My colleague had a talk with our CARB rep. and the news is bad. What it comes down to is that NONE of the intakes that are available, or will be available, will ever be CARB legal. This of course pertains only to intake systems that delete the factory airbox. The main reason that the tC will not be getting any CARB legal intakes is a simple carbon filter inside the stock airbox. This filter is heat bonded to the inside top half of the airbox, and is not removable. Not in one piece at least.

So with this news I'm sorry to say, that our Secret Weapon Intake for the tC won't be getting approved. This also goes for K&N, Injen, AEM, Umnitza, etc.

 

Forgot to add that for those of you who have pre-paid for an AEM intake at the dealer, should seriously consider getting your money back, because given the fact the intake will not be available in CARB legal form, the dealer will not sell it, nor can AEM due to the contract between them. This is not a ploy to take away AEM's business, but a bit of inside information for tC owners.

 

That carbon panel thing?? I ripped that off my moms airbox the 2nd day we bought her car.

It was hard to do but I got it off. Hehe

 

ahh ohh well...

 

yeps, that funny looking filter that looks like it belongs on a fish tank filter, LOLZ. That's what CARB is giving everyone a hard time about.

 

So if this is true why dosn't scion just say that and stop the bs. I want to wait if it means saving my warranty but if its not gonna happen then why won't they say it?

 

There's a lot of reasons why they wouldn't say so. Considering that AEM is the one actually producing the intake, there is bound to be a communication drop somewhere in there. And of course AEM won't want to admit to such a big account that they can't deliver. There is also that fact that Scion needs to retain its reputation, and any type of mass refund or recall will spark some ill fated words in the consumer community. Do you really think the dealer cares much about when you will get your product, considering they have your money already? Just some food for thought.

 

Ok, so there's that. Now, what's the stuff i hear about CARB exemptions? What's the deal with that stuff? i mean, i personally don't give a crap about it and i'll get an intake if/when i want to. Texas doesn't seem to be too big on that, but i was just wondering.

 

do other states other then california deal with the carb certification?

 

sooooo what is up with the AEM CAIs for th xB and the xAs out right now? They are just for show with no go?

 

The xA and xB have different types of filters in the stock airbox so the CAI will work as normal operations go.

The tC lacks some of the stuff to make it easily moddable to cut some costs.

Some of the things:
this carbon filter attached in a way that it would have to be removed to replace the intake - no carb intake

sticking the cat onto the header - no carb legal headers

no flanges directly before the cat (going from the back) - no bolt on catbacks



At least this is what I think. Scion probably tried to cut all these things to keep it affordable. I mean, there had to be a catch to all these great standard features for 16k and here it is: difficult modability.

 

Isn't CARB just in Kalifornia?

From what I understand, the rules here on the northern part of the coast couldn't really care less about the carbon filter.

So, would this make it yet another 'line' where there might be 49-state legal cars/mods on one side, and Kalifornia legal cars on the other?

(BTW, thanks for the heads-up Ray! Good info to have as early as possible.)

 

glad i didn't wait for AEM, i'm happy with the K&N CAI

 

Well, for us CA owners, we won't have to get a smog check for 6 model years and we don't have under-hood inspections. The only problem I see is from the police. Running a header or exhaust is pretty obvious and could get you a fix-it ticket, an intake can be pretty stealth...just don't gun it.

If there is a CA cop or CHP officer here, is it true that you need permission to search the car? Specifically, to check under to hood for illegal mods? What is needed so that you don't need the driver's permission to check?
I'm asking because I want to get an intake.

Otherwise, I say keep it stealth and mod away!

 

can someone explain the difference between CARB legal and smog legal?

 

We in Cali just use the terms interchangeably, as the smog stations follow the CARB guidelines religiously.

And it's not just Cali folk (as someone asked eariler). Several states have adopted the "OBD Test" a la CARB (Massachusetts), as others have begun to institue the Cali-style wheel dyno smog tests (Nevada, for one). Expect to see all states begin to initiate emissions testing programs. And remember, it has nothing to do with planet Earth, hippies, global warming, or any of that nonsense. Smog testing is a simple principle.

They (them being the state and the DMV) make about $20 per car, for every car manufactured between 1975 and 2000, registered in this state on smog checks every other year. And all of the little smog shops make a minimum of $30 a car. There's close to 30 million cars in Cali. It's all about revenue. And as other states see the cash cow dressed up as "ecological responsibility", they'll all join in.

I personally think you should be able to put whatever you want under the hood, so long as you pass the tailpipe emissions on the dyno. Nothing else should matter. But then they'd lose out on the millions in manufacturer kickbacks they get for doling out CARB certs. Smog is crooked as hell, and we all know it. Nothing to do, but bite the bi-annual bullet.

After 2011, that is.

 

I havne't gotten a hard time about non-CARB intakes in MA yet at inspection time.

 

This is the way the 2AZ-FE is designed. It's that way in most, if not all, of its domestic implementations. It was not designed that way by Scion, the 2AZ and its emissions equipment, is a shared engine, it was simply accepted that way by Scion probably because changing those parts would have added cost. So it was a cost saving move, but not from a design standpoint from Scion, since the engine was designed in 2002 by Japanese Toyota engineers.


I don’t know this for sure, but I suspect that the piping for the Camry is similar. Definitely a cost saving move by Scion, but again, the move was to not change anything and accept the engine as it was to keep manufacturing cost down. Part sharing is a wonderful thing, keeps cost down for the manufacture and consequently the consumer. But, like you said, it can hamper modability depending on how it's implemented.

But most of us that want a true performance exhaust wouldn’t bother with a cat-back, we'd go for a header back. Cali people not withstanding that is. lol

 

I dont know about all this carb stuff but doesnt it stand for "California Air Resources Board" I would assume that, that only applies to California. PLease correct me if im wrong. I live in PA and i would really like to know whats good ar not to use in my state.

 

i read in a thread that the new K&N CAI was car legal, or am i mistaken?