Normally, emission tests require about a month of history on the ECU to
prevent people from disconnecting the battery to wipe out emission codes
before a test. The test isn't failed for lack of history, just deferred.

Personally, I don't recall any radio swaps I've felt the need to disconnect
the battery for. It's usually a pretty tame process.

Mike

Sort of. There are certain monitors in the emissions computer that are
known as "readiness flags". These flags must all report "ready" when
checked. Disconnecting the battery also zeroes all the monitors (none are
"ready").
If your location uses the dynamometer method of checking emissions and does
not poll the ECM, then you're fine, flags ready or not. If your area's smog
stations plug in an OBD-II scanner instead, the car may fail on account of
at least one monitor not reporting "ready".

The correct way of clearing any error codes is to use the OBD-II scanner.
This way the monitors retain power, and thus their setting.

Depending on your type and amount of driving, it can take anywhere from
hours to days to weeks for all the flags to set on their own if the battery
has been disconnected. There is an official, specific, "drive cycle" that
is supposed to set all the flags during the cycle.

If you have to replace your radio, you have no choice but to disconnect the
battery. You will then need to wait a while before being able to get the
car smogged. If an emissions test is looming, and you have the choice, it
would be preferable to wait until the car has passed the test, then do any
electrical work that requires disconnecting the battery. Then the flags can
take as long as they want to reset.

Sorry, I was having one of my moments of assholeness. They come much
too frequently.

It's just that there are these 2 regular, highly respected (by me, at
least) posters here who frequently jump on the styling of the rsx. Not
that it matters, but come on guys. If I had the choice between the
syling of the 92 integra, and the rsx, but both were available in brand
new condition, similarly priced, these opinions might mean something to
me, but that wasn't the case, so ignore me if I throw your opinions off.

FWIW, my dad was one of the very first american buyers of an acura, way
back in 1985, and has been through quite a few of them, and he's always
tried to get me to buy an integra. So I've dutifully test driven many
of them, and they never quite did it for me until I tried a rsx.
Something about this model just clicked with me - I love driving it!

I will definitely agree with Jim Yanik - another 92 or so integra
parked next to me once, and I was impressed with the similarities -
besides being the same color, and having a spoiler, etc - but the big
difference was that my rsx indeed did look like someone had