Unless said cop is grabbing some wrenches and helping me do a tune up or something, he'd better not touch anything under my hood........I will end up seeing what the inside of their local holding cells look like

Glove compartment, trunk, and hood are all latched, if wants to search, I want a warrant, if he wants to hold me until he gets it good luck, judges aren't as keen as issuing them on the spot anymore, and if they do I want to know the probable cause that let them issue the warrant.

True driving is a privlage but the bill of rights is a guarantee and it says I don't have to deal with illegal search, so unless you want to admire you can stay out from under my hood, else I'd own a FLEET of nice cars ;)

i personally would like to see a warrant to check under the hood, although i may not be hiding ANYTHING, i dont have a nitrous set up, i dont have heroin or cocaine in my air filter, blah blah...every american citizen is protected under the fourth amendment from illegal search and seizure, but if the officer really wants to take a look that bad to get a warrant then i wont have a problem.

but that kid that posted about his acura better count your blessing bud...that is a rare break and if you do it again they will make sure you pay for it...the cops know everything, the breaks you were given, your attitude, warrants, anything through their system

I seem to have a VERY lucky streak going.... but yea I am very thankful for what I got, turn 21 in 4 months and my Z is running next week, loss of license would have SUCKED.

glove box would have to be locked. and center console if it had one. but basically the whole passenger compartment is fair game.

at inspection i had the inspector tell me to pop my hood...didnt understand why....

um are you serious?

hm would it possibly be because of your insurance? can mvc inspectors check up on that with your car insurance? some insurance companies dont know of rebuilt engines in a car with alot of performance parts, so the insurance companies think it would be a stock 1985 camaro when you have a 406 in there, which would affect your rates ALOT

call me crazy, but i think there are other reasons why a state inspector would pop your hood. and know a hell of a lot more than most any cop that stopped you. but thats just me.

:-Pwhich do you sense more, me being a dick or me being sarcastic?:twisted:

sounds like you are being serious hahah

idk he asked me what i had in it and i said 305 and he said pop the hood...i was confused. lol

maybe he was just interested in seeing the motor? did he touch anything under there?

not to my knowledge he didnt.

It's a visual inspection to make sure that none of your emissions equipment has been tampered with....and it's perfectly normal.

- Justin

ok let me get this right here...

i used to live in san jose california. It is ILLEGAL IN CALIFORNIA TO TAMPER WITH EMISSIONS EQUIPMENT, afterall they come with extra emission equiptment cause of their stricter regulations. ALL POLICE OFFICERS IN CALIFORNIA TAKE A MANDATORY TRAINING EXERCISE THAT ALLOWS THEM TO TICKET YOU FOR THE FOLLOWING...

OPEN AIR FILTER ELEMENTS
MUFFLERS
HEADERS
EGR DELETE

also for the searching

IN CALIFORNIA ONLY - HOOD IS PROBABLE CAUSE FOR SEARCH IF YOU HAVE VISUAL EXHAUST MODIFICATION FROM THE BEHIND.

now for the nj stuff.....

Martin i went to the same high school as you did...and learned the same thing as you...the difference is? i live in the real world. Hamilton PD has no problem issuing a warrrant for on the spot searches. IF YOU DO NOT CONSENT TO A SEARCH AND THEY GET A SEARCH WARRANT ANY DAMAGES DONE TO SAID VEHICLE DURING SEARCH THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR. IF YOU ALLOW THEM TO SEARCH THEY ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO DO A BRIEF FRISK...SAME AS YOUR BODY...TO DETERMINE IF FURTHER SEARCHING IS NEEDED....IF PROBABLE CAUSE FOR SEARCH IS FOUND THEY WILL GET A WARRANT.
ASKING FOR A WARRANT IS ASKING FOR THEM TO RUIN YOUR CAR...TRUST ME THEYVE DONE IT TO PAST CARS.

i just had my car searched by hamilton pd a week or so ago....freaking cops

It is illegal to tamper with emissions equipment in any state, regardless of what they check during the inspection process (if they even have one). Emissions equipment is regulated on the federal level, IIRC.

- Justin

what exactly does "tamper with emissions equipment" mean though...what has to be tampered. (sorry for n00b question)..like headers and everything?

If someone tears into my car without cause, I will have a holy **** fit, and I will press charges.

Yes. ****bags hide stuff in the funniest places. Under the hood is not out of the question.

