Another JHM Tuned S4 passes CA Smog

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I easily passed CA smog with piggies and JHM tune. In fact the car is super clean actually.

For Hydro Carbons, CA allows 100 PPM at idle, the car only had 12. 2500 RPM test, CA allows 130 PPM, car had 13. CO%, CA allows 1.00 at idle and 2500 RPM, car has 0.01 for both.

Whenever I take my car to a place to have work done that I can’t do, I always watch them… don’t trust anyone with my girl. Anyway, the dude was saying how bad ass the car was and all which is always fun to hear. The best part though, was while I was watching him try to hold the RPM’s at 2500 for that portion of the test. The JHM tune is so touchy, it took him about 5 minutes to get it right. I almost jumped in the car to help him out. Hilarious. He also made a funny comment saying " yeah man it’s gonna suck for you when you have to change the timing belt on this thing at 90K." I started cracking up and had to school him that he was actually looking at the serp belt and that the timing chain on this motor is in the back. He was a little embarrassed at that point. Fuckin classic.

Anyway, all is well here thanks to JHM, and CA can take their Smog check and shove it.

#2

ha, good stuff man. Do they use a sniffer where you are located?

#3

Nice so now that they are changing the law you can go catless.

#4

Yea with piggie pipes, I find it hard to believe anyone would fail anywhere. Even if you were just on O2 spacers and no tune, I doubt they’d notice them.

#5

Yep but that is supposed to end starting 2013.

#6

Not really. Still have to pass visual. Unless I gut the main cats and leave them on. I’ve heard differing opinions on that route though in terms of performance. What’s your take Joe?

#7

^ You’d be shocked how lax the visual can be. Do they use underground cameras or just a mirror for yours?

I extended my skid plate back to cover up the view of where my cats are . . .cough, should be. . . so that they couldn’t see and would assume they were there. But this last time I went, my car is so low, I didn’t even bother. He looked at the mirror for a little while (~7 sec) and then said okay. I just chuckled to myself. The sniffer is a bit tougher to pass without them though.

One thing I always think about though, say you had the Millitek Catted Dp’s on. . . with the factory skid plate on, there’d be almost no way to see them up by the motor between everything else etc. So they just give you the benefit of the doubt or do you get screwed. That’s why I’ve always thought the visual was a bit of a joke or just protocol to keep people in line.

#8

I wish there was somebody I knew in Texas with catless downpipes that passed with no issues. They don’t do the tailpipe test, but I always remember my brother having to get hooked up with inspections because he had an offroad H-pipe without cats on his 5.0 mustang. I just don’t want to even worry about that.

#9

It just depends if you have visual. If you don’t have visual then I can almost guarantee you that you’ll be fine with a JHM tune to make the OBDII all good. IF you do have visual it’s a little tougher. But to the same regard, they usually don’t check nice german sports cars like they do the backwood mustangs/corvetts/camaros etc.