Q and A but overview and implementation is worth reading too because its short.

Bill was introduced by assembly member Mike Eng and was designed to do this:

AB 2289 – Smog Check Program: Testing: Penalties. This proposal would authorize an alternative smog check program test method for newer vehicles equipped with updated on-board diagnostic systems (OBDII). The bill also directs older, high emitting vehicles to the highest performing stations and implements stricter fines structure for improper inspections. It is designed to improve the program in reducing pollution through the use of new technologies that provide considerable time and cost savings to consumers while at the same time improving consumer protections by adopting more stringent fine structures to respond to station and technicians that perform improper and incomplete inspections.




Oh not sure if many of you know this but Toyota Previas and other newer Toyotas are ridiculously hard to smog on a dyno because their speed doesnt stay steady. One required 15 attempts by me (3 attempts = abort of test). Not my fault but under the new program Id be graded on it so most smog places will turn those cars away. Nice of this bill to penalize my pocket and livelihood for Toyotas defect.

 

damn this looks weak

 

What I don't understand is why do they care what you do to your car if it passes smog emissions. Think it's time to move to another state, this is getting as lame as the cops out now of days! Worlds about to end and they worry about this, go **** some more money down the drain. This government is really screwed up.......

 

Politicians (for the most part) don't do common sense. Its way easier to pass some bull**** law and stand on your "green credentials" then it is to pass something well-thought-out, evenhanded and practical, sorry brah.

 

California is broke and is looking for any and all scams to Fu*# it's residents out of their money. It's not only auto, it's home, employment and what ever else they can do. So either move or bend over for the rest of your life

 

There was a shop that got popped last year in San Jose that was doing illegal smogs for as long as I remember. Asian shop where you asked for "Jose" to get the smog done for those of you that know which shop Im talking about. They definitely bought a few houses with the profit they made and they had an elaborate system setup for clean piping and even clean wiring for ob2 monitors.

The BAR knew what this shop was doing for 5+ years. It took them that long to build a case because they're lazy government workers I guess.

Anyway the guys that are going to cheat the system will always be one step ahead no matter what they change. The only people that get burned in the process are the ones that try to make a living following the law.

strongly considering going back to school to become a pharmacist. people will always need drugs :P

 

This.

 

I dont think it can go this crazy lol, Tire size lol really lol

 

And people say how great California is.......

 

If this really goes through, smog will officially be a bigger PITA than Safety and Recon in HI.

Guess that means I gotta get a car that's boss from the factory or just move back to HI.

 

Although I'm in the same boat as all you guys in that this may make my smog checks more difficult, the substance of the initiative seems reasonable. (Disclaimer: I haven't read all of the documentation, but I've gathered that wheel, tire, and weight measurements will factor into dyno testing, and techs will have performance reports).

-From my understanding, any rolling dyno needs to be calibrated in order to generate meaningful results. In order to calibrate a dyno to create consistent load (not load to the wheels, but load to the engine which is what effects emissions), weight, wheel, tire, and gearing all need to be taken into consideration. It's surprising this doesn't take place already.

-Much like any other job, performance ratings are a good thing. In this case it means that we (owners of modified cars) will be held to the rules more carefully, but the root of the problem is in the rules, not the way the tech is implementing them.

My point is that this IS going to make things harder, but it's the fault of the previously established smog rules, not "STAR" -- so focus your complaints and efforts on that.

 

Its meant to do good but the way its implemented just penalizes the tech for things out of their control (vehicles not working properly, customers that clear their CEL, people that raise their 4x4s and put tires twice the size, car manufacturer defects)
They have that info on majority of the cars. They know a Honda civic with a 1.7L engine that weights 3000 pounds is supposed to hit 1800rpm in second gear at 15mph. The problem is any variation from that can give the tech a bad grade or make a station look like its performing badly. Also the BAR isnt very transparent on what they do and what they dont so any formulas on how they get load numbers are secretive.

I agree. We're currently a Gold Shield Station that took us 6 months to get through good repair performance. We have to constantly watch what we're doing, more paperwork, get more undercover customers, deal with Consumer Assistance Program (low income people which a lot of times leads to doing free repairs because people refuse to pay for lack of money) and on top of that we get quarterly reviews. If we fall below C, we get a warning. The second time we lose the license.

Ill disagree here. With STAR we have to do even more and they're just breaking a system that was working to make a system thats more complex, requires more work, pays less (through more competition) and penalizes you for things you cant control. The previous system was fine and should have been left alone. In the end its about money and pretty soon after STAR comes out they'll say we have to upgrade to new machines and we'll have to shell out another 40k. I wonder which special interest groups have a hand in these bills.

As far as I know its already gone through. There might be minor tweaks but the STAR system is coming out in 2013 unless someone files a lawsuit against the BAR.

 

So if I lower my car add a CARB Legal Header and CAI and gut my car and use wider tires it will make a tech fail at their job even the emissions will probably be less? How lame Also glad my car does not have to be smogged til 2014/2015 if the current program is still in effect.

 

Any word on what Diesel smog will look like In the future? My truck doesn't have the FE9 code on the glove box and I have It registered at my cabin In Sonora, I'm hoping they keep It smog exempt up there for a few more years.

 

think diesels are safe from the actual emission testing for 5+ years. havent heard of anything in the works for them outside of the normal visual tests.

doubt it but you're going to have a tough time finding people wanting to smog your car even with the legal items. lets say i change those items back to stock for you and smog it for you and you sell the car to someone. 2 years down the road the person you sell it to takes it to another smog station and fails, it will count against me because i repaired and passed it before.