DIY guys are breaking the law. It's a calculated risk that should be weighed out for each person's own situation.

The safest way of DIY is to piece together your setup such that it directly mimics a CARB kit. This could be accomplished by purchasing used Begi/FM pieces until you have assembled one of their kits. Then you can probably get a CARB sticker from Begi.

The best way IMO is to build a setup using the Begi/FM mani, turbo, and dp. Then use MS or whatever you want to make your setup high HP. But also purchase a used RRFPR and pierburg pump. This way if you do get sent to the Ref, you can swap in the CARB components within a day and be ready to meet with the Ref.

The worst way to do it is have a cobbled-together heap of metal vaguely resembling a manifold and dp. Cops and Refs probably understand that if a company gets a kit EO'd, they probably make it look nice too!

 

The easiest way would prob be to just throw it back to stock, state ref it, then put the kit back on. I went to the state ref, and they are very strict. They will check everything, so its pretty hard to hide anything from them. They are smart too!! hahaha. My friend was even carb legal with proof, and he still had to go to state ref, pay and pass. Just because we have carb #'s dosnt really let us go free from state ref. you will still have to pass if sent there. Thats one reason why i sold my greddy hahaha too much hassle in ca.

 

all this talk makes me want to sell that begi kit that comes tomorrow after 3 months of waiting...

 

You're lucky that the kit is basic. Just revert to stock, ref it, and revert back. And don't be a ******* dick to the cop next time. Seriously, I've been pulled over 3 times in Cali, wearing non-DOT harnesses, driving on racing slicks, with a shitload of extra gauges all around the car, and not ONCE has an officer ever even mentioned the mods. If you know your car won't pass state ref, then be polite, admit to your ****, and make it easy for the cop to give you the one ticket and GTFO.

 

So much for a free country.

First person to tell me driving on city streets is a privilege I'll slap you with a ******* belt.. I pay for drivers license, property tax, registration costs, insurance, and pay for gasoline. Where I live, part of the taxes for gasoline goes into road development. If the ******* floppy douchebag in his little hat doesn't like what I'm doing, he pulls me over and gives me a ticket -- That goes to my lawyer and gets paid.

Tell me again its a privilege. I pay, I play. End of story.


As for Modding a car being illegal, again, so much for a free country.

If you actually read the articles about crushed cars, they're all caught street racing with verified stolen parts on their cars. It appears its easier if you're AZN to steal someone elses hard work and put it on your car than work for it yourself.

 

Saveington that is the best post i have esen you make ever
And the guy who said go back in with no turbo is a moron

Dude before you get pissed off and hurl a mouse at me listen why

He got a ticket for having a turbo car with illegal mods. He got citations on atleast 8 different things that he mentions earlier in the thread.
So lets review cop pulls you over for some random stuff sees turbo etc writes you for wrong bov, injectors etc. Then you smog ref it as a normal frigin miata. The ref is gonna laugh at you knowing no cop is gonna mistake a k&N in the stock airbox for a turbo. Then the fines are bigger badder and you pay more.
Plz newbs take the time to read whole threads before screwing up someones car or finances. It is the polite thing to do.

Eles i feel you man i been hollering that awhile my self

 

 

magna, you ****** crack me up bud. Of course you can go in with no mods and pass. It's just like having illegal tint; you get a ticket, remove it, ref, and reapply. Get a ticket, remove turbo, ref, reapply.

 

i pretty much agree. its crucial to be super nice to the cops and kiss alot of ***. i have been pulled over in my old car many many times and for the most part, i have been just given warnings. my old car was a pretty heavily modded 01 mustang gt and i have been pulled over for, changing lanes too quickly, speeding many times, lights being "out", tint, car being too loud etc...
i have only 1 speeding ticket on my record and for the most part i was able to talk out of the ticket, but i have also had experience with cops who are just such ********, no matter what you do or say they will try to **** you over. bottom line, no matter how nice or w.e u are some cops are just gonna want to mess with u, pull you outta the car etc...
about the ref issue...
2 friends of mine have been sent to the ref within probably the last 4-6 months.
first guy was a sr20det swap in a 240. he put it back to stock and didnt have any issues passed ok, swapped turbo in next weekend.
my other friend just whent to the ref like a month ago in a 300zx. he had loud exhaust and intake, but the stupid cop also said he had pullies, cams and some other stuff.
he also put the car to stock completely and had no issues.
overall i think putting the car to stock is a possibility. just seems like it would be more beneficial to make it pass with turbo, and aquire all the stuff needed to make it pass just in case for the future.

 

I've heard from a Honda forum that cops will actually take pictures of your engine bay and send them to the ref too. ****.

