Got turned away from smog shop with my BMW Performance Intake

[NorCalZman]

Oh wonderful california smog.....Had a frustrating few minutes at the local AAA smog shop. The guy called me over and asked about the BMW Performance Intake.

me:its from BMW its fine.
him:He said no thats not the one that came with the car from the factory, right?
me: No
him: then I can't test it. I need an EO (executive order) number.
me: So if I find this EO number you will test it?
him: No you need the paperwork and a sticker to put on the car
me: How do I get that?
him: You need to go to BMW and get the paper work and order the sticker. Or put the old intake back on the car and come back.
me: Just FYI You guys smogged this car 2 years ago and it wasn't an issue then
him: They're getting more strict as of last year.

Little more back and forth, but he wouldn't budge. His co worker he called over was making sounds like he would've let it go but felt the need to back up his co worker "it'd be nice to have the sticker"

So I left. BMW wouldn't sell this thing in California if it wasn't legal right? I bought it used so I didn't get the sticker. Think BMW has these things?

[Sockethead]

I'm glad I don't live in CA. My car is about as far from stock as you can get...

[danewilson77]

Just put the stock one back in for smog.

[Sreten]

Why don't you try a different smog shop?

[NorCalZman]

Just put the stock one back in for smog.

Im thinking thats what I might have to do this weekend. THANKFULLY I have the old airbox still. So this thread is also a warning to everyone to keep the original part. Ive seen a number of threads on other forums of people asking for stock air boxes for sale.


Why don't you try a different smog shop?

Because if he's right about them getting more strict then it wouldn't matter where I go right. and I don't want to pay another shop. They didn't charge me for this one (I would've told them to go to hell).


I think the bottom line is the BMW Perf Intake might not be legal in California. Im not finding any documentation about it online

[KevinC]

Here in AZ, they don't even pop your hood any more, and no sniffer either - just an OBD readiness test & gas cap pressure test and you're outta there in 3 minutes. California wants to over-regulate the hell out of everything. Sad state of affairs.

[wsmeyer]

IThey still pop the hood here in CA for a visual inspection. One of the things they look for is aftermarket intakes. I bought my ZHP new and was told I could add any of the BMWP parts right on to the financing because they were dealer installed options. They even had one of the intakes bolted to a BMWP display wall that they showed all buyers.

I've never been questioned about mine but if I was I would tell them it came with the ZHP option. Or just go to another shop.

[NorCalZman]

I should have said it was stock, haha. My bad for being honest. Yeah I'll try a few other shops first. I found a few others in the area.

[derbo]

I would try other smog shops, its a freaking BMW part..

[WOLFN8TR]

And another reason why I will never live in Comifornia. Swapping air intakes is at least easy.

[derbo]

And another reason why I will never live in Comifornia. Swapping air intakes is at least easy.

SMOG is the main reason I haven't gone supercharger ;)

[az3579]

SMOG is the main reason I haven't gone supercharger ;)

I figured cost was more of a factor. lol

[NorCalZman]

Went to another, less corporate smog type place and the guy didn't even look twice at the intake, as it should have been in the first place.

What is the reason that California is so strict with car intakes anyway (the actual reason, not political)?

[sillieidiot]

Went to another, less corporate smog type place and the guy didn't even look twice at the intake, as it should have been in the first place.

What is the reason that California is so strict with car intakes anyway (the actual reason, not political)?

It's pretty much political, but I think they reason it with causing more air pollution because you are now filtering less stuff to get better performance.

I passed smog at my place and I forgot I had my friend's gruppe m intake installed lol i only realized it after because i was wondering why my engine was way louder than normal.

[Sockethead]

sounds like it's up to the whim of whoever is doing the inspection...

[stephenkirsh]

As a fellow Californian, who has asked about smog issues here and other forums, can I request that we just stop doing the "THIS IS WHY I DON'T LIVE IN CA ZOMFG BLAH RAGE" responses?

1.) We've all heard it 100 times.
2.) It's not helpful.
2b.) It is a waste of my 5 seconds scanning each response x the number of times that post has been made by everybody.
3.) I'm born and raised in CA. My family is all from CA. My wife's family is all mostly in CA. We're not going to move simply because of smog checks.
4.) We have smog regulations because there's some pretty serious smog issues. Does an intake swap on an M54 product more emissions? Probably not, but there's not much more we can do.

If you want to actually complain about something, look up the SULEV M56 engines and their fuel systems that are for emissions regulations.

I can think of 100 reasons to not live in this state, but SMOG isn't even on that list.

/rant

[terraphantm]

I mean, it's a discussion forum for car enthusiasts. People are going to have and express opinions about a car-unfriendly state when the topic comes up.

[danewilson77]

I mean, it's a discussion forum for car enthusiasts. People are going to have and express opinions about a car-unfriendly state when the topic comes up.

This.

But let's keep it respectful and on point, as always.

[Dave1027]

What I really hate about this is the BMW performance intake is not allowed in CA but this is

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/d6/ef/3f/d6ef3fef2df3bcd2b398ea07655f49e4.jpg

[johnrando]

I have passed SMOG with the BMWP Intake a couple of times. I would just go to a different smog shop. Some of the STAR test shops pay more attention than the "local gas station/mechanic" that also does SMOG, so try one of them maybe.

