show me the ticket


did he send you to a referee or suggested it ? the ticket will be clear

state referee is a government sanctioned place (usually a college auto class) that will know everything illegal on your car ....which will be anything without a CARB stamp on it , any gauges , controllers ...anything that splices into the oem wiring.

short and sweet if you got a state referee mandate you need to stock it out completely , anything short of that will result in a FAIL .... and the next time you get pulled over it will get impounded since it's operating illegally.


no way around it man .....they will catch everything.


the good news ....you can always put the shit back on after u pass and start the cycle again. that happened to me in 2011 or so ..... i just parted it since the motor was on its last licks..... and sold it .



OC and especially South OC is brutal about this shit



in b4 part out thread



p.s. first visual inspection ...... until you pass that they wont even bother hooking up the obd2 and put it on the rollers to see if it pollutes beyond whats acceptable

For LJ, New cali cars don't have to smog for 5 years so he still has years.

Ton of custom cars in socal. It's a huge culture down here from desert trucks to lifted to imports. You can visually see a lot of infractions every day just on the highway. Too lifted, no flaps, tint, no front plates, tires poking, too loud, tinted tails, loud systems, no tags, loud exhausts. It's not an overly hostile environment because it is a big culture.

This guy invoked something in the cop and I don't think we have the full story. We have the typical I was being a saint story. something doesn't quite add up or he just got the 1 out of 100 ahole cop.

new cars dont smog in cali for 6 years ...and every 2 years after the 6th

LOL, that sounds like the best option honestly...

Just to clarify to everyone...the state referee is RECOMMENDED and not required, meaning I don't have to go to them. I say this because as the cop suggested going to the state ref in his opinion, he gave me a court date right there and then. May 15th

As this may seem to be the only option, the way I look at it is this way:
1) For the tint, I would remove it, no way getting around it. Thats fine with me

2) For the exhaust: Why can't I go to court and state that a DB meter was not present when I got pulled over. How can they justify that i'm breaking a noise law?

3) As for the Air pollution control device req: If I go get my car smogged (and pass whether with or without my catted long dp - I would change it out as needed) then what's the problem? If i'm not polluting through my exhaust given the smog is certified, ect., then why stock out?

My car is completely 100% stock exterior wise besides JBR mudflaps and light dark tint on my tai lights. I will post pictures of my engine and car soon when I upload them from my phone.


I recently talked to my neighbor, who happens to be the OC Sheriff. His advice to me is as follows: Exhaust wise, there was no DB meter present, so there is no proof to show my exhaust is breaking the law..noise wise. Yea, my exhaust is loud, but so what. There's no real proof it, but I don't know...I may be pushing my luck with that one. As for the Air pollution device req., he proceeded to tell me that he didn't know what that was, but it sounded logical to him to take my car to get smogged, pass smog, and then show proof in court

I also got a letter in the mail from the court stating that the officer WILL NOT be present on the court date I was given

BTW, thank you for all the advice and support. This truly sucks :worried:

I know it may sound like I was doing something wrong to provoke the cop, but believe me, I just happen to get unlucky. I also think this because I pulled off on Avery Parkway from the 5 south freeway. Ive to that area countless times about 3 times a week for school when I attended Saddleback College last year. I also daily my car to Irvine Valley College (12 miles away from Avery Parkway) and never had a problem. I know better to not go WOT down that area or cause attention haha

Pics of the car the way it sits now, including a photo of what it looks like looking into my driver side window (Officer's view)

Exterior looks mellow to me. Looks like you just got that one ahole cop. Sorry.

Stock it out, go to ref, profit.

show me the citation , does it have a white sticker on the back ? if he suggested it and didnt actually cite you for it u should have sucked him off .... but technically he can impound your vehicle . if you were cited for it then u will have no options .


sounds like u got lucky

Here is the ticket he printed out front and backside along with the court letter I got in the mail 2 days ago. Sorry if the pics aren't right side up

Edit: also got written up for no proof of insurance. Couldn't find it in the heat of the moment. Ended up finding it all the way in the back of my glove department

I see the white sticker... the only option is to stock out and take it to the state ref. That means everything needs to be stock!

Mandated ref. Gross.

Just saw this. Thanks for the offer! I have every single part/parts that came off the car during my mod adventure

Well, I hope you like it dry, you're about to get fooked.

The cops exact words: "What I would do is go to the state referee. If you can prove me wrong about your modifications, great. They're the guys that will decide that." Then he told me my court date, and ended his rant with me

This isn't looking good for me. I don't know why he didn't mention I have to go to the state ref. He made it sound like an option if its true according to the sticker that I have to go regardless

This is one of the biggest reasons I decided to go with a CS TMIC, I can use the stock shroud and they can't say much about my CS CARB approved intake if I was ever to get asked to pop my hood (Which I wouldn't let happen unless they had a warrant to search my vehicle)

Another thing I've learned in CA is don't tint the car and don't put any stickers on your windows especially of performance part brands, you want to look like a regular 3 in their eyes driving around...

white sticker pal...u arent skating off this one..... stock out or u will get it impounded next time u get pulled over.

theres no getting away from this. sooner u accept it the sooner u can mod it back up after u pass smog and inspection

and im telling u because i unlike the rest of the people here have been through it ..... thats why i asked u if you had the white sticker .... i wasnt guessing .

Also, make sure all of your sensors are checked in. You'll need a scan tool for that. CA will fail if a single sensor bank isn't checked in.

If you are going to mod in Cali keep it a a sleeper. Im in OC as well and have seen bike cops go out of there way to harass people with tint on the fronts. I have been successful with 50% on the fronts for 7 years. I also keep the wheels moderate if I swap them and the exhaust quite(even if aftermarket).

The car that seemed to get me the most attention was my maxima. lowered, dark, tint, and exhaust(amongst other things). This seems to be a bad combo.

My 65 fastback was at least twice as loud and certainly faster. If memory serves, I did not get a single ticket in that car even though I drove it far crazier(first car). I did get pulled over a couple of times and told nice car, but at worst I recieved a verbal warning.

The tint and loud exhaust are going to make this a hard case for you. Definitely not a bad stop and Im sure enough for probable cause. My advice would be try your luck in court, see if you can push out the date. Chances are at some point the officer wont show and you can get this reduced or dismissed. Good luck.

Edit:

Just saw the ticket. Yea, youre f'd on this one. Stock out and get it ref'd you can probably get away with most of your mods afterwards, I would just ditch the catback and lighten up the tint on the fronts.

Wow, definitely not ready to accept I have to stock out, but I guess I have to :worried:...Thanks for all the advice and input. Does the smog have to take place at the ref or can I take it anywhere? I ask because my good friend owns a smog shop not far away from where I live

Has to be referee only.

State referee only , there's a number u call for locations .

Move to Texas. Lots of spanish rice out here, and no hood poppin.

That sounds so extreme to me. Good luck, and I doubt a lawyer will help in your situation.

Move to FL, it's a lot like California but less gay.

That does suck though.

Here's what you do, go to court and tell them the tranny blew and the car is undriveable and can not be taken to the ref. you should just have to pay a fine at that point.

Worst. Idea. Ever.

Sounds to me like he may be a whiney Honda fanboy that can't hang with the big dogs so he takes it out on you. Not your fault his car sounds like a hive of angry bees and not an angry large bodied mammal.

But in actuality, I'd get legal representation.

I'm gonna completely stock out, get it cleared by the state ref, then throw everything back on and finally contribute to the 100% E85 thread.

As much as I would love to fight it and prove them wrong, I don't think it's worth it to go through the trouble of lying to them/getting legal help

I got reffed a couple years ago.

Sheriff pulled me over for no front plate, but really was pulling me over for my mods.

We chatted for a bit. I asked if he was one of the "drag net" sheriffs and oddly enough, he was one of a few that got the training for the local department. Showed me his records binder and diagrams. Popped my hood and pointed out my vented hks, CPE nano and front mount piping.

Got a ref ticket. Stocked out. Got sniff tested. Passed and moved on with my life. I did have to go to court for it. I had to pay a modified emissions fine. It was less than 200 iirc. Judge almost threw it out until he realized it wasnt a fix it ticket.

I got caught. Its California. You know the rules. You pay to play. Sheriff and I chatted about it. He was pretty cool about it all. Commented that my car looked nice. At the end of the day hes got a job to do.

Dont give yourself an excuse to get pulled over. Get a front plate. Roll your front windows down if youre tinted. Dont drive like a dick.

I don't have a front license plate, but maybe I should get one after hearing that haha

I always drive with my windows down. When the cop pulled me over my fronts were completely down and my back windows were barely up

my car is fully bolted too and with the same ARK CBE. sucka is pretty loud. I don't have front window tints and have license plates in front. As long as they don't have a reason for you to get pulled over, you should be fine. Been pulled over many times for speeding... thank God that they never question me about my mods hahaha.

If you get pulled over... turn off the car right away, roll the windows down, put the keys on the dash, and put your hands where they can see it.

I thought aftermarket tmic/fmic is legal here in Cali?

1. I'm stationed in VA
2. My car is registered in FL
3. Everything on car is legal in FL and we don't have to do emissions...
4. ?????????
5. Profit

Prove them wrong about whaT? The law doesn't say you can't make your emissions worse. It says that you can't modify your car unless they are carb approved parts.

Anything that alters the entering or exiting of air without carb approval is illegal. When I got reffed I went so far as to disconnect my boost gauage vacuum line. Didn't want to risk failing visual.

Put a few torx bolts in the hood and claim that the hood can only be opened by the dealer.

Almost all the posts I see that involve cops and mods are from California.

I guess you guys are stuck having to buy CARB only approved parts to be safe.

Sorry to hear this horrid news OP. Good luck to you sir!

Note to MSF: Never EVER hold a Epic meet in Cali. That would be a cops wet dream.

I don't think one gives a shit about Cali regulations if the car is registered elsewhere?

I honestly am not sure, but they sure could give us a hard time just to be a pain. Unless there is some other law in Cali.

Do you have to pay anything to get it passed w/ referee, some processing fees or anything like that?

If it's out of state they aren't going to shake you down unless your are breaking laws.

Yes. I think it was less than 20 bucks. Its been a few years.

I think if you are visiting from out of state and car is register in your home state they can't do much. Now if you moved to Cali from out of state, you have technically 10 days to smog and register your car if I remember correctly.

Edit: but you can still get ticketed for speeding, reckless driving or any of dumb shit you do

I've also noticed and seen more issues in so cal than up here in nor cal but I'm sure it's just as bad