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Got a Cali Smog check. Hadn't had one in a couple of years. My last one, they took the car and about 15mins it was done. This time was really weird. They guy kept wanting me to move the car. Finally, I told him, move the car where you want it. He didn't put it on the smog machine or test the gas cap. All visual. So weird. My car is bone stock, I think if non carb parts looked like the factory parts, we could pass smog without much fuss.
OBD2 vehicles don’t run on the dyno or get a sniffer anymore here. Its actually easier to pass now as you don’t have to pass specific levels at 15, 25, 35 etc mph. Just make sure there’s no CELs on and your good to go.
Stations will just plug in a OBD tester and that’s it. Most shops don’t even do a visual either unless the car has some obvious exhaust modifications.
OBD2 vehicles don’t run on the dyno or get a sniffer anymore here. Its actually easier to pass now as you don’t have to pass specific levels at 15, 25, 35 etc mph. Just make sure there’s no CELs on and your good to go.
Stations will just plug in a OBD tester and that’s it. Most shops don’t even do a visual either unless the car has some obvious exhaust modifications.
I found this guy through Groupon, I would never recommend or use this guy again.
I actually went to a cars & coffee with mine on Saturday. Usually they are at 8AM about 45 minutes from me so I don't. This one started at 10 and was maybe 10 miles away. Mostly mopar old and new, a few imports including a nice S2000, and lo and behold a G35 coupe (VQ35DE version) and a Nismo 370Z. G35 owner was nice but was a close talker and wasn't wearing a mask so I had to disengage. Nismo guy wouldn't talk to me much at all, so :shrug:
G35 guy: You haven't done anything to it yet! Me: looks at exhaust, long tube CAI, debadged blacked out car with black wheels and massive rubber compared to stock.. Quizzical puppy face ??? He was saying I should have bought a Jspec single-exit...
I did get some double-takes when we started up to leave. Thanks, FI :evilgrin:
Actually, I and my companion were the only ones wearing masks at all. So probably not going back - at least it was outside and windy.
That basically hits most of the reasons I don't like going to local car meets. Especially for me too because I live in a smaller town and everyone is so opinionated and aggressive with their thoughts. For example, I was just driving around one evening while I was getting datalogs while going through the tuning process, and I drove past a local car meet a couple times just to see what kinda cars were there. The second time I passed by (I had my windows down) and some dude yells out mockingly "just park your car already!!* when I had no intentions of stopping since I was just getting data.
They all seem to think you're competing against them when really, I just like cars in general and respect each person for their own tastes. Oh well. Modifying my car is 100% a personal thing and I get my satisfaction out of it, so I have no need to stop at those car meets. It would just be nice to talk to a few like-minded people every once in a while.
I actually went to a cars & coffee with mine on Saturday. Usually they are at 8AM about 45 minutes from me so I don't. This one started at 10 and was maybe 10 miles away. Mostly mopar old and new, a few imports including a nice S2000, and lo and behold a G35 coupe (VQ35DE version) and a Nismo 370Z. G35 owner was nice but was a close talker and wasn't wearing a mask so I had to disengage. Nismo guy wouldn't talk to me much at all, so :shrug:
G35 guy: You haven't done anything to it yet! Me: looks at exhaust, long tube CAI, debadged blacked out car with black wheels and massive rubber compared to stock.. Quizzical puppy face ??? He was saying I should have bought a Jspec single-exit...
I did get some double-takes when we started up to leave. Thanks, FI :evilgrin:
Actually, I and my companion were the only ones wearing masks at all. So probably not going back - at least it was outside and windy.
The fact that it was outside most people don't wear masks that I've seen. We're in some frigid temps right now anyway so it's warmer to have a mask on outside lol
I'm not one to judge people on what they should do to their car, and it's pretty rude/pretentious to tell someone they should have done something else with their car than what they did... It's very annoying that people straight up tell you you're doing something wrong even though you probably know more than they do...
Anyway, it's not like FI knows what they're doing or anything... lol Granted I have a custom exhaust, but I get double takes all the time because the rest of my car is basically stock-looking. and I love that lol I'll eventually have more visual mods done to it, but for now it's a shocker to poeple when a mom-car looking sedan roars to life sounding like a race-car. People legit stare in confusion sometimes lol
I can see that (the competitiveness thing). I guess I didn't notice before because I didn't do generic car shows except for Nopi Nationals in the late 1990s... the Rotary crowd I used to hang out with in North Carolina was all very friendly and helpful.
