rules.

so are you saying i dont need a smog/carb test if i purchased my vehicle in 2014 new, even if its out of state?

To register a out of state car in CA, you need to do a Smog and Inspection. Header will need to be removed, Cat in OE location and Flash back to stock. Cat-back is OK.

Sorry, @JDMChris is correct, out of state cars have to be smogged when being registered in state. My bad for not being clearer on that point.

Thanks for the clarification. so after that its every 2 years? or is it because my vehicle is only 4 years old, so i won't have to do anything until 2022? Thanks again for the help.

Good question, and I can't find a detailed answer, however this suggests that after initial registration the car would fall under the 'new car' rule and yes, you'd be exempt until 2022, but I may be wrong. Note it says 6 years but a law passed last year changed it to 8.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/smogfaq

I am pretty sure you will be every 2 years after that.