I look alot better when I shave and lay off the crack pipe for a week

 

For fear of being incarsarated I can only tell you that if your car was broken by the time you have to go to court, you could ask the judge to give you a fine instead of going to the ref.

 

Cops pull over out of state plates ALOT, believe me, Im a cop. 90% of out of state plates have owners that reside in California. Its very common with illegal aliens that buy Arizona/Nevada ect vehicles and dont register in california, hoping cops wont pull them over. If I see an out of state plate I will always run it, stop it, and investigate. Ill almost guarantee its a driver with a california drivers license and if not, atleast insurance from California.

As for being FI, I hate to say this but everyone is fair game if it isnt carb legal. Hell, I know some chippys that can identify illegal engine mods on vehicles that come FI from the dealer.

As for a cop asking you to pop the hood....dont shlt your pants too early, the guy might be just bluffing too hassle you and doesnt really know what he is looking at.

 

Driving a boosted Z in Cali is scary!

 

I haven't had any problems

 

So they do have the right to ask you to pop your hood, but is it actually considered a illegal search unless the owner pops the hood for the cop?

You never seem to get a strait answer on weather it is legal or not.

T

 

^^^
from my understanding, a cop can legally ask you to pop the hood. You, as the driver/owner, have a legal right to deny the request, as the officer doesn't have a warrant. BUT...the cop can then detain you while a warrant is received.

I read this article over 5 years ago, so don't quote me on the source.

 

stealth is the best way to go about it...the best thing about the z32 and z33 platforms as far as living in CA goes is that twin turbos wont be visible if you pop the hood. Getting a more conservative exhaust (at least the axle back portion) and perhaps painting the intercooler black will do wonders for helping you go "below the radar".

big 19" rims and body kits with a huge front mouth on the bumper make it tough to "blend in" though.

San Francisco is not bad, at least if you are not racing. I've been living here all my life, been driving modiifed turbo vehicles for years, and never been pulled over for modifications or anything like that. The one time i was pulled over was for expired tags on my honda, which was pretty much bone stock. the heat shield was removed from the stock header, and the cop obviously knew nothing since he kept insisting to me that that was not a stock header but it is aftermarket tubular unit.

now, the south bay such as san jose, fremont, milpitas, they are that bad so i tend to stay away from those cities.

 

^^^
+1.

For the most part, if you do "loud" things to your car (huge, blingy rims, flashy kit, etc), you'll have a hell of a time blending in.

 

When dealing with motor vehicles, it is in rare circumstance when a warrant would be necessary. And the mere refusal of an owner to comply with consent does not always (or in most cases) require the issuance of a warrant or release of the vehicle. Reasonable suspicion that could be articulated would be okay in many instances.

 

Under 2800 (b) V.C, the officer will arrest you for a misdemeanor and tow your car away if you refuse to comply with a field vehicle inspection.
2806 V.C gives police the authority to search vehicles.

In short, just suck it up and hope they dont know what the hell they are looking at under the hood.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong... The officer (after reading California VC) is still required to articulate RS for the inspection though. He/she just cannot stop a vehicle (non-commercial) on a whim for inspection...

I know in Nevada, reasonable suspicion is required unless dealing with commercial vehicle enforcement.

 

loud exhaust is enough probable cause to open the hood.

 

Oh, I agree. Developing pc is extremely easy.

 

yup, its all about pc when it comes down to it. A guy with a stock exhaust but has a intake sound emmiting from the engine would be pc to investigate. Even a BOV on a oem turbo i believe can be pc.

 

sure they can say its probable cause but but the less obvious the case (basically dont have any tell tale signs from the outside that your car is modified obvious gauges, big shiny exhaust tips, vents in the hood) the stronger the case when you take it to court that its not pc

 

any pc not matter how small is still pc and will fly in court. Fighting a ref ticket when you have a modified import is a lost cause. Judges HATE modified imports which they associate with street racers.

 

2800 isnt something you want on your record.......when they hear that read back from dispatch the reply is usually,"roll me another unit"
stand by to stand by! even if you arent a criminal that 2800 has a certain stigma about it

out-of state plates to dodge the smog ref bullet are a different can of worms --foreign registration penalties arent cheap and CHP has dedicated officers specializing in investigating people, where they live and work and if they should be paying CA reg

take your chances with turbo kits in CA---im going FI, but vortech will be my choice because i dont want to deal with the hassle

 

yo c3 whats the deal with the lock box behind the passanger seats of the i believe 06+? I herd a cop can search a car but cannot open a lock box in the car without some kind of warrant?

 

This is true, I have found out. However, considering a sports car enthusiast goals if he/she has an illegally modified car, registering in another state will not work. California actively seeks out people who do such things.