California Will Start Testing for ECU Tunes During Smog Checks Starting Next Week

[LargeOrangeFont]

If you swapped ECU's when you put the original back in would the mileage shown on odometer be whatever was on the original ECU when pulled?

Usually that is in the cluster, or the other body computer, but depends on the car.

 

[941Punk]

But the weather!

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Are there any cons to having a Montana LLC as long as you have your insurance set up correctly?

CA will start going after them next. I'm actually suprised that there are not more expensive cars with Montana plates on them.. However those may just be the cars that they don't put the plates on anyway...

Other states are going after the Montana LLC thing hard. Georgia is one of them.

 

[Bigbore500r]

If you swapped ECU's when you put the original back in would the mileage shown on odometer be whatever was on the original ECU when pulled?

Depends on the vehicle. Most GM stuff stores the mileage in the cluster only thru around 2008. After that, i believe the BCM (body control module) stores it and cluster must be flashed to match. Not sure about recent ECU’s but I know stuff up thru 2013 does not store mileage in the actual ECU or TCU

 

[Taboma]

smog techs are supposed to check those stickers and numbers against the database to find out if they are approved for the vehicle they are on as well. time consuming and most techs wouldnt do it years ago. the enforcement and crackdown on the techs not doing shit by the book has made it to where they just wont smog it if its not stock. (a tech caught clean piping or falsifying a smog check faces fines, loss of smog lic and jail time these days) i had a test and repair smog lice for many years but got out of the industry.

First two shops I went to after jumping through everybody's hoops, took one look and said, NOPE. Took me a few tries to find a STAR station with a couple of good ole boy "Car Guy's" who appreciate American muscle. Just hope they stay in the game.

 

[attitude]

CA will start going after them next. I'm actually suprised that there are not more expensive cars with Montana plates on them.. However those may just be the cars that they don't put the plates on anyway...

Any rumors on how they are going to do that? Will they require every out of state employer who does work in CA to smog their vehicles even if they aren’t registered in CA?

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Any rumors on how they are going to do that? Will they require every out of state employer who does work in CA to smog their vehicles even if they aren’t registered in CA?

I would look at how they are doing it in Georgia. The will probably focus on high end stuff first - the low hanging fruit. Again, I have not heard anything that they WILL do this in CA, but can only imagine it is coming.

 

[530RL]

Are there any cons to having a Montana LLC as long as you have your insurance set up correctly?

Any rumors on how they are going to do that? Will they require every out of state employer who does work in CA to smog their vehicles even if they aren’t registered in CA?

At least in Arizona, it has little to do with emissions but tax revenue. Anyone can get out of emissions in Arizona by registering the vehicle in an emissions exempt County. No one seems to care about that.

With a Montana LLC one can evade the requirement to pay sales tax as well as evade annual registration and value taxes on a vehicle owned and kept in Arizona.

Arizona is working hard and visits car gatherings like Cars and Coffee and other show events looking for Montana plates and other known states where people use such schemes to evade registration and taxes on vehicles. I was busted early in the process where they just sent the nice letter suggesting I register it in Arizona. Others who ignored the letter ended up paying big fines in the thousands of dollars as well as back registration and value taxes for multiple years on multiple vehicles.

In California, you can even report your neighbors Montana registered cars online........ :0

California Highway Patrol Registration Enforcement and Guidance (CHP REG) Program

www.chp.ca.gov

 

[$hot]

Keep fucking around and I will register all of my vehicles in Arizona.

Change your legislation not your registration

 

[attitude]

At least in Arizona, it has little to do with emissions but tax revenue. Anyone can get out of emissions in Arizona by registering the vehicle in an emissions exempt County. No one seems to care about that.

With a Montana LLC one can evade the requirement to pay sales tax as well as evade annual registration and value taxes on a vehicle owned and kept in Arizona.

Arizona is working hard and visits car gatherings like Cars and Coffee and other show events looking for Montana plates and other known states where people use such schemes to evade registration and taxes on vehicles. I was busted early in the process where they just sent the nice letter suggesting I register it in Arizona. Others who ignored the letter ended up paying big fines in the thousands of dollars as well as back registration and value taxes for multiple years on multiple vehicles.

That’s not good, I understand the sales tax side but I don’t buy enough vehicles let alone high end vehicles to make it worth while. I’m more worried about smog exemption.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

That’s not good, I understand the sales tax side but I don’t buy enough vehicles let alone high end vehicles to make it worth while. I’m more worried about smog exemption.

Better off buying a small, cheap piece of property in a smog exempt area of CA..

 

[attitude]

Better off buying a small, cheap piece of property in a smog exempt area of CA..

What about a PO Box?

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

What about a PO Box?