 

While I agree these people are likley highly educated in the automotive industry and didn't just fall off the bus, I also agree with the window tint ticket angle. Putting the car back to stock is one way to nearly guarantee you'd pass the bastards testing. If they start to ask questions, simply tell them you didn't want to hassle with attempting to make the kit EO legal so you took it off and got it over with. With this angle however, either way I'd be a little concerned about getting another citation requiring me to return to the Refs shop for another automotive colonoscopy. Eventually I could see this raising some flags; "This guy keeps receiving citations to come in here for illegal turbo, yet everytime hes in here he passes?" Honestly I have no idea how exactly this process works so I can't say for sure myself. You do always have the option of attempting to register the car out of state at a family members house.

On a side note I also agree with previous posters about the Traffic Wardens; If you're pulled over for something (even if you're doing something *REALLY* stupid) just be calm, very very polite, and respectful to the officer. Yes Sir / Ma'am, No Sir / Ma'am, etc. Cops are people too, and they respond differently to someone thats polite vs. have a big attitude / disrespectful douche. I was stopped doing over 100mph one morning in my MS6 and was let go without even a written ticket -- Had I been a douche to the cop he could've arrested me.

Sometimes being an adult really sucks. Still trying to figure out why I'm expected to pay "property" tax every year on something I ******* own.. Bought and paid for. Ie, My 3 cars, bike, house, etc... Not only did I buy them and own nearly all outright, theres still some ******* somewhere that can tell me what I can / can't do with those items.

example: The city I live in will give you a ticket if your garbage cans are visible from the street 24 hours before or after trash day. Legally we're not allowed to work on cars in our driveway, but they don't enforce that one. My stack of bricks in front of my garage door waiting my new paver path is unlawful, they'll threaten to tow your vehicle if you leave it on jack stands unattended for more than 30 minutes... If a vehicle is covered current tags have to be displayed, even if NOTHING is visible under the cover, they'll ticket you if a vehicle doesn't move for longer than 48 hours.... And I don't even live in one of those stupid home owners communities with membership dues just to freakin live there either...

 

well LOL! i wish i can put my car back to stock but i bought the car with a greddy kit in it. and i don't have any of the stock parts!!!!! can some one in the area help me? need afm and stock injectors...for free..maybe i can pick it up and return it. so i remove the greddy and put the s-3 in it..

well the cops fine me for car being to low..suspension too tight ( bilstien/ractive coilover + springs) going 68 mph in bad weather, my intake turn signal not being bright enough, my IAT sensor, - he was like what the ****? exhaust to loud ( Cobalt Exhuast from miatamania.com) it is not! wheels too wide no mud gaurd ( axis OG 15X8 with 245) and wrote some other **** like my no carb on jgs man, garrett IC, cheap intake. and turbo. I think he was just in a bad mood that day..he was an ***! as long as he didn't take some pictures

 

I was polite but the cop wants to see under my hood as soon as he pulled me over....there wasn't much to say...LOL...he walked up and said this car is not stock pop your hood...and i was there for like half an hour. he was just checking ****...lucky i had a cat on the exhaust...he even jacked up my car!

 

Holy god, yeah, he was just being a ****. Also, you know, sometimes they get crap from above. Management says "Thou Shalt Write 20 Citations for Modified Vehicles This Month". And there you have it.

Last time I got pulled over, the guy did laps around my car. Thankfully, he didn't pop my hood. I've debated making a cover for the gauges, but I've also heard a lot of people say that just admitting it is all you can do.

I think you should *buy* all the stuff to make it look stock (on the cheap, but buy it) so you can make it look right anytime you want. You have the EO, so that's awesome. I have no such thing, if I'm not 100% stock, I'm toast.

I should get a cat in there, but I don't have a place to put one.

 

Abe, I'm still amazed that the state of CA hasn't crushed and melted your car into a cube yet. I can only imagine the look on an officer's face if he were to pop the hood and see the CAT5 wiring running across the engine compartment.

 

Wondering when we'll have to show our papers entering Cali.

Sounds like hell there tbh.

If you guys want, you can move to Florida. Its just like Cali except we dont pay out of the *** in taxes and I don't have to ever make sure my car is "CARB" cert., coupled with about 80,000 other things.

 

Like hurricanes, even more crime, and the fact that 94% of the animals/bugs you meet in FL can kill you. heh.....

Also, there's no mountains anywhere in the state. You're in constant danger of hitting an oil slick and spinning all the way off into the ocean.

 

there are plenty of mountains in n ga and tennessee. not exactly far from the beaches in FL

 

You call those mountains?

Well, actually the Smokey's are fantastic, but they're not exactly in Florida's back yard. On the other hand, I can drive from Highway 1 on the Pacific Coast to the top of the Sierra Nevada's (now those are proper mountains), in less than three hours including a quick stop for a bite to eat in Colfax.

Of course, I'm not mentioning the Pacific Coast Range, which touches the Pacific, because those are mostly less than 8,000 feet in elevation, and not covered by snow year round like real mountains.

Oh yeah, did I mention we have volcano's you can drive on, and over?

 

If I moved to FL, I'd have to grow a moustache, wear policeman sun glasses, drive a corvette, and show chest hair, though.