Celica Forums General Discussion General Limit on how low cars are in California?

I got pulled over, my cars stock bumpers, I have a 2" drop and I got pulled over and i was told that my car is too low. any one know where I can find the limit on how low a car can be? (in the state of california)

i think it was something like 22"/23" from the center of your headlights iam not sure though anyone else??

how the hell do they drive lambos there?? or do they just pay the cops off?

never knew about that. im sure dmv could get you a # you can call so you can find out the law. i wonder why would dropping a car a certain height be illegal?

well if it has to do with headlights..i'm sure it has something to do with night driving and headlights being too low to be visible by cars in front of you.

thats weird

22 inches from center of headlights is what I hear.

depends state by state

that is weird

yup...iv heard of cops doing this before not weird

ive also heard that a cop will roll a coke can under ur car and if hits the car then its illegal

Glad I don't live in Cali. Their modding laws suck.

I'm not from cali but the other day i was reading up on stuff, well needless to say

Lowered frame (or any other part) that is lower than the lowest point of the wheel rim (24008 VC).

There is the rule and here is a link.

http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/streetlegal.html

Yup, SCOTT03 is correct...

In the past, officers would take a box of cigarettes and if they could slide it on its side, all around the under frame of your car - you PASS

and now you know where the term "Give it the Cigarette Test" comes from...

...this law was not brought up because RICER's liked to lower their cars - it was to attack the HOMMIE and CHOLLO pimp'd chrome rides. Back in the day, they were mostly pulled over for having 11" and 12" wheels, trying to get the ultimate LOW-RIDER of all

damn that suck if that hapeend to me...iv ran over a pop can on its side and still hit underneath my car...i think it was my exhaust cus hangs really low

having a car really really low is dumb anyway. I think it looks like crap

get bags. problem solved

I actually asked a cop before about the lowering limit and they said it has to be low enough to where they can see your license plate or something... i think it's crap... i live in cali and i've passed tons of cops... and i have a 2 inch drop... that cop was just tryin to get his required tickets probably... where in cali was this??

man...that happened to my friend not too long ago...got pulled over by a cop for having his car too low...california has some of the most oddball laws known to mankind

thanks guys!

thanx for the info. it kinda makes sense though, suvs really cant see us. when i was in my friends rsx, a huge suv came (with the big wheels) was driving on our right, and i have to say it is a little scary. these cars can run over us like insects. i think that law is not as dumb as others, it has a good purpose, but why the hell would they want front plates when you have plates at the back? body kit killer!

my mom has an expedition...and she has backed up into someone before because she didnt even know anyone was behind her.

lol and i don't know about the front plats...in louisiana we just have to have them in the back

How did he pull you over, did he just see that you had an import and pulled you over? Or did he manually get out and measure? Did he ticket you? if yes and he did not measure then you could fight that ticket in court. They must measure on the spot for an accurate judgement.

They roll a tennis ball in Washington...

22 inchs from the center of the high beam and i think for Suvs if its lifted it has to be between 24-29 inchs last time i checked. anything higher is not legal.

The sport compact car issue about cops had a whole lot of regulations for all of the states and ride height was one of them. I would look it up but I am at school right now. If I remember I will post this evening when I get home.

if it gets stuck then it's too low?

if the frame is lower than the lip of the wheel its illigle.