California has fairly strict emissions regulations to reduce air pollution. Auto parts must go through an approval process. You can find a cold air intake that is approved for use with your vehicle in California. Most standard air intakes draw air from inside the engine compartment. Here, the air temperature is extremely hot. The cold air intake sometimes draws air in from outside the engine compartment. Determining whether cold air intakes are legal in California is similar to whether turbos are legal in California. Before you can get a cold air intake for your vehicle, you need to understand California laws, the California Air Resource Board, and executive numbers. Here`s an overview of these topics: And with all aftermarket engine components, not all cold air intakes are the same. Not all of them are legal on the street. California law states that to legalize a cold air supply on the streets of California, it must have a CARB EO exemption number. There are also many car modifications that are illegal in California.

If you live here, you should be able to know what illegal changes are so you know what to do and which not to do. All K&N 57 series air intakes for North American vehicles have been assigned CARB OE numbers and are authorized to operate in all 50 states. One of these legal cold air supplies is the Spectre Performance Cold Air Intake Kit, which is CARB compliant throughout California. If this kit isn`t what you`re looking for, or isn`t approved for your vehicle, try CARB`s performance and complementary parts search or talk to your local parts dealer. Whether you can legally purchase and install a cold air intake on your vehicle is very closely related to whether the setting is illegal in California. The state of California takes protecting the public and remaining ecological resources very seriously, and one way to do this is to implement strict auto emissions laws. Since you are changing the air intake system, this could potentially alter the car`s emissions and create an unwanted level of emission. Just make sure that every cold air intake you install has a California Air Resources Board (CARB) approval sticker.

SACRAMENTO — The California Air Resources Board announced today that K&N Engineering Inc. agreed to a settlement totalling $521,000 to address violations of the California Health and Safety Code related to the advertising and sale of illegal after-sales services in California. Air Resources Board investigators found that Riverside, California-based K&N Engineering was selling power parts that had not received exemptions from California laws protecting against tampering with the emissions control system. California law prohibits advertising, selling, or installing parts that modify vehicle emission control systems unless proven not to reduce their effectiveness. Manufacturers of spare parts and performance parts must follow a procedure to obtain an exemption from the decree if they prove that the parts do not affect the effectiveness of these systems. “The backbone of California`s clean air efforts is maintaining the integrity of emission control systems on the millions of vehicles that travel on our highways every day,” said Todd Sax, ARB enforcement officer. “We take seriously a manufacturer`s failure to demonstrate that its performance products do not compromise the emissions-reducing capabilities built into all newer cars.” This settlement covers K&N`s illegal marketing and sale of performance parts in California from mid-2010 to mid-2013. The $390,750 severance package will go to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, which supports efforts to reduce air pollution through education and the adoption of clean technologies. The remaining $130,250 from the settlement will be directed to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, which runs a program to clean up school bus fleets across the state. Modified vehicles that no longer meet California emissions requirements pose a significant health risk to California residents. They produce higher levels of smog-forming pollutants, which can lead to increased respiratory and cardiovascular hospitalizations and premature death in adults.

They can also lead to more emergency room visits for children with asthma. Cold air intakes can significantly increase a vehicle`s performance. Instead of drawing air out of the hot engine compartment, as is usually the case, a cold air intake draws air in from outside the engine compartment, where the air is colder. Cold air is denser than warm air and, because of this increased density, carries more oxygen to burn later. Anti-tampering laws that prevent people from reducing the efficiency of emissions-controlled engines can make it legally difficult to install a cold air intake. The first thing to do if you live in California and want a cold air intake is to look for a decree number. If that particular cold air inlet has an EO number, then it`s legal and there won`t be any problems. CARB seeks to reduce air pollution by enacting laws that limit the amount of harmful pollutants and gases a car can emit.