Smog Check in CA

Just wanted to share with you my experiences with trying to get a smog done and finally getting it done.

I had to go to 5 different places before I got a smog shop to say ok to smog my car.....this whole experience is very frustrating since my car has only bolt on mods.

The first place could not do it since he could not clamp down on my hose for the gas since its steel braided.

Second place I went to did not have a floor dyno since it was up on stands.

Third place did not want to do it since he looked lost and they were all touching the car and leaning on my intake.....

I hate it when people put their dirty ass hands on the car and all over where they don't need to be touching!

Fourth place did not want to do the car without seeing a CARB sticker for the Gruppe M intake.....so they referred me to the fifth and final place.

The fifth place finally did it and the only thing that came out of it that was bad was that the hose clamp could not be put back on the line or at least we tried to. Instead we put the hose back on without it and zip tied it for now until I can take it to Jon.

I can understand why people are hesitant to go turbo or anything that does not have CARB approved stickers......

I think there should be a sticky for NSX smog friendly and NSX experienced shops.

I gave the guy an extra 20 bucks just because he passed me and which I did pass emissions with no problems.

All these other smog guys got all scared because of my engine being dressed up.

Most of them never even seen an NSX and didn't know what the car was....all they knew that it was some kind of exotic looking car.

My car has I/H/E, BBTB, Gruppe M intake with steel braided lines and polished parts.

Unless someone who knows a hook up smog shop I would be hesitant on going turbo now just because of this whole ordeal......a comptech supercharger or 3.8L stroker is starting to look a lot better to me now......instead of going through all this hassle.

If anyone is looking for a smog shop in the Long Beach area then PM me...I can refer you to the one I went to.

Oops I meant to put this in the so cal section so feel free to move it.

Good to hear that you got through the ordeal. :smile: I understand how you feel since I have gone through that with another car. When I got my NSX I told myself that I will only put CARB legal headers on it. I have Hi Flow cats but will probably swap those out for the smog cert. I don't want to fail the visual which can show up on the carfax.

I agree that for us CA people, a list of NSX friendly smog stations would be an asset to the community. I know of a couple in my town. Its nice to know that they have seen a NSX before.

I experienced almost the exact issues last month up here in Sacramento with my NSX.

Three smog centers turned me away- the fourth shop failed me for emissions.

Ran the cats really hot, did not turn engine off, and with the help of a fuel additive ("Guaranteed To Pass"), my second attempt passed.

What a P.I.T.A. :frown:

Good to hear you finally got it passed.

Harbor Smog in Costa Mesa.. :wink:

Gary @ ACE Smog)
1501 E. Edinger Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92705
(714) 953-1623

I went through ~3 shops before being referred to Gary through CDUB. Gary is very friendly, no BS because it's an NSX. I am usually done within 40 min and on my way.

Thanks for chiming in guys....too bad I would have known about these shops earlier....it would have saved me a lot of time and headache.

If the moderator can make a NSX experienced smog shop section for socal that would be great.

I went to RC HI TECH smog at

1727 Cherry Ave,
Long Beach, CA 90813

Mon-Fri 8:30am-6:00pm
Sat 9:00am- 4:00pm

562-591-2049

Ironically, I went through the trouble to get all CARB parts for my car and my local smog shop just ran the car and didn't ask or look at the engine bay. Although I failed the first try, I got a free retest on a warmer day and passed. Even after my initial fail, he didn't fail me because of the supercharger. But I know what you mean by the large variation in shops. I have seen shops fail people because of aftermarket air filters, even if the rest of the car is stock. Most smart shops will run the car, collect the money, then make recommendations if it fails.

This is a good thread for a "Sticky" :smile:

I definitely know how you feel. Been there, done that (with too many other cars). It's just not worth having things that are not CARB certified. Sometimes it's not even worth having CARB products because you know you're risking getting hassled. Afterall... seriously, we're talking small incremental gains in HP but still having to go through the trouble of passing visual inspection (except CTSCs of course). I totally feel you on this headache. My "other" car was made in 1966 therefore smog exempt! ha!

So far i'm still fairly OEM since i'm switching to 2004 headers and high flow cats (hope I don't get hassled for this).

Also, hope this gets moved to the socal forum. I'm gonna need that Smog shop list soon enough.

ryu said:

I definitely know how you feel. Been there, done that (with too many other cars). It's just not worth having things that are not CARB certified. Sometimes it's not even worth having CARB products because you know you're risking getting hassled. Afterall... seriously, we're talking small incremental gains in HP but still having to go through the trouble of passing visual inspection (except CTSCs of course). I totally feel you on this headache. My "other" car was made in 1966 therefore smog exempt! ha!

So far i'm still fairly OEM since i'm switching to 2004 headers and high flow cats (hope I don't get hassled for this).

