I was watching some show on MTV about street racing the other day. The street racers all got pulled over (one of em was a P5!) and the cops were doping vehicle inspections. They were busting these guys for EVERYTHING possible; lights, suspension mods, etc... But it never entered my mind that cone filter intake systems could be illegal... or at least that cop said they are. Is this true & if so, is it just another one of those silly california laws or is this everywhere?

 

Hmmm... I know California has some unusual laws mostly regarding emissions, but I can't see how a cone filter could be illegal. Unless it's because of the thing that plugs into the stock airbox (temp sensor?). I think I read somewhere that many folks are just tying this off to the side. Maybe it's something like that that makes it illegal. Hopefully someone from CA will chime in.

 

It is a matter of vapors that are not allowed to escape from a closed air cleaner assembly. When you shut down an engine, a certain ammount of vapors backup through the air intake from the throttle body and PCV system. These rarely escape from a closed system and are drawn back into the engine at startup or absorbed by the charcoal canister. With a cone filter or other open element air intake, these vapors have a short path to the atmosphere. Cali has the strictest regulations on engine modifications, which I'm sure includes the air intake. I expect a few other states are similar. Fortunately, Texas is pretty lenient outside of the major metro areas.

 

In California, any modification to the intake or exhaust system is illegal unless it is certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). If the police pull you over and you have a cone filter without a CARB sticker on it, you will get cited. However, plenty of aftermarket manufacturers get their equipment certified when possible (some modifications just won't pass). The Injen CAIs are supposed to be CARB certified. I need to call Injen and find out if the CAIs for the Protege are certified yet. My smog inspection is due in January and I still don't have a sticker for it. I may have to put the stock intake back on.

 

Well yeah everything in California is illegal from not having a front reflector to you exhaust. Not so long a go I got pull over for some b.s, anyways he asked me to open my hood and citied me for my mhp cai, exhaust, and my third brake light, anyways he wrote me up for that and then pasted a sticker on the back of the ticket saying" vehicle can not be operated until citation is clear be state referee"

 

Well, all of these restrictions has actually helped quite a bit. I remember fifteen years ago, L.A.'s air actually made your lungs burn and eyes sting. Now, it's pretty normal save for the ugly brown haze. Clean air is quite nice!