2000 ws6 formula ... FAILED SMOG TEST B/C NOT "STOCK" intake

**ws66sw** · 07-09-2016, 04:49 PM

hi fellas and girls...

have not posted here in years. anyhoo, a long time ago I put in an aftermarked air intake (the one that is clear plastic). spent 8 years in texas... no smog requirements, just yearly safety inspection. came back to California and for 2014 had to get it smogged. no problem, it passed, nothing said about the aftermarket intake.

ok. registration due 2016, took my car into the smog shop, was informed by the smog guy that it will not pass smog because of the aftermarket air intake.

funny... in 2014, it was fine. in 2016, it is not. smog guy told me a "new" law passed about a year ago in California which required him to require the stock air intake system b/c the stock intake had "numbers" on it which he needed.

ok, I am not a whiner, but it sounds pretty dumb to me... altho it would likely pass smog again as it did in 2014 with the aftermarket air intake, my car is now not even allowed to be tested with it on.

just frigging great. I know... put the original intake on for the test. yah, if I could find it, I took that sucker off in 2000 and who knows where it is now...

thanks California, ya smog-Nazi m/f's! lets just pass new laws regarding smog equipment requirements, the fact that it would still pass smog as before is not the point!

I haven't been so mad car-wise since Pontiac put a 350 or 400 hp motor in the grand prix or bonneville or whatever it was in 2001. it is no fun getting whupped by a 4-door family sedan with 3 kids in it along with a baby seat pointing and laughing at me as they proceeded to hand my ass to me. mine stock is 320 hp, with the aftermarket intake it was supposedly bumped up to 330 hp.

anyways, it is not the end of the world, but I get that feeling when I found out that my engine was not a "ram air" system, but a fresh air intake. kinda hard to claim that your engine is "force-fed" air (as the factory brochure claims) when the air has to go thru the hood intake honeycomb, a couple of baffles and an air filter before it gets to the engine. we ws6 owners should file a class-action lawsuit against Pontiac for being the liars that they are.

ok, I will settle down now....nice to be back....

**ws66sw** · 07-09-2016, 04:57 PM

ok, I am a "junior member"? actually, I joined ls1.com in 2000 and had hundreds of posts... I guess moving to texas wiped them all out... in other words, I am not a "newby" here...

**ws66sw** · 07-09-2016, 05:06 PM

don't laugh too hard ya guys... the same law apparently involves aftermarket cats, exhaust, all of it. yes, I am bitter, but replacing the air intake as opposed to the cats and exhaust is chump change... I only hope I am wrong in some way, and the way I knew ls1.com back then it was full of dudes that had no mercy, so give me your best shot, ya bastids....

**raynor139** · 07-09-2016, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by ws66sw

ok, I am a "junior member"? actually, I joined ls1.com in 2000 and had hundreds of posts... I guess moving to texas wiped them all out... in other words, I am not a "newby" here...

Site crashed years ago so post counts were lost.

**raynor139** · 07-09-2016, 10:56 PM

Originally Posted by ws66sw

don't laugh too hard ya guys... the same law apparently involves aftermarket cats, exhaust, all of it. yes, I am bitter, but replacing the air intake as opposed to the cats and exhaust is chump change... I only hope I am wrong in some way, and the way I knew ls1.com back then it was full of dudes that had no mercy, so give me your best shot, ya bastids....

Doesn't surprise one bit about California. Pretty sure if they had it their way you couldn't modify anything on your car. As for the forum nowadays most of the hard core no mercy guys are gone just a bunch of people who have been around for years and some newbies. Pretty laid back atmosphere compared to what it was like.

**DarrenWS6** · 07-10-2016, 04:25 AM

Exhaust in California is always a no-go if it is manifold/header or cat related. Stock only, so thats a given. The air intake should be perfectly fine as long as it has the factory air setup intact. Otherwise I would go to another shop.

**pajeff02** · 07-10-2016, 04:37 AM

Bummer on that technicality. Did you research if the lid has CARB approval?

**ws66sw** · 07-10-2016, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

Bummer on that technicality. Did you research if the lid has CARB approval?

thanks for the answers. no, I have not researched it, I kinda doubt it tho. in 2014, one smog shop refused to work on it because the aftermarket intake did not have an inlet for a tube (I think it was for noise control or something) that the intake area had. so I had taken the tube and put a filter on it and let it lay out in plain sight. the guy freaked when he saw that. so I merely tucked the tube in a place where it could not be seen, went to another smog shop, it passed the visual and smog test itself.

also, I could be wrong if I implied that ALL aftermarket intakes, cats and such are an automatic no-go, apparently some intake and exhaust/cats components are legal, but they must be labled 'CARB APPROVED" or something like that as you said.

I heard about the crash and loss of posts years ago, no big deal and it does seem that the traffic has slowed way down... my only guess is that the 1998-2002 ls1 firebirds and Camaros are not as in many numbers now. before, say circa 2000-2004 roughly, I saw ls1 firebirds (mostly trans-ams) all over the place. now, I can't tell you when the last time I saw any of them. a lot of them must have got wrecked or something, or the new owners of these cars when they were sold to others are not as social as before, I saw a site that kinda mimicked ls1.com, maybe that has a little to do with it. this was one jumping place 15 years ago. I am the original owner of my car, 143,000 miles now, looks like I need to sell it b/c I need a diesel truck to tow a heavy trailer. I put a hidden hitch on my car, but it is only good or legal to tow up to 2,000 pounds. I hate to sell it, but priorities are priorities. I am happy with my ws6 formula, but I wish I had bought a firebird 1LE or whatever it was called, it was extremely rare and had a lot of power/option deletes, it had crank windows and I believe it had a lot of performance upgrades, even more than the ws6 (but I could be wrong). anyhoo, look for it for sale here or on ebay after I get it smogged. if it flunks I will just park it in my barn, die, then let somebody "discover" it 40 years from now and put it on barret-jackson and sell for $100,000 hahaha. in any case, thanks for the replies guys and girls...mike