Stupid Question time - Driving from Canada to US

[hvyman]

Seeing as your from canada and driving down for a trip i dont think they would give you a hassle. Now if you moved down here and were rolling around with canada plates and no cat and they looked for that then they would tell you to register and smog the car for cali plates.

I rarely get pulled over. ive gotten pulled over for my exhaust before, luckily i have a state ref sticker saying my exhaust is legal and then that goes out the window.

 

[Orion ZyGarian]

Also, thanks to internet cookies and temporary internet files, all of you have downloaded all of the cars on this page!

 

[mkiii222]

There is a stretch of I-15 in Utah that is the same way too. Maybe by the time I'm an old man, speed limits will be more reasonable. Much like Germany has stretches of their highways without restrictions, America could easily do the same. You ever drive through parts of Utah/Nevada? Cruising at 130+ wouldn't be an issue if you're in a car that can do it.

I think the greater trouble is the rest of the drivers though...

Just remember, if you do get pulled over, stay respectful. These guys have a difficult enough job, and being respectful and friendly never hurts.

QFT - Most highways more than 50 miles from a major city are the same way. 95 between Miami and Daytona, 70 between St Louis and KC, 75 between Atlanta and I10...

I've gotten out of more tickets by just being respectful than anything else. Yes there is the occasional douche that just wants to harass you but 9 times out of 10 they are just doing their job.

As for coming across the border I've been across the Detroit/Windsor tunnel and bridge without issue several times. I did put the silencer in my Blitz NUR Spec but they never checked under the hood. As for American law enforcement just stay within 5-10 mph of the posted speed limit and you won't have any issues. Never been to California but everywhere else I've been the most I've gotten was a 'anything I need to know about this vehicle?' and that only happened one time out of the 20+ I've been pulled over.

 

[ttsupra2503]

not sure how that ties in.. lol. but no. However, enviro laws may affect non-citizens indirectly. For instance... you cannot insure your car without getting your car "air-cared" in BC. In Alberta.. we dont have that yet. I can drive in BC legally... but I can't kill anyone without the police getting a tiny bit upset.

so... thats why I asked.

(not gonna argue the effectiveness or enviro impact of a cat btw... )

I am going to point something out to you that you obviously dont know about emission law on your car. Even though you dont have to get air care, you still are required to have a catalytic converter installed on the car. If you were to get an inspection on the car you would have to put one in unless the mechanic missed it. In bc, only the coast has air care in high population area's. In places like the Okanagan or even further up north there is no air care requirements.

So if you get pulled over and someone checks for a catalytic converter and you dont have one, be prepared to have to get one installed and a full inspection done on the car. I dont think they will force you to have air care enforced if you stand by your guns of being in an area where air care isn't enforced .... yet.


With that being said, for the most part they have more important things to do and probably wont hassle you. If your worried, you should give a local police station a call so that you know from a law enforcement officer of the state. Dont forget their badge number

 

[jetjock]

There's probably no other thread that shows just how dumb this place is and that's saying something...

 

[Grandavi]

Generally, Im good to go then. Again.. I was asking out of "heresay" and just wondered. I plan on going through Nevada (hopefully for SILV if its still running) and then heading down to Sanfran (I have relatives in that area) and then along the coast. Would really like to drop into Kaizen as well, just to see who the hell they are and get a pic of my car in front of the shop
Ultimately.. I would love to get a photo of my car beside Rodels.. lol. That would truly be epic.

sadly.. none of this will happen until I get my interior back into the car. (maybe next summer.. maybe...)

 

[pogoism9]

California has no jurisdiction over your car.

 

[fixitman04]

i have been pulled over the last two times i was in sac. town... both times in a non compliant car registered in nd. both times it was looked over and i was sent on my way... as pogoism said ... they had no jurisdiction over my car. did get a noise violation from one of those visits and a speeding ticket the other time... but no emissions stuff as i was not required to adhere to cali laws as i am not a resident. just like in minnesota i dont have to worry about having my car trailer registered as north dakota does not require registration on trailers unless they are occupiable. as long as your car is up to your provinces standards your fine

 

[TrqMnstr]

California has no jurisdiction over your car.

Just don't brake any laws. Just remember though, if a bald eagle lands On or In your car it will be considered US soil..............

 

[Poodles]

There's probably no other thread that shows just how dumb this place is and that's saying something...

Awww, come on. We all know that technicly police really can't do shit to you about anything on your car because of where you're from, but it doens't mean they can't still hassle you.

But of course it's also a lot of paperwork, so you have that on your side :rofl:

 

[Grandavi]

Well.. from the discussion side, I doubt I have to worry much.. : )

The only time it would affect anything is if someone stateside wanted to by my car. I dont hear much about US people buying Canadian cars though.. could be the road salt makes the car a bit too light.

 

[GrimJack]

Just remember though, if a bald eagle lands On or In your car it will be considered US soil..............

You do realize that most of your bald eagles are Canadian immigrants now, right?

 

[Grandavi]

I have never seen more eagles than when I went to Prince Rupert (just below Alaska) to camp with the family. Excellent area to camp/fish, etc.. but make sure you are aware of the wildlife/fishing regulations.. the Fish and Game boys carry glocks for a reason...

 

[MNBmk3T]

I almost hit a bald eagle when I was on final approach into the Prince George airport last year. Shat my pants when I saw it and barely dodged it.

 

[Zumtizzle]

How exactly would folks in California know whether a certain bit was required or not in a foreign country? Catalytic converters haven't been around forever. What are they going to do if I drive down in my friend's 32 Ford? It doesn't have cats. Never has.

It's also "smog exempt" in california, being made before 1975.

Come on guys, if it doesn't have california plates the California Air Research Board has no say on your vehicle.

 

[IJ.]

Can't drive it in the dark

 

[3p141592654]

Most of you are too young to remember the Smog Impact fee I guess.

As a student I lived in Pasadena CA for 3 years with a vehicle registered in B.C. Never got pulled over. There are many cars on the road here from out of state, and you won' get hassled unless you are attracting attention for the wrong reasons. In any case, we have enough air pollution sources here, and really don't need your eye-watering catless vehicle adding a few more pounds of HCs to the California air. Do the world a favor and put the cat back on.

 

[Grandavi]

Cat stays off, sorry. It may go on again later.. but for now, I cant afford the time or more $$ for something that I am still not convinced is needed on my car that does about 2000 km per year...

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

This is where saving a few bucks up front gets expensive later.

For my car, when I was getting the exhaust, I got the RT downpipe. My options were to buy a 3" cat ($300+), buy the regular version and a test pipe ($60) or get the "racing" version of the downpipe which eliminates the cat altogether. The test pipe would have been a better choice, and not MUCH more expensive, but that would have made the difference between keeping the stock elbow, or getting the LIPP elbow, and seeing as how my car already had no cat, and is not my DD, I opted to go the least expensive route available to me. Even so, it would probably cost me less to get the downpipe cut and the flange re-welded than the cost of the test pipe, so...

I will probably install a cat, as I really do care about pollution, but considering that my car has driven maybe 100km in the past year, it's made less pollution than my neighbor's lawnmower. (My own lawnmower makes no pollution, it's a manual push type. )

 

[TrqMnstr]

You do realize that most of your bald eagles are Canadian immigrants now, right?

Really? I had no idea. But they're still protected by us when they hang around though, I hope.......