(I tried to post this in The Lounge but it wouldn't let me. I apologize if this is in the wrong place)

Hello. I have a 1992 RX7 FD coming in from Japan. I did import the vehicle myself and not through a registered import dealership. I was wondering if anyone has ever imported and registered one recently(FD or FC) in CA. It is a mostly stock car and still retains the factory emissions equipment under the hood. I purchased a USDM exhaust with the cats and stock muffler(since JDM cars dont have Cats) to put on the car for smog purposes. My question is, would I still have to get the car lab tested even if my car has all the factory smog equipment plus the US spec cats and passes smog; visually and on a computer and sent that information into the DMV? I really dont want to pay $5000-10000 for the govt just to LOOK at my car for a few months just to decide it was legal all along. My thoughts are since the FD I purchased was also manufactured for US sales, unlike the Skyline, it should be in compliance with Federal emissions and safety standards, but not CA emissions standards until I put the USDM cats on. The vehicle is also on the list of eligible import vehicles as of August 2018 on the NHTSA List of Vehicles eligible to the US. Thoughts on the matter or if anyone here works for the DMV or CARB, can explain the process for a vehicle sold in both Markets? Thanks!

 

Short answer, not easily.
Long answer, I would contact the guys at RB motoring and see if they can help you making it CA legal.
Ghetto answer (not recommended), find property out of the state and register the car there. It's over 25 years, so it's legal everywhere but the People's Republic of California.
Best answer, move out of this bat **** crazy state. :p

 

My brother lives in Nevada. Haha. And he has a house out there. Might just go with that and get the car registered there. How would I go with registering a car out there if I have CA drivers license?

 

If you want to be a bit more above suspicion, get a Nevada license. However, this is a very grey area in the law, and CHP has been known to say "I've seen this car pretty often, I'm confiscating it."

I do not recommend doing this without being prepared to lose the car on the off chance a CHP officer is having a bad day.

 

Unless you have some kind of hook up or inside deal at the DMV, I'd pass and look for a clean US model. It'll be cheaper in the long run. Especially here in California.

 

Register out of state if you dont want to go thru CARB/BAR inspection. If you want to legally register it in california, there is no way of skipping CARB/BAR inspections.

 

Thanks guys. I'm going to register it in NV. I just called NV DMV today and they were completely cool with registering a "Grey Market" car in NV even if I'm a non resident.

 

+1 on that.

To the OP's original question, CA does not recognize the 25-year exemption for emissions (safety exemption is okay).

Any grey market import must have an emissions test for exhaust and evaporative that is the same that OEM's did to certify engine families, following whatever emissions standard was in effect for the model year, This is a laboratory test on a chassis dynamometer and inside an evaporative enclosure, Expect to spend at $4-5K, and the FD probably would not pass with anything less than a brand new set of catalysts and even then it will be iffy. I went through all this when I imported a 1995 R33 GT-R years ago, it was a real task.

 

My neighbor has Nevada plates on his xterra for about a year. The other day a cop stopped by his house and knocked on his door.
I asked him what was up and he told me the cop noticed his plate and gave him a fix-it ticket. His car is stock, he's legitimately from Nevada but he didn't want to give up his personalized plate. If his car wasn't stock, he'd be screwed right now, on his way to the referee.


Is it worth having a cop knock on your door and then who knows what happens with the FD?

 

Well, the car is gonna be garage kept unless driven but where I live in CA, theres too few cops and too many people. They never bother going after the cars with late or no registration. On my block alone, my neighbors have their daily drivers registered in Vermont, Alaska, Nebraska, Maryland, etc. I dont think it will be much of a hassle. Plus, the cops in my city love Tuner cars. Regardless, I'm only going to have the car registered for at most 6 months because I am going into the Military soon.

 

You know where you're going to be stationed?

If you end up getting stationed in Japan for over 2 (I think?) years, you can actually bring your car back with you and get it registered anywhere.

 

If you're going back to stock it really isn't all that difficult, just time consuming and not the cheapest. Proper manifolds, EGR (CA specific if you're going for 50 state legal), ECU etc. It's not the end of the world. If you're trying to keep it modded and refuse to go back to stock your best bet may be Montana under an LLC or the like, though that assumes you're using the vehicle for work purposes .

 

I'm going to be stationed on a ship but I'm half Japanese and my Aunt and Grandparents live in Toyko. So, when my ship does stop in Japan for a week or 2, I could just buy another one and ship it over.

 

You're starting on a ship, there's a LOT of Navy in the PRC, San Diego might as well be a whole city of Navy...And if you're in the Corps there's a lot too.
Miramar, Coronado, Pendleton, Twentynine Palms, China Lake. And that's just what's south and east of LA

 

Bumping 1 or 2 year old threads? You seem to be on a mission.

 

did

What was the process like trying to register your FD did you run into problems?

 

i bought an Rx8 in Nevada and needed temporary tags, and the DMV experience was a real shock. the whole process only took about a half an hour, the staff was friendly and helpful, and then it was $12 for a 90 day registration, so it was cheap too.

 

How was the process? What are the steps you did to register your RX7?

 

that was back in 2018 and it’s been over 2.5 years since he last logged in on this website.

 

completely cool was my experience with the Nevada DMV, they asked what i wanted, i told them, they said that'll be $12, the printer ran and we were done.

this was mind blowing coming from California.