thought that title would get some attention, cause this is important for all to read

Well, for everyone in california wanting to moda neon, and for everyone on there that ever gives advice to someone in california on modding a neon, here are the official "rules"

theresno way to turbo the stock 2.0 and be legal here in cali

theres no way to get around the registration by registering it in another state unless thats your permanent address (this is a felony to attempt this and poses serious fines and state prison time)

all aftermarket parts that have ANYTHING to do with emissions, (header, cat, throttle body, computer, intake manifold, air intake setup, and all internal parts and engine electrical parts, must be either direct stock replacements or have a CARB Exemption number)
As for parts I know of that are CARB Exempted, these are about it (pace setter headers, iceman intake, possibly the mopar intake available on jegs for a whopping $474)
The mopar computer is legal, as long as you take it to a dealer to get flashed with your vin and mileage.

none of the aftermarket cams are legal, neither is switching to the 95 or magnum cam, or raising the compression, however, these are things that no one would ever know should you be able to still pass the sniffer test. whatever you do, just make sure it can still pass, and remember some stations are more strict on the visual inspection then others, learn to find the leniant ones

on tothe engine swaps

for rules apply to engine swaps in california

1 - must be from the same year or newer car
2 - if your car came with a california engine (all automatics sold in california had the tlev engine, this applies to them), then it must be replaced with the same (meaning tlev engine can only be swapped with a tlev engine from the same kind of car
3 - it must retain all original smog equipment
4 - it must be approved by the Beaureu of Automotive Repair Referee after installation

more interesting things, its illegal to tamper with the catalytic converter in any state, however enforcement of this is left to the local governments, in california they will call the cops if you come into a smog station without one

tranny swaps, it looks like you have to register your tranny swap with the dmv, as the smog process here in california goes by the type of transmission you have, i dont know if switching the computer automatically takes care of this, im going to look into it

 

man, i am so happy i live in Ohio. in C-bus where theres no smog check or anything.

 

wow.


note to self, never to move to cali

 

Nice info!

 

I'll be so glad when California falls off the side of North America.....less stupidity in this country would be a plus..

 

ya, cali sucks, if my gf (soon fiance) werent so invested in good jobs here and we werent as into riding motocross, we'd move, but unfornately, theres not many other places you can ride year round, and we both have really good, secure jobs

that being said, i have the pacesetter, underdrive pulley, and glasspack mufflerwhich are both legal on my car, and the 3.0 intake, mpx 60mm tb with matched intake mani, which are all illegal, however, its very easy to switch the entire manifold/tb/intake as one unit with my legal stock ones that i kept when smog time comes

the cars not street legal anyways since it has no heater and hence no defrost, but after my latest probs with the wiring harness, thats ok because the engines getting pulled soon and the rest of the car will be stripped and seam welded for race use only

all the sohc parts will go on my 97 dd and ill continue the swap parts before smog tradition with that one

 

haha devils

california isnt that bad if you live out in the country, its just the big citys that house all the hollywood idiots

 

yay for canada and no emissions laws!!!!

 

Yea, for slipping the inspection dude who also has a neon $50 to overlook your mods!

 

Cali is bad, I moved there in 91 with the military, back out in 94. I kept my registration in Missouri . 72 Charger, 497 stroker, tunnel ram 2 holley 780's, 4 speed, headers, 2.5 pipes, 4.56 gears. The locals loved it, lol.
Dave