Synergy

So I finally picked up my HA's today and the installation is tomorrow. I am soooo damn excited! I will post some pics when done!

Can anyone tell me why these bad boys are illegal? Aftermarket and very poor quality Intrax springs are street legal and good quality TEIN's are not. Why is this?

Is there any safety precautions I should know about? These are safe, right?

Thanks for the feedback!

rominl

iTrader: (4)

ok this is what i know but i can't say i know it for sure

for things to be legal on the street, the company has to present the product to the state (or fed?) to get a CARB legal sticker. once they get that it would be legal on the street, and you will find that sticker on the parts. so if you are pulled over by a cop and get an inspection ticket, you can get the car to dmv, and once the inspector sees the label he will check it up to see if it matches the car and you are good to go.

anything that's not legal, the company HAS to state that the product is for off road use only, tein is one example and another good example is any 6000K hid systems.

now why would it be illegal? i bet height would be a great factor. tein allows quite some drop with their coilover, and i bet tein knows very well that if they get the coilover to the department, it will get rejected for sure coz' of the ride height. i don't know why but the department definitely will NOT allow too much of a drop on a car aftermarket setup. that's most likely the reason why tein are street illegal.

well that's my guess....

Synergy

That sounds pretty legit, rominl. Thanks for the explanation.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yup, but to me i think it's ok. first, tein is top notch quality for sure, no doubt about that. so it definitely won't kill the car in any sense.

second, from my experience the cops are less strict on luxury cars. i mean if you have a civic and you slam that car to the ground, i am sure you will have a lot of chances to talk to the cops. but if you have a lexus and slam it low, the cops will let you go. same thing goes to tint and front licence plate frame imho.

RON430

rominl - There are people who approve parts for cars but shocks is probably a funky area. CARB is California Air Resources Board and the only things that will carry CARB approval are those that relate to emissions. You will see CARB approval on intakes, chips, filters, etc., that affect emissions. I never really thought about approval for shocks but if you check a bilstein site, I am very confident that they would have any appropriate approvals. If they don't have it, I wouldnt' worry about it. And obviously, CARB is a state approval and means nothing for any federal agencies that might require their approval. As far as I know, things like SEMA have approvals but they are a trade organization and would never be used for a safety approval. My guess for the relevant federal agencies would be DOT or NHTSA but, like I say, I don't know if I have ever seen their approval on shocks.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

oh.. sorry sorry.... it must not be CARB then.... maybe it's DOT approved??? i know stuff like SS brake lines and stuff there is DOT-approved and non-DOT-approved. maybe that applies on springs and shocks too @_@

KKelly

I think it is likely the DOT or NHTSA standards. The SS brake lines that meet their standards are actually inferior to most non-approved lines. I read a LONG article explaining the difference once. Earls or those for "off-road use" only usually have much higher tolerances and better attachements of the fittings to the hose. Another victory for the goverment. The problem is a company has to spend A LOT of money to get the stuff tested and approved and some just don't.

kvoman

KKelly hit it right on the money with the last comment. It's all about how much money it will cost the company to have it tested and approved from the government (state/fed/local, etc.). Many smal companies do not have the financial resources to do product design/testing/manufacturing and also try to get approval from the government.

tmasta

i was watchin that true life or whatever on MTV and this one kid got with a integra got a ticket for his car being too low.. somethign about how his beams where 18 " off the groudn when they should be 22" i think.. all i gotta say is. man those CA police wrote him a million tickets! HA.. the cop said his intake didnt have a CARB certified sticker on it so he got ticketed for an illegal exhaust! i hope it doesnt get that strict on the east coast

T

Manaray

That kind of stuff only happens if the cop has a hard-on for you or if you're "cruising" in an area like Hollywood....

I don't have anything that is CARB certified on my car and most of the parts I've had on former cars we not CARB certified either...I have NEVER received a ticket for an intake, exhaust, etc., etc. on my cars...but then again, I don' t drive riced out cars.

The most common "fix it" ticket you'll get in a tinted window ticked in Los Angeles...and that's usually only in conjunction with another traffic violation (like speeding) and again, usually only on a cheaper cars...

I see a LOT of limo tinted Lexos and Benzos and other higher end cars in the greater LA area...obviously, cops don't mess with 'em too much.....I heard that cops out in the East Coast (like NY) give out more of these type of tickets than in LA...

J.P.

On the MTV "true life, I am a weak street racer" they showed the cops just being brutal to the ricers about CARB certs. I had no idea Cali had it that bad. Aside from tinted windows, here you can have a slammed ford ranger with a 351 Windsor with 2 4 barrels scrappin or a jacked up burban on 44" tires and the cops just drive on by.

Tuning Pleasure

i dont think sedans would have problems on its suspension systems like modded compacts.

unless you have a vented to the atmosphere wastegate, i dont think cops would care too much about it.