Those who live in California you know if you are a performance car lover, its not the state to live in.
Starting July 19, 2021 you might want to double think about running an aftermarket tune on your car and you might want to think about flashing your ECU back to stock before doing your dreaded every two year Smog Check.
All testing stations will begin to check cars to see if they are running OEM or California Air Resources Board (CARB)-approved tunes. If your car isn't, yep your screwed!
The new policy is outlined in the California Bureau of Automotive Repair's Frequently Asked Questions section and says:
"Beginning July 19, 2021, vehicles with software not provided by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or approved through a California Air Resources Board (CARB) Executive Order (EO) will fail Smog Check.
Before your vehicle will pass a Smog Check, you must have the vehicle’s software restored to the OEM software version. Once the software is restored, have your vehicle reinspected by a licensed Smog Check station. Note that vehicles initially directed to a STAR or Referee station must return to the same station type to complete the inspection process.
If you believe the vehicle’s software is already OEM or CARB-approved and yet your vehicle failed Smog Check, schedule an inspection with the Smog Check Referee.
If you unknowingly purchased a vehicle with illegally-modified software, you may file a complaint with BAR."
California is among the strictest regions on this God forsaken planet when it comes to emissions policies, so it's no surprise to us that BAR implement another stupid rule like the car crushing program years ago. These laws are made by politicians on capital hill who think it their idea they pulled out of their ass will curb emissions by preventing cars from using aftermarket tunes along with all the other performance parts out there. What we would like to know is what percent of "high performance" cars actually contribute to "global warming"? Really, we would like to know?
If you are in another state laughing at those who live in California and saying "F" COMIfornia, be sure that law will be coming to a state like yours just like all the other laws that stated in California and ended up being in your state. Have you been trying to get headers lately? Yep thats one of them. It's only a matter of time until it reaches you!
In conclusion these laws will only get worse within our hobby, We are not here to tell you who to vote for, but in our opinion if you want these stupid laws to stop effecting our hobby, stop voting for people who effect it! Seriously think about that the next time you check that box off when you vote.
