I have been a long time member on NASIOC. I looked for info on there about HI and found out most of you are members on here. So I wanted to gain some insight as to what I may need to prepare myself for when moving there and more importantly what I need to do to get my car to be somewhat legal over there.

Some background on myself: Been a US Marine for about 10 years stationed in NC for most of them, just about to finish up my recruiting tour up in Delaware. Requesting orders to K-bay. I am an aviation mechanic on 53's by trade. I would be relocating with my wife and daughter (15 months old).

The biggesnt concern I have is with registering my 04 STi. It has a decent amont of engine work and I know it wouldnt pass any real inspection. I have a rotated 30R kit on it with no cats and the HKS Ti turbo back. Lowered a little on BC coils. Not much else but all the supporting mods for the turbo kit. Im running AP for engine management as well.

Any words of advice or prior knowledge of someone going through the same ordeal of registering their car in HI would be extremely helpful. I just dont want to have to sink a lot of money into getting it inspection ready at once. i figure if I know ahead of time I can perpare now. Once again thanks for any input! I look forward to this move, cant come soon enough

 

Only kind of inspection needed is the yearly saftey checks Hawaii requires in order to get your State registration.
You'll only need to worry about your suspension mods as that will require a reconstruction permit which is another separate inspection you'll need. If its not too "slammed", then gas stations may pass you if you dont mention you have suspension mods. Engine mods are common in Hawaii so no worries there as there is no smog testing in Hawaii. Below is the inspection thread:

https://www.i-club.com/forums/hawaii...thread-192672/

In any case, be prepared for the increased cost of living in Hawaii compared to the mainland. But the trade offs are the nice weather, people, and experience.. Welcome!

 

and the ridiculous price of premium gas! for some odd reason Kbay gas is the same as outside gas stations...as opposed to gas from Hickam and PH which is cheaper...

 

Yeah I kinda skimmed that thread earlier, but I just wanted the warm and fuzzy from other subie owners that have had to go through the same type of scenerio. Being that their are multiple military installations there, I figured that some other servicemembers have encountered the same process.

I expected the cost of living and such to go up, but I am more than willing to trade that for the ability to be able to wake up to sunshine and beautiful weather 99% of the time. I really only spend money on my car and family so nothing crazy there

 

How much is 93 there? its $4.25 around here...

 

Ooh....it's 92 and it goes for ~$4.69/gal.

 

I noticed that the other day at Schoffeild when filling up, same price as chevron down my street! :/

 

So there is no 93 on HI??? if so retune

 

I'm on Kbay. 92 and it's watered down it seems. Maybe it's just me but I think town gas is better.

 

That is def going to suck if there is no 93 on the entire island, ill have to dump more money into getting re tuned for a lower octane rating. I guess thats the price of living in paridise.

 

Chevron seems to be the popular choice for gas, also costco on the cheap (can't say i've had any bad experiences with it, filling exclusively there or chevron when i'm not near it)

good luck with the move!

 

Nope no 93. Your going to be working somewhere around Hangar 101, 102 or 103. Dont know which ones is the sh-53 and mh-53 I work across the street from 104.

 

I really only spend money on my car and family so nothing crazy there

Haha,....well for most of us that is where all our money goes anyways,...and in Hawaii its expensive,..at least you're military so the NEX and commissary will save you money.

 

Technically, its the price you pay for getting tuned for 93.

I would never ever tune a DD car for 93...only for 91. Too many times you are stuck with no 93 especially in the western half of the country.

 

Military helps offset high cost here with COLA. I know I have no problems here with higher prices. If your married with a kid and wife no work then try to throw down on WIC. Helps offset cost of milk, cheese, and baby food. I have it but have learned to budget my $$ enough to slowly wein myself off it...... unless i want a giant block of cheese.....then ill go get one for free and yet it...... must be why i so fat