slammed_93_hatch

ok this was brought up in another thread and i thought it was a good idea, first off call 1800-622-7733 then come here and look for a review


RULES FOR POSTING YOUR REVIEW
1. post the location of the ref station (ie the addres, and county it is located)
2. post what year your car is and the motor setup and any mods to the motor if you had them
3. post your experince with the people working there, IE were they freindly, easy going strict, you get the idea


1. 3560 Business drive, suite 108 sacramento CA ( right off of power inn)
2. 1993 honda civic VX, with a 1994 acura integra ls motor. I had a comptech ice box for a 99civicSI and a SAFC hooked up but hidden, with a comptech exahaust and i passed
3. the people there were very nice, not ******** at all. very nice i failed the first time because i had CEL's stored in the ecu (NOTICE YOU MUST CLEAR YOUR ECU OF ALL CEL's EVEN IF THE LIGHT ISN'T ON ANYMORE). and he even gave me complements on my car. as stated above i had the comptech icebox from a 99 civic SI and they said NOTHING about it. overall i suggest any one in the area to go there. EDIT: i did not supple and was not asked for an ECU veravication print out.

EDIT: please don't post quesitons in here i would like this to stay a good FAQ use the PM feture to ask people questions if you have them, this also includes random posts


<FONT SIZE="20">HOLLY **** READ THIS BEFOR YOU POST ALL OF YOU THAT POSTED USELESS **** ITS GOING TO BE DELETED. THIS IS MENT TO BE A REFERENCE THREAD NOT, I SAID NOT A DISCUSION THREAD THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO SCROLL THREW 30 PAGES OF BS TO GET ANY INFO</FONT>

Modified by slammed_93_hatch at 12:00 AM 4/24/2004


Modified by slammed_93_hatch at 11:52 AM 9/16/2004

sinatra

1.) Santa Rosa Junior College Smog Referee Station

2.) 1999 Honda Civic SI. 2000 USDM itr shortblock bought from Acura. 1999 b16a2 head converted to itr internals. b16a2 transmission. Mods: JDM itr 4-1 header pipe with all stock heatshields.

3.)The guy is **** but doesn't seem to know a whole lot about Honda cars. This fact can be a good or a bad thing depending on what kind of car you have and what your attitude is like.

I went to him dressed nicely after I had washed my car. I played the stupid but not too stupid role. He didn't notice or didn't care about my JDM itr 4-1 header pipe. He didn't ask for papers to verify that my ecu was infact the right ecu (other people who have visited this ref station have had to). Overall the process was a heck of alot less painful than I thought ti would be.

B_CRUZ!

1) Alameda College in Alameda County in CA

2) 1994 Civic CX with a 1995 GS-R motor. No mods. Stock CX airbox with GS-R intake piping. Custom piping exhaust with a magnaflow muffler.

3) Very friendly and not strict at all. Didn't hassle me for anything. Complemented on the OEM like wiring. They didn't ask for motor receipt or ECU verification but I handed him all that stuff right when I came in.

bretx0r

1) 3560 Business drive, suite 108 sacramento CA ( right off of power inn)

2) 1998 Forged Internals B18B into a 1998 Civic HX

3) People were great, very friendly, failed a ricer before me and some other fool with a LS hatch.. did it just like a normal smog check had me on my way in less than 45 minutes. Bar bitch!

Spade

1. Fullerton Community College Ref Station.
2. 1997 Honda Civic EX with stock D16Y8. AEM Short Ram, Edelbrock Intake Manifold, DC 4-2-1 Header.
3. People are friendly, but they are strict and stubborn and cannot make a call on their own.

Example: I had the Edelbrock SOHC IM on the car, this manifold does not have a EO# on its own. However, the turbo kit that it comes with does and it is included in it. There is a clause in the Smog laws also that state if the device is a direct bolt on replacement of the factory unit and all smog equipment attachs to that device it is considered a factory replacement and does not need a EO#. Well, they didn't want to agree to that saying "it could affect smog because the PVC connects to the back of the plenum instead of the front"

I'm unhappy with how they run that station and would suggest going somewhere else to anyone other than people I hate.

degooser

1. Southwestern Community College Ref Station San Diego, Ca or well Chula Vista

2. 1993 Honda Civic Ex 1995 JDM GSR motor and a 1993 civic CX with the same year and type motor... no mods bone stock on both cars.....

3. Very nice guys they know what they are doing..and they are very helpful too if you have any questions...and you can watch them work on your car and ask/answer questions as they work on your car...

ALSO ref stations are like learning centers...hence the reason that they are usually at Community Colleges...

also...

1. Ref Station in Escondido, Ca...location is near the Escondido Auto Center...

2. 1993 civic CX bone stock but had an exhaust...(my girl got a fix-it-ticket for an intake and she had to go see these guys..)

3. You are not able to see what they do to your car... the smog test station place is like in the back of the building and you can not go back and see what they are doing. People didnt talk too much just test the car and pay your money...

stockegsix

1. Rio hondo college( whittier california)

2. 92 honda cx, bonestock 1995 udsm b18c1, stock gsr harness, eg6 oem air box/ gsr intake arm, 00si header, stock civic cat, custom 2.25" piping w/ 00si muffler. the car was as stock as a stock gsr.

