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The smog check station's equipment determines what the station can test and how accurately it can test it, and the equipment's names, BAR-OIS and BAR-97, refer to the Bureau of Automotive Repair's generations of emissions testing equipment. The equipment that the station uses determines which vehicles the station can test, which tests the station can perform, and how the test results are transmitted to the DMV, and the equipment is the difference between the station that tests modern vehicles efficiently and the station that tests older vehicles with the older equipment.

The BAR-OIS: the OBD-II inspection system for modern vehicles

The BAR-OIS, the OBD Inspection System, is the equipment that tests 2000 and newer gasoline vehicles through the OBD port: the equipment connects to the vehicle's onboard diagnostic system, reads the readiness monitors, checks the fault codes, verifies the check engine light status, and transmits the results to the DMV electronically. The BAR-OIS test is fast, the OBD check takes minutes, and the test's result is the computer's own report of the emissions system's status.

The BAR-OIS equipment's requirement: the station that tests 2000 and newer vehicles must have the BAR-OIS equipment, and the stations that only have the older BAR-97 equipment cannot test the modern vehicles that the OBD system covers.

The BAR-97: the emissions analyzer for older vehicles

The BAR-97, the emissions analyzer that tests 1976 to 1999 gasoline vehicles, measures the tailpipe emissions directly: the probe inserted in the tailpipe, the vehicle run on the dynamometer through the acceleration profile, the exhaust analyzed for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides, and the measurements compared to the standards for the vehicle's model year. The BAR-97 test is longer than the OBD test, the dyno run takes minutes, and the test measures the actual emissions rather than reading the computer's report.

The BAR-97 equipment's capability: the tailpipe analysis that measures what the engine produces, the dynamometer that simulates the driving conditions, and the equipment that the older vehicles require because they lack the OBD systems that the newer vehicles have.

The diesel testing equipment: the smoke opacity meter

The diesel vehicle's testing equipment: the smoke opacity meter that measures the darkness of the exhaust during the snap acceleration, the meter that the technician uses to test the diesel's exhaust opacity against the standards for the vehicle's model year. The smoke opacity testing applies to the diesel vehicles that the program covers, and the testing equipment is separate from the gasoline testing equipment, the diesel's test requiring the opacity meter rather than the tailpipe analyzer or the OBD scanner.

The equipment's role in the station choice

The vehicle owner's station choice depends on the vehicle's test requirements: the 2000 and newer gasoline vehicle can be tested at any station with the BAR-OIS equipment, which is most stations, and the 1976 to 1995 vehicle needs a station with the BAR-97 equipment, which fewer stations maintain. The station choice confirmed by calling ahead or checking the station's listed capabilities, and the station that has the right equipment for the vehicle is the station that can perform the test without sending the driver to a different station.