I am new to the state and I need to get my car (1998 Acura 1.6EL) registered and plated. To do this I need to get it smog'd and do all the importing paperwork. Since it is the same drivetrain as a 98 Civic EX sedan, I am looking to any Civici owners to give me some feedback.

As of right now I have a CAI and a header on my car, and I need to know 1) if these are looked at as illegal, and 2) if anyone here has experience passing SMOG with these items installed. I know for fact that my header is crappy and has an exhaust leak around the cat connection, but with that fixed will i pass?

Also, how much is it for a test, and/or a retest. Thanks so much...

 

it depends what kind of CAI you have, if its name brand it will have a carb # on it, if its generic, like off ebay it will not. as for the header, do you have your stock one? that would help. if not try to fix it and go from there

 

Yeah, CARB #'s are very important and exhaust leaks are bad, so make sure that is all in order. I paid $65 for my test and I could have gotten one free retest at the same station had I failed. Don't be like everybody else though, give your car a tune up, oil change and use high octane gasoline for a while to clean out your fuel system (a fuel system cleaner is always good too). Just because it's a Honda, doesn't mean that it will pass as is. I've seen many Toyota's and Honda's fail smog here 'cause people think they don't need to take care of the invincible "T" or "H."

 

ive seen at least 3 1.6EL's here in cali with cali plates, so i dont think theyre that hard to pass. you may not pass visual if you car has and intake and header w/o carb #'s. and gettting a tune up right before the test helps too. also, make sure you car is really warmed up b4 u get tested. a warm cat = clean exhaust