3. It was raining that day, and kinda cold, and normally this causes cars to have higher emissions. anyways the guy was really cool, he knew a lot about hondas and even complimented me on how clean my swap is. Him and his assistant spent a good 45min checking the car(i.e. wiring, sensors..etc) an hour later i got the bar sticker. wohoo!! past the first time( it felt like loosing your virginity again lol)

I was really nervous cause of the 00si header, catalytic converter and intake hybrid. but he did not mention anything about them so i kept my mouth shut!! and i did all the work.

dantastic

1) Alameda Community College

2) 1993 Civic CX with a sir-1 b16a converted to obd1, usdm b16a3 i/m, AEM SRI (correct intake for del sol dohc vtec), catback exhaust, USDM p30 ecu, b16a2 exhaust mani

3) nice guy, let me watch as he inspected my car. didnt ask for any paperwork at all. passed visual, but failed tailpipe. got a new cat, swapping out 255lph pump for stock cx, scheduled another appointment in april

EF_LSVtec

Fremont, CA (Warm Springs blvd), Sequoia Institute Ref Station

Set up, Stock 97 B18b, AEM CAI, jdm itr header, HKS exhaust, lightend flywheel, new cat, pr4 non obd ecu, hasport wiring harness.

Car: 1988 Civic DX

failed for having CAI made for d series and 1 wire O2. Installed a stock GSR arm w/ stock airbox, failed because of high O2 reading. Installed a 4 wire O2 and bought a new CAT...passed

Ref was so ignorant about obd1 and obd0 set up...he didnt check what ecu I was using and just simply checked how many wires my O2 had...He asked about the header and I told him it came with the motor because of the stock heat shields, hehe...also asked me why my car was made in Canada (what a moron) with a jdm front...and didnt want to do the smog check til he called one of the local Honda dealer to verify that Hondas were actually made in Canada and Japan depending on the model...

Luserkid

1. East Los Angeles City College

2. 93 Civic Coupe with 94 JDM GSR with bolt ons (IHE)

3. The dude was cool as hell. He said that his only a *** when people come to him with tickets, but people that come there to make there stuff legal he is totally chill with. I failed the first time because my cat was to cold. Great place to smog your car.

fishnfst

1. skyline college in Daly City

2. 94 civic hatch with usdm 95 gsr h/e

Guy was cool there. If you go try and schedule first thing in the morning before all of the kids get there. They are set up in one of the auto shop class bays. In and out in less than 45 minutes.

macrosshn

iTrader: (1)

Here is my experience with the 'man' (CA Bar test)


1) 3560 Business drive, suite 108 sacramento CA ( right off of power inn) was where I went.

2) I have a 96 Civic hatch with a USDM 97' GSR motor.

3) The technician was awesome, couldn't have asked for a nicer person to deal with. He said I had the cleanest swap that he had ever seen! w00t w00t!

notes: I have a Mugen airbox but replaced it with the original airbox for the test. I also put back the original exhaust manifold. I didn't want to take any chance on something this important. I kept my Apex'i World Sport exhaust on and had no problems whatsoever. Passed easily on the first try. Overall, it was a very positive experience and now my car is 'legal.' She aint jail-bait no more

EGsixer

1.a. 1045 National Dr. #3 Sacarmento CA

1.b. 3560 Business drive, suite 108 sacramento CA

2. 1993 DX hatch w/ 1995 b16a motor running USDM p30 ecu, Used some "garunteed to pass" from autozone. Ran stock DX wiring harness/exhaust/cat only mod was a B&M FP gauge.

3. They put me on the dyno at both stations, i failed the first time around when i was running a JDM p30 and went back today with a USDM p30 and some "g2p" in my fuel system and passed no problem. The REF was pretty nice, old guy (tom), they actually f#%k'ed up and sent some wrong information to the DMV after they smogged it the first time. so they had to pull my car back onto the dyno and smog it again. i was afraid id fail the 2nd time around even though i passed the first, but i didnt. . They didnt know the difference between a JDM and USDM p30 though thats for sure. I asked why they put me on the dyno to smog unlike some others (bretx0r) the referee told me it depends on the ZIP code you live in, that determines if you get to hop on the dyno or just get a sniffer up your a$$. all in all it was a good experience and im glad i passed.

makibaka

1. Alameda College, 555 Atlantic Avenue, Alameda, CA
2. 1992 Civic CX, bone stock B18C1 (OEM GSR, filter, intake arm, and cat) with CX exhaust (cat back), GSR gauge cluster swap
3. The guy there was really chill. He wasn't strict at all and didn't even ask for a bill of sale for the motor or ECU verification from the dealer. He didn't pull any ECU codes just checked ig the CEL was illuminated at the end of the test. He let me watch the entire test.

