I can’t help but notice that Flying Tomatoes has been extremely quiet throughout that thread. Had this been JHM, he probably would have jumped all over it.
What a class act 
It may pass the sniffer but no way in hell it will pass visual in CA unless you have a blind or lazy-and-just-don’t-care tech.
Whats smog?
Smog is when you smoke something and then say “O Gee”.
It is that stuff that blows over from the Bay Area and sits on top of you guys.
I will soon be contributing a bit more to that 
Hahaha ;D
Hmmm, what are they looking for in the engine bay for it to fail visual? They don’t want to see a cone filter?
Visual inspections are done to make sure everything is compliant with state/county emissions. For instance they will check and make sure your PCV system is still there, make sure you still have your OEM or approved aftermarket cats as well as make sure you do not have any illegal performance modifications. Like a massive supercharger that was’t there from the factory.
Edit* I can’t spell.
Funny that you guys already have a thread going on this. I PM’d this guy yesterday to tell him to come over to AR and talk to CV about this issue. I knew that he wasn’t going to get anywhere on AZ. I also told him to try slipping his inspection mechanic a $50. That “supposedly” works wonders for passing inspection when you have an issue like this. ;D
sounds about right (the last part)…that’s what I think happens a lot
Ontario has instituted a new system where they scan the car, and have a video feed to the ministry of the test while it’s happening. Apparently . Haven’t been so I don’t know. My car has no superturbos so I’m ok.
Most gas station techs don’t know what the emission systems look like. I actually asked the guy at the station up the street from my house to point out my secondary air injection combination valves and he had no idea. Now an Audi dealership tech should be able to point them out unless they are new. Also remember that most state inspections and emissions testing procedures don’t pay very well so most techs rush through them.
If only I could find a tech to do that for my OBD1 BMW. The old V12 runs a little to rich, like three times the legal limit rich.
It wasn’t very tough for my “friend” who had an airbag light that wouldn’t turn off. It was just one of the local gas station techs.
So we’re completely leaving the realm of emissions and entering the realm of big brother not wanting you to alter your own property and drive it on public roads. Simply adding performance improvement parts to a car isn’t going to necessarily cause you to go over pollutant limits set by your jurisdiction.
So they’re using an environmental argument to actually come down on the performance aftermarket industry as a whole it would seem.
Yeah pretty much unfortunately. There are still a few counties near us that do not require smog. All you have to do is smog it once when it is first registered in that county and after that you are free to go ham on your car.
For what it is worth I checked with a Seattle RS4 owner that had the original kit and now has the big-boy APR kit if he’d had any issues with this…he said he passed emissions a few months ago with no issues. That would have been on the original 13whatever kit.
Hello all,
I am the owner of the RS4 mentioned in this thread.
So here is a complete recap.
Here is my experience with APR and purchasing their 1320 stage III kit. I purchased the Supercharger kit in May 2013. I was told by APR and the vendor prior to purchasing the kit that it “does not mess with the exhaust,” so I would not have a problem ever passing inspection. September 2013, was time for my inspection. I went to inspect my car and could not pass due to readiness. I had incomplete or failed readings for the O2 sensor heating, O2 sensors, secondary air, and the catalytic converters. I was told by APR that I had the wrong (test pipe) software to set readiness and to send the ECU(S) back to be re-flashed. Upon doing so APR stated, I would not have a problem “passing inspection”. I stilled failed with the same results after putting in the re-flashed ECU(S). So after a few months and numerous phone calls to APR I still had no answer. I stored the RS4 for the winter and started the process over early Feb. 2014. I was instructed by the tech at APR that I can force readiness and it would pass. That did not work. So after calling APR almost every day for months they finally told me that they code out the runner flap deletes and that there is no way to set readiness. Had they told me this in the beginning, as asked, I would have never purchased their product. APR told me that they would work on a solution. Now it is May 2014 and APR informed me today that there is nothing they can do for me. Yesterday, I was even told by the vendor that sold me the kit, that it would pass readiness. He stated, there must be something wrong with my car and that the kit does not affect readiness. I asked him to test readiness on another stage 3 B7 RS4 on his lot and to his dismay it failed as well. APR stated that I could build it back to stock, get it inspected and then re-install the SC, brilliant and cheap solution I thought (note the sarcasm). So I am left to ponder what direction to take next (lawyers, new car, back to stock or all the above). APR should have made their vendors, techs and customers aware that their product does not allow for readiness to set, thus making it non-compliant in numerous states for inspection standards. Any input would be appreciated and thank you to all who have offered help.
Welcome to AR. There are a lot of great members here that can help.
Do you have cats on your car currently?
welcome to the site. Maybe break that wall of text up. Not very forum friendly.