Also, hope this gets moved to the socal forum. I'm gonna need that Smog shop list soon enough.

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The 04 headers are no problem, but the HF cats depend on the person doing the smog...unless they are the CARB approved ones.

Big_D said:

The 04 headers are no problem, but the HF cats depend on the person doing the smog...unless they are the CARB approved ones.

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agreed. i'm taking some risk on this one :redface:

i'm purely doing it for the sound improvement while knowing this is much better than going with test pipes

ryu said:

agreed. i'm taking some risk on this one :redface:

i'm purely doing it for the sound improvement while knowing this is much better than going with test pipes

Click to expand...

I have the ProSpeed cats as well. Hopefully my smog guy doesn't notice or I'll have to swap them out for the test.

I got mine in Bellflower, right across the street from the DMV (directly across).

I thought we were off to a bad start when the guy said "We've never smogged a Lambo before"

In the end, they didn't touch it very much although the owner's son (who also works there) sat in it with him arm hanging out the window while he revved the engine. I know how I felt when I sat in a sporty car when I was his age so I just smiled and let him be, even though he was smooshing the rubber along the window sill.

The engine was not much dressed (but no air box) but I don't think that shop will make a big fuss about it should it be the next time. I say this because I used to take my other cars there that weren't exactly...by the book...let's say.

That was the hardest part about living in california. I had to go back door places and tip them to pass.

Now that i am registered in Florida (Military) and live in Virginia i am much better off.

Test only center that has been good to me and my cars through the years.

Just Smogs
7722 Talbert Ave. #B
Huntington Beach, CA
http://www.justsmogs.com/

Although my mods are pretty much bolt on with carb legal badge on there. I/H/E
So not sure how the hard core guys with their non carb legal flux capacitors might do. :wink::tongue::biggrin:

ediddynsx said:

Thanks for chiming in guys....too bad I would have known about these shops earlier....it would have saved me a lot of time and headache.

If the moderator can make a NSX experienced smog shop section for socal that would be great.

I went to RC HI TECH smog at

1727 Cherry Ave,
Long Beach, CA 90813

Mon-Fri 8:30am-6:00pm
Sat 9:00am- 4:00pm

562-591-2049

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I live in the N Long Beach area (Lakewood) and my registration is due very soon. I will give this shop a try. Thanks for the info.

-Eric

Love this thread. Now somebody just has to post a location closer to West LA. :smile:

Eddy, The first four places probably looked inside your car and noticed your "stock" seats. :biggrin:

BTW... 3.8 might pass smog on your "old" car, but I'm not sure that's true about an OBD-II car. :wink:

nsx1 said:

Eddy, The first four places probably looked inside your car and noticed your "stock" seats. :biggrin:

BTW... 3.8 might pass smog on your "old" car, but I'm not sure that's true about an OBD-II car. :wink:

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You are right Steve next time I get a smog, I will have to switch your genuine type-r seats for my stock seats and then maybe they will pass me without checking. :biggrin:

As far as the OBD-II.....you are going to ask Anil about any smog related questions since he has the 3.8L. :tongue:

Us old cars don't have to worry about that kind of stuff because we're just cool like that....:wink:

Just passed mine with prospeed hf cats and taitec jgtc exhaust. Didn't even look around for mods, just did what he had to do. This was in thousand oaks. I'll post place location when I get home.

Just passed at the very limit. Thank goodness!!! My HC and NOX readings were very high. Tech said it might be the EGR. Fuel/CO2 was fine. Anyway, if anybody is looking for a place in West LA, I finally found one.

AA Smogs, Inc - $50
Ask for Alex, the owner. Friendly guys, and helpful. You can tell him the Asian guy with the black NSX sent you.

10885 Venice Blvd
310.839.4500

It's just off the 405 at Venice Blvd and Midvale. I would call to make an appointment beforehand. There were 2 cars ahead of me and I waited about half an hour.

Also a big plus is that it is a direct roll-on with no slope, so for those of us who are lowered, you won't have any problems with scraping.

I finally passed my smog test a few weeks ago with my OEM headers and new OEM cats (which are now for sale if anyone is interested) :tongue:

Dying to get some headers and high flow cats back on! :biggrin:

enkrypt3d said:

I finally passed my smog test a few weeks ago with my OEM headers and new OEM cats (which are now for sale if anyone is interested) :tongue:

Dying to get some headers and high flow cats back on! :biggrin:

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I have HF cats now... did you not pass emissions or visual with these on?

ryu said:

I have HF cats now... did you not pass emissions or visual with these on?

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no the visual was fine ... most smog techs had no idea where the engine was in the first place... turned out to be a design flaw in the top speed headers.. my random tech cats were fine though.. (and still for sale)