so i called into the recon office today to schedule an appointment and the inspector gave a friendly reminder as far as subaru goes that there have been quite a few "fails" for the bounce test as far as springs go.. (even the stock ones!!)

what are your stories (or stories youve heard) as far as passing recon.. (i will be going in with Eibach pro kits, and 18inch wheels)

anybody have the Eibach's and passed? or didnt pass?

whats your take?

-Peter

 

F@wk recon! Never had it, never will.

San

 

When I had my old subie (2002 2.5RS) I had 18" rims and S-Techs and I passed with flying colors......

But make shure you check the following before going to recon (I should know, I've been there 5 times):

-Do not put your safety stickers next to your license plate!!
(It must be located on the rear bumper passenger side or If it is mounted to a bracket.....the bracket must be drilled into the bumper lower passenger side)

-Just to be safe mount your front license plate on the lower holes so that the front plate blocks the grill.......The recon guys dont care if it looks strange(They know dam well people do this to pass) As long as it passes at that moment in time,because your front plate needs to be a certain hight from the ground and since your car is lowered it may not pass....I recommend doing this, just in case...

-I didn't pass recon for this twice......If you own a Bug-eye subie (2002-03) your fog lights will NOT pass.....Its concidered too low even though the stupid things are stock!!! barrow or get fog light covers........

-No stickers on any windows...if you can see the sticker from the inside....its will not pass recon...

-Since your car is lowered....you must get an alignment paper stating that your car is correctly align according to stock spec's...And that paper work must be no later than a month from your recon appointment date....(oh ya....remember to tell the alignment guys that you need this alignment for recon.....some times If you don't tell them, they won't print out some spec's needed to get recon...)

-Also make shure your lens front and back are DOT (If you modded your headlights aka:Baked the lens to remove amber...it will not pass)

 

Yes, have your current alignment papers (within 30 days) with you. Whether they pass you or not, it depends on the inspector. I was sure they were going to fail me... with my Teins and ALK in the front. I got less than an inch of travel (even on the softest settings). But the inspector was super nice and he said our cars are tuned stiff so he let me pass.

Just write down the major mods. No more, no less. Just be nice and courteous. Good luck Pete.

 

the "bounce test" can fail because of the type of tires you have. if the sidewalls are reinforced it could cause problems with this test.

This is BULL**** because how does using your hand to push down on a car going to determine the total amount of travel your car has? it doesn't ESPECIALLY with those damn pot holes we have everywhere.

Crappy tires will have crappy sidewall reinforcement which will also lead to premature tirewear which leads to crappy gas mileage which leads to rim damage due to pot holes...which also leads to PASSING YOUR RECON TEST.


RECON SUCKS. I WON'T GET IT UNLESS I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO HAVE IT! it's BULL**** that we're the only island and ONLY STATE that has this rule

Jon

 

I was running 18s(on crappy sidewall tires) and eibach springs w/stock struts and passed. Inspector was cool, had no problems during my inspection.

 

Whats this thing about your safety tags cannot be close to your plates...what is the explanation of this. The dealer let me choose where to place them on my STi when I first bought the car brand new. I thought WRXZero passed with them there, has anybody else passed with the tags next to the plates?

 

tags can't be next to the plates, i been through three inspectors and they all say the same. it can't be bolted or touching the plate in any way. i failed the first time for this reason only. i found a work around. pm me for it.

 

what about exshaust i heard they have a new rule bout it

 

No recon needed for exhaust. I suggest you look here for any questions/answers:

http://www.forumshawaii.net/vbb/forumdisplay.php?f=241

 

recon= another sneaky way for the state to make more money.
never had it, never will. i have been pulled over 3 times in the past 3 years. never been tagged (only springs) each time i was honest and told the officers that i never believed in recon- needless to say i was willing to pay the fine on the officers behalf... never been cited...just been blessed i guess. (i'm sure not being a punk while getting pulled over might help...maybe)



aloha from the summit of *-^-mauna kea-^-*

 

$15 for recon > $97 ticket fine. That's what I got stuck with. Don't know how you guys do the math...

 

1. Bounce Test (don't agree with their testing method as well)...how can someone who maybe weighs 200lbs compress the front end as much as the 3000lb vehicle??? If so, the suspension would not be doing it's job. If you have adjustable coilovers, just set them to the softest and drive it around for a while (1/2 day)...it will pass.

2. Alignment papers that are less than 30 days old (I was cleared because my appointment was scheduled beyond the 30 day mark due to so man recon appointments that month. Alignments must be within specs. The STI has more allowable variances than the WRX.

3. Front license plate height. Back is no problem. The bottom of the license plate has to be 12" from the ground to the bottom of the plate...they measure. I figured out an easy fix, purchased all the required hardware for like $4.00 and passed no problem.

4. They will pop your hood open. Make sure that if you do have a short ram intake, that it is bracketed down. They mentioned that to me because mine had a nice sturdy bracket.

5. Exhaust...although they will not recon your car for the exhaust, you can have them mention it on the recon papers. My inspector said that my stock "STI" muffler was not stock...he compared it to the TRD of Toyota...so instead of arguing, I said ok...and just put down, "Stainless Steel STI Exhaust"...now is that generic enough or what...heh heh. I can run any exhaust and it will fit in this category.

6. Wheels...if your wheels are more than 2" larger in diameter that stock, you will need recon...the safety stations will look inside your door for the stock wheel size and will fail you if you have anything bigger.

7. tint

8. no stickers on the front or rear windshield...

That's pretty much it..Dress professionally and answer questions concisely without attitude....

You will pass...

 

Well said Brent, I can't stress that enough.

 

so i got suspended from drivin on base for no recon sticker the only thing i have is a tbe now im glad i can tell them i dont need one i hate the mps they give me sh** bout my car but there are a few MPs with alot more mods then me with no recon sticker i hate it double standers f them all