I guess I should just be happy it wasn't all giant diesel trucks with a Carolina Squat, 8" tailpipes and coal a'rolling. With the requisite political flags and truck nuts of course. (I'm not really joking - I see 4-5 of these monstrosities every time I leave the house in a car).
Had a nice conversation with a guy with a C7 'vette and an old 80s Firebird with LS6 power.
I can see that (the competitiveness thing). I guess I didn't notice before because I didn't do generic car shows except for Nopi Nationals in the late 1990s... the Rotary crowd I used to hang out with in North Carolina was all very friendly and helpful.
I guess I should just be happy it wasn't all giant diesel trucks with a Carolina Squat, 8" tailpipes and coal a'rolling. With the requisite political flags and truck nuts of course. (I'm not really joking - I see 4-5 of these monstrosities every time I leave the house in a car).
Had a nice conversation with a guy with a C7 'vette and an old 80s Firebird with LS6 power.
Dang he's got a good taste... Bet he's proud of that Firebird.
I'm in Indiana so I see more of those coal rolling idiots than you could imagine.... They literally had a big poe-dunk gathering at the mall at the end of the season last year in Fort Wayne and literally had the cops called because of their dumb a**es.
I also grew up out in BFE so I literally grew up with farmer kids that didn't know anything besides trucks... So ya I feel your pain lol
It's because it's weird seeing TEs in plain. Most TE owners want you to know they're TEs
Agreed. I have the Rays Engineering and Volk Racing stickers for these wheels brand new sitting in my closet. Personally I feel they actually look good without the stickers too, just not in a profile shot. Check these angles out, and you might agree :
Got the Whiteline rear sway bar installed. I thought I'd have a big issue getting the rusty exhaust apart to squeeze the bar past, but it wasn't difficult.
A bit of adjustment to do still. Can't wait to try it out. Sadly I live in the Toronto area. There are no twisties to be found I used to live in the mountains of British Columbia where I could have made much better use of these suspension goodies!
The Swift rear springs were a breeze. Remove wheels, remove one bolt, out with the old and in with the new, torque one bolt (after putting weight on the suspension to prevent strain on the bushing). Reinstall wheel. Done!
The front sway bar is also quite easy, but it's not in yet because the front struts are a bear! Removing the struts isn't a big deal. The problem is compressing the springs.
I have a clamshell style spring compressor that I bought a decade ago. I've used it once to remove the springs from my Mustang's macpherson struts.
I managed to get one spring off today. Here is the first strut with compressor attached. It was tricky and scary. I watched a few videos. Checked and rechecked. Attached and reattached the compressor. Eventually, I got it off. Then I moved on to the second strut, which you can see sitting on my bench waiting for its turn.
BTW, if you ever use one of these, I recommend doing at least part of the tightening/compressing process by hand. Not for safety, but so you get an appreciation for the compressive forces in springs. Hint: you'll need a breaker bar! I used an impact wrench driven by 90 PSI of air. The wrench was working hard!
After messing around with the first spring for about two hours , I had learned a few things, so I got the compressor attached to the second spring in less than ten minutes. Then Murphy struck. The compressor failed on the second spring! It didn't explode, it just bent, and it bent enough that there wasn't enough compression of the spring to safely remove the nut and take it off the strut. So the second strut is still sitting on my bench waiting for its turn.
The top right arm and bottom left arm are bent inwards ( as I said, a lot of energy stored in these springs).
I have no idea where I got this compressor or how much I paid for it. I wish I knew so I could post a review. Now it's 17 pounds of scrap metal.
I ordered a new one from Summit. $190. https://www.summitracing.com/dom/par...illocation=dom
Same clamshell style but a slightly different design. On mine, two of the arms pivot and two are welded so they can't move independently. The one I just bought seems to have four independent arms. We'll see if it's any better. I certainly hope so for almost $200.
BTW, the exact same tool complete with the OTC label is listed on Mac Tools for $560! Can you spell "rip-off"? https://www.mactools.ca/en-ca/Steeri...ing-Compressor
02-06-2021, 09:00 PM
I used to live in the mountains of British Columbia where I could have made much better use of these suspension goodies!
, I had learned a few things, so I got the compressor attached to the second spring in less than ten minutes. Then Murphy struck. The compressor failed on the second spring! 
It didn't explode, it just bent, and it bent enough that there wasn't enough compression of the spring to safely remove the nut and take it off the strut. So the second strut is still sitting on my bench waiting for its turn.
Can you spell "rip-off"? https://www.mactools.ca/en-ca/Steeri...ing-Compressor
