yeah... i am afraid that's the case. the legit ones are very strict. they failed my other car one time simply because he couldn't see the timing mark on the pulley... that was after it passed all other tests including the roller/tail pipe tests.
there are some shops do it under the table, but they risk losing the license.
OP - unless you have a reliable source to get the smog cert... it's almost not worthwhile to mod the cars these days. And you have to watch out for those surprise mobile smog inspections on the roads.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wanker
No such thing. CA smog shops are heavily regulated and audited.
FYI, here is a good blog discussing the intricacies of the CA smog test. It's the functional inspection (the timing and idle speeds), that trips up tuned cars.
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