San Francisco Business Daily - How do people pass smog with aftermarket turbos installed?

How do people pass smog with aftermarket turbos installed?

How do you even pass smog if you're not carb or emissions legal? Lots of people have illegal turbo kits so they must pass somehow. I don't think they would go through the trouble of removing it and then re-installing it.

Public Comments

What's so illegal about turbo?
They do remove and reinstall it. That only takes 20 minutes and is done once a year.
it all depends on how the vehicle is tuned... i never heard of turbos being illegal? maybe different state laws if the vehicle is running efficiently...with complete combustion taking place and all emmision controls working properly the vehicle should easily pass turbo puts in more air...vehicle gives more fuel...thats basically it....if the vehicle is tuned right to handle and burn this correctly then everythings fine.
In California it is illegal in most cases. The way people do it is to pay off a smog tech. Call me haha
People do just remove them and reinstall them. Or they "know" people that will pass the car for them.
A properly tuned engine can burn the extra fuel, so the emissions will still be good. Then again... California is too strict on emissions laws. Give it another ten years, and you'll see bicycles failing California emission tests.
If you can show proof that the units are sold legally in California and possess an EO number, (EO stands for Executive Order- this is the number given to the product by the government certifying that it is emissions legal) then you shouldn't have a problem. Most manufactures of aftermarket exhaust or emission components will stamp this number on the actual unit or they will print in the units manual, catalog or some other paperwork which pertains directly to the component in question. You will have to present this number to the smog station where the car is being tested. It's either this method or... the removal and installation method (which because of the nature of work I am in, I can not recommend - but it's do-able).