But, technically the guy is right, it is supposed to have a sticker... I always wondered why they didn't. So, no sticker, technically no pass. It's just never been an issue. But as said, just do the swap. Fortunately it's an easy one vs having to swap headers or something (which is a key reason why I don't have headers).

And while this is a car discussion forum, it does get tiring hearing about how bad CA is with SMOG regs, of course we don't like the restrictions. The flip side is the L.A. air is cleaner than it's been ever since SMOG became a problem. Another plus is we don't have to deal with car inspections that other states have that cover a whole other list of tedium. It is what it is.

[Sockethead]

So how do all the custom cars and hotrods that we see on TV in CA pass all these rules?... just curious.

[Dave1027]

And while this is a car discussion forum, it does get tiring hearing about how bad CA is with SMOG regs, of course we don't like the restrictions. The flip side is the L.A. air is cleaner than it's been ever since SMOG became a problem. Another plus is we don't have to deal with car inspections that other states have that cover a whole other list of tedium. It is what it is.

As a fellow Californian (natural born) I am all for clean air, water and land. I realize the government has to draw a line somewhere when it comes to enforcement. I don't mind doing my part maintaining and getting my vehicles smogged. What I don't like is the inequities in the CA smog system where they strain at the gnats like intakes which have little to no impact on smog output but look the other way when it comes to smoke belching diesels and old cars that asphyxiate you when near them in traffic.

[johnrando]

So how do all the custom cars and hotrods that we see on TV in CA pass all these rules?... just curious.

You can do ANYTHING you want to an engine if your car is a 1975 or older (may be off a bit on the year but something close to that).

[johnrando]

As a fellow Californian (natural born) I am all for clean air, water and land. I realize the government has to draw a line somewhere when it comes to enforcement. I don't mind doing my part maintaining and getting my vehicles smogged. What I don't like is the inequities in the CA smog system where they strain at the gnats like intakes which have little to no impact on smog output but look the other way when it comes to smoke belching diesels and old cars that asphyxiate you when near them in traffic.

Trust me, I'm with you on that.

[t.er]

So JR what did you end up doing, just going to another smog shop? And does anyone know if an EO number exists? I tried looking in this database (https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/amquery.php), but couldn't find anything.

[sillieidiot]

smog is going to suck next year. I just smogged recently, one year late from when it was due, and they were way more strict after the ECU thing passed. I heard that it may even be hard to do remote now for the mod friendly stations. Hopefully they figure something out before I have to do it lol

[t.er]

Anyone know if my setup will be okay? In terms of emissions-related items, I have the BMWP intake and exhaust. Exhaust is very obvious since the stock system was cut and the muffler clamped on. Luckily no ECU/Tuning related changes for me lol

I'm going to need to expedite my California registration and have it all done next month. My Ontario plates expire end of October and I don't want to pay $120 to renew for another year, just to only use it for 2-3 more months

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[sillieidiot]

Anyone know if my setup will be okay? In terms of emissions-related items, I have the BMWP intake and exhaust. Exhaust is very obvious since the stock system was cut and the muffler clamped on. Luckily no ECU/Tuning related changes for me lol

I'm going to need to expedite my California registration and have it all done next month. My Ontario plates expire end of October and I don't want to pay $120 to renew for another year, just to only use it for 2-3 more months

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

Pretty much would depend on the shop for visual. But if it's completely stock should pass emissions. Just replace the intake with stock airbox real quick and you should be good.

[johnrando]

I found a place. The safest thing would be to put your stock airbox back on.

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[t.er]

Unfortunately my car came with the intake so I don't have the stocker to put on. I think I'll pick one up from a local partout before I move since his prices are decent

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[FungShui]

Unfortunately my car came with the intake so I don't have the stocker to put on. I think I'll pick one up from a local partout before I move since his prices are decent

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Dhillon Motorsports in San Jose passed me with a BMWP intake.

[t.er]

Dhillon Motorsports in San Jose passed me with a BMWP intake.

Great to know, thanks!

[johnrando]

Those do look stock to someone who is not overly familiar with our cars, so they could pass, it's just whether or not you want to take the risk.

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[FungShui]

+1 with John. It would be a pain if they sent to you to the state ref over the intake. Umm welcome to California :)

I still need to remove my CSL intake from the Z4MC and swap it back to the stock hardware and ecu flash. Also I will need to apply for a moving permit with the DMV since its past due on the smog check [registration is paid in full].

[Showda711]

Anyone know if my setup will be okay? In terms of emissions-related items, I have the BMWP intake and exhaust. Exhaust is very obvious since the stock system was cut and the muffler clamped on. Luckily no ECU/Tuning related changes for me lol

I'm going to need to expedite my California registration and have it all done next month. My Ontario plates expire end of October and I don't want to pay $120 to renew for another year, just to only use it for 2-3 more months

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

I have the bmwp intake and exhaust. Exhaust will pass no probably because it doesn't affect emissions. I've passed with the intake many times - no questions asked. My plan if they ask is to tell them 1) it's a factory option - because it is and/or 2) it's part of the performance package. It's in BMW's catalog

http://alex.zheng-dynasty.com/uploads/BMW-Performance-Accessories-BMW-E46.pdf

[BH93]

On this topic... if anyone knows of a shop that knows how to code the DME to revise the checksum values and hardware ID, PM me :)

[t.er]

+1 to Dhillon Motorsports. Went there immediately after going to SJC to import my car, since it's only a 10 min drive away. No lineup, passed with flying colours and was out of there within a half hour or so.