1. Evergreen Community College, San Jose
2. see above
3. I intially went here before going to Alameda College. Evergreen refused to inspect my car because of questionable air bag functionality (I forgot to wire up the SRS plug properly for my GSR gauge cluster swap) which was understandable. However, before they discovered the air bag issue, they were very strict. As soon as I told the main guy that I had a GSR swap, he yelled to the other two working on my car, "Jump the wires and pull any codes!!!". If they hadn't stopped because of the airbag light, they probably would have counted the number of wires on my 02 sensor. The shop was also a dedicated room/building and seemed like almost a smog test only professional station that most of us try to avoid. The guys seemed nice, but strict/****. If you're looking for a "lax" smog ref to see, Evergreen probably isn't the place to go. BTW, the ref at Alameda said that Evergreen specializes in Hondas.

crashN2u

I hope you don't consider this a random post. I just would like to hear more about the Southwestern ref. Also there has been a lot of posts regarding ref's and getting BARed lately, so I figured this could use a bump. Maybe people could also post the date that they went. Great idea BTW.

Rywire

1. salinas california, Hartinell college

2. 89 crx si. Jdm B18c, gsr tranny, obd1, usdm p72, Crx intake box, cut open with k&N filter, jdm xsi integra intake arm, 64mm t-body, S2 IM, DC header, greddy exhaust.

3.The head guy has students working with him, the kid couldnt drive my car, he stalled like 7 times.
The head guy was nice, (old white fellow)you just have to be polite, and make some jokes to ease the tension.
He knows his ****, he even knew that the jdm b18c was like 7-10 more hp, and 10.6 compression.
I showed him the carb stickers, and he was cool, passed visual 1st try. But, my HC's are too high, so I will be back to see him next time.
I did have to verify ecu... it must be out, and on the floor.

Reccomended!! Ryan

atc5

iTrader: (2)

1. Skyline College on 7/12/2004
2. 1999 Civic EK, 2000 B18c5/ITR motor, 1998 ITR ECU, OEM CTR Intake, OEM ITR header and cat.

3. The head guy there was super cool and had a different student each time I went there. The first time I went I failed because of my SRS light being on and having an AEM intake that was CARB approved for a 1998 car. The CARB approval number has to match or be over the year of the motor it's on. Turned out my SRS light was due to a blown driver side airbag. I got a new airbag and slapped an OEM CTR intake on and booyah, passed!

I highly recommend this station...very nice guys to work with. They never asked for papers on the motor or the ecu either.

Regarding Gauges....I have a fuel pressure GAUGE ONLY in my engine bay. I asked the tech if that was ok and he said that if it was adjustable then there could be a problem (if not CARB approved). He said since it was just a gauge that it's no big deal.

Figured it would be worth mentioning that just in case anybody needs this info in the future.


Modified by atc5 at 4:43 PM 7/12/2004

eg6sir-s

Great Post! it might be a good idea to have a link of this post on the "Hybrid" forum.

94cxhybrid-T

1. Escondido California, just outside San Diego 7/12/03

2. 94 civic HB with 97 USDM gsr motor. List of mods at time of smog: Skunk2 IM, Aem short ram and greddy sp exhaust.

3.When i got the swap i was already running an obd1 harness and ecu so decided to convert the rest to obd1, Which was just the TB since i had a skunk2 manifold already. Since the sticker was not available at the time but the CARB approval hd passed i spoke with Group A and they sent me a copy of the papers for the CARB approval of the manifold and i provided that information for them. So i took it in and passed with flying colors. Told the ref it was a 94 motor and there were no problems at all. Both guys working were cool as hell. I just handed them my keys told them it was a 94 gsr and 40 min later i had my sticker.

I highly reccomend this REF to anyone in San diego area. Very easy going people!

TypeR II

Southwestern Community College Ref Station San Diego, Ca - Dec. 2003

1993 Civic VX with 1994 JDM B18B (stock), B16A tranny, P75 ecu

Guys there were cool, I told them I did a pretest and it should pass. I have my own smog shop so that helped. I put a new cat just to be sure it would pass, no problems at all. Had 2 other friends that failed their first test but told them to take it back and ask the smog tech. to warm up the cat before he ran the test. They did and the car passed. Now my car is ls/vtec with ref label, even though its not legal, a cop probably can't tell the difference.

drunknbass

does any one know if its manditory that you have a driver side airbag? i have a 92 which only requires a driver and not a pass.. but have an aftermarket wheel.

Marauder

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by drunknbass &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">does any one know if its manditory that you have a driver side airbag? i have a 92 which only requires a driver and not a pass.. but have an aftermarket wheel.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You shouldn't....if you have a SRS light on the dash, just pull the light bulb out. I went for a sound check, and the guy (the officials rookie sidekick) made a comment that the SRS light was on, but that it had a no air-bag steering wheel. The official said it didn't matter.

CivicEG R

sorry, but whats a REF station? Is that like the emissions test?

Marauder

LMAO...

you'd know if you are in California.

Smog Referee run by the state.

intezn

Alameda College, Alameda

95 B18B stock in a 92 si
Complete stock

Somewhat a cool guy and girl
Checked everything with a manual, a light, and a timing gun.
Didn't ask for papers but I just gave it to him anyway
Asked for verification of ECU, which I didn't have, so first attempt everything passed, except that.

Got paper from dealer went back and passed with flying colors.