Youd need one that “appeared” as a physical address at a minimum. I’m not up on all of the ins and out of using the PO Box. Obviously if they find out it is a PO Box they know you aren’t storing the car IN the PO Box

 

[530RL]

That’s not good, I understand the sales tax side but I don’t buy enough vehicles let alone high end vehicles to make it worth while. I’m more worried about smog exemption.

In smog testing requirement areas, Arizona has a smog exemption for cars that have "collector car" policies on them. That is how I get my 76 Jeep around smog requirements

Most of the smog problems are with 60's and 70's stuff that simply will not pass. So you can get around them by registering out of County or with a collector car policy.

In Arizona to date, you can put after market exhaust and intake stuff on as well as change pulley size on superchargers and stuff like that as long as it does not throw a code and all your emissions equipment remains. Might change in the future but pretty easy right now.

Obviously the diesel delete stuff is not kosher in a smog area. Outside of smog areas it is illegal but no one checks.

 

[attitude]

Youd need one that “appeared” as a physical address at a minimum. I’m not up on all of the ins and out of using the PO Box. Obviously if they find out it is a PO Box they know you aren’t storing the car IN the PO Box

All my GFs cars have been registered to her PO Box with no issues, even her drivers license shows that address. I assume if the PO Box happens to be in a smog exempt county it would throw a red flag though.

 

[attitude]

In smog testing requirement areas, Arizona has a smog exemption for cars that have "collector car" policies on them. That is how I get my 76 Jeep around smog requirements

Most of the smog problems are with 60's and 70's stuff that simply will not pass. So you can get around them by registering out of County or with a collector car policy.

In Arizona to date, you can put after market exhaust and intake stuff on as well as change pulley size on superchargers and stuff like that as long as it does not throw a code and all your emissions equipment remains. Might change in the future but pretty easy right now.

Obviously the diesel delete stuff is not kosher in a smog area. Outside of smog areas it is illegal but no one checks.

View attachment 1025850

Interesting, thank you for the info. I know one down side to AZ is the undercover cops though, I would move there do a bunch of mods and then get popped for 150 in a 65 lol.

 

[530RL]

This just hit my inbox from SEMA

California Smog Inspectors to Check for Illegally Tuned Vehicles

Beginning July 19, California’s Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) will fail motor vehicles during their biennial “smog check” inspection if they are found to have software modifications not provided by the original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) or approved through a California Air Resources Board...

www.sema.org

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

All my GFs cars have been registered to her PO Box with no issues, even her drivers license shows that address. I assume if the PO Box happens to be in a smog exempt county it would through a red flag though.

Worst you can do is try.. DMV is so backed up, they may not even notice. It took 5 extra months to get the title to my truck (paid off in Jan). It magically got created and sent the same day the title for my trailer was created.. sent the same day, and arrived the same day.

 

[DoughBallin14]

I am still skeptical that the new system can pickup changes in parameters, that are never hit during the smog test
i.e - it sits there at idle and is scanned.

Whats it gonna measure? Grams of airflow at idle?
The 02 sensors will sit there and switch at Stoich as designed, tune or not.

I think the problem comes in when you segment swap ECM's or run calibrations that screw with the OS and leave an imprint.

I guess we'll see - who here has a GM vehicle running factory ECM, that has been tuned with HP Tuners or EFI LIve?

Will be interesting to see what happens on my next smog. my 2008 duramax has been running unfiltered tuned since 2008 and always passed smog as long as my efi live dsp5 was on the stock tune, never even reinstalled parts for the test. Smog guy does it legit and plugs in the obd2 port also from his machine.
Last smog was june 2021 no problems.

 

[Bigbore500r]

Will be interesting to see what happens on my next smog. my 2008 duramax has been running unfiltered tuned since 2008 and always passed smog as long as my efi live dsp5 was on the stock tune, never even reinstalled parts for the test. Smog guy does it legit and plugs in the obd2 port also from his machine.
Last smog was june 2021 no problems.

That would be a good test, let me know!

 

[Bowtiepower00]

I always wonder if people who travel to CA for the first time, get here and see all the trash on the highways and think "wow, what sh*t-hole".

I've been to 3rd world countries that have cleaner highways!

Yes, we do.

 

[MrHooly]

In California, you can even report your neighbors Montana registered cars online........ :0

... hopefully my neighbors don't secretly hate me and do this to me. I have my RV, truck, and Vette all registered the Montana LLC way, however I mainly did this for the permanent tags (anything 11+ years old) and because of the headers on the Z06. All three vehicles were paid off and had California sales tax paid at the time of purchase. It's to my understanding that law enforcement is mainly targeting newer high end cars and RV's for the ones that are avoiding sales tax, but it sounds like I won't be safe for much longer :/ I've yet to get pulled over in any of them but I'm sure the CA license/address will raise questions. Oddly enough, AAA didn't care one bit as far as insurance goes.