NastiEllEssWon answered it the best. In NJ, officers cannot search a vehicle without probable cause or consent, and they can't ask for consent without a reasonable suspicion that something is in the car. The only clearcut incident in which an officer can search the car is if he/she smells marijuana. In this instance, the officer can search any area in which marijuana can reasonably be hidden and accessible to a driver, including the driver's person. If need be, the officer can even request a narcotics canine to sniff the vehicle and point out a specific area to search. Nothing's better for your interior than a big angry dog stomping around on your leather seats.

During the course of a "routine" traffic stop for a motor vehicle or equipment violation, probable cause for a search can arise, as illustrated by the underaged fella with the alcohol in the Acura (At least, that's what I'm assuming from the posts, forgive me if I'm wrong). I'm not sure exactly what happened because I wasn't there, but if a cop is speaking with the driver, who is under the legal age to PURCHASE, POSESS or CONSUME an alcoholic beverage, and he sees a bottle of vodka in the vehicle and can articulate that in a report, then he/she can search the "wingspan," that is, any area of the vehicle within the driver's control.

Searches of vehicles also take place during vehicle impoundments. If a vehicle is being impounded, many NJ police departments will search the vehicle and do an inventory. Everything in the car will be listed, as well as its condition, so that the liability for any damage or theft lies on the tow company. In light of many recent Constitutional issues that have arisen from this, many departments are allowing owner/operators the opportunity to refuse such a search, but if anything is lost or missing when the vehicle is retrieved from impound, it's the owner's problem, not the cops.

In some instances, there may be reason to believe that there is something illegal in the car (Information from confidential informants, for example). In this kind of scenario, the officer must seize the vehicle and obtain a warrant to search it.

Any time an officer does a warrantless search of a vehicle, he/she runs the risk of having their case thrown out if any evidence is seized improperly. So you can bet they are going to be sure of what they're doing and be able to put it on paper later on, even if nothing is found in the car.

As for under hood searches in NJ, well, I've lived here all my life and I've never seen it done without a search warrant. I will say this, though. The lift laws for lifted Jeeps and trucks are not in the regular motor vehicle code (Title 39). But a friend of mine got pulled over in Bedminster, where apparently they have a lot more time to handle motor vehicle violations than criminal activity. Said cop PULLED OUT A TAPE MEASURE and told my buddy that his Jeep could not be more than 26" from the ground to the bottom of the door without a stability inspection. Amazingly, he was actually right! He gave my buddy a warning and he has since gottent the Jeep tested and passed. Just goes to show that depending on where you are, the cops may know more about certain things than in other jurisdictions. I wouldn't be surprised if the Old Bridge cops were more savvy about exhaust and emissions laws than the Woodbridge cops are. Still, never been asked to raise my hood or heard of anyone else that was.

Hope that helps.

How would they know what the car was supposed to have from the factory? I noticed on a few belt diagrams some of them have the AIR pump and the same size engine with a different RPO does not.

Also thought I'd note, for some reason my car does not have the Emission/vacuum sticker under the hood. It was hit before I bought it and I don't think they replaced it. Without the sticker is there a way to tell what is supposed to be on the engine without decoding the VIN? I know what is missing but how would someone else know?

who cares. this thread is getting ridiculous. if you know you are in the wrong, it will catch up to you.

So my cam being a bit lopy will come back to haunt me? :mrgreen:

cops are trained to spot the following.


Open Element Air Filter - which is aftermarket cai and cone filters
After Market Headers
Catalytic convertor delete
EGR blockoff plates
Air Pump Block Off
Capped Vacuum Hoses

those are a few of the following a cop can issue tickets for.
and dont give me no bs about any of this stuff being stock.
if your ls1 didnt come with egr its not going to have chrome block
off plates with rtv silicone leaking from the side. its easy to spot
mods on a car cause it doesnt fit with the stock look. thats why i
love my lid.

Ive been pulled over by a cop who obviously knows his car **** and asked me "Does this car have cat's?" I kinda looked at him for a brief second, and he said "I dont want to have to get my knees dirty" so I told him i didnt. He let me off with a warning.

officers see honesty as a huge factor in writing tickets, if you dont make it easier for them they dont make it easy for you. but good decision on your part.

but you got madd lucky either way...it would be a 2,500$ fine for you from what i hear. you always hear the ricers say 10,000$ fine, i dont know about that but that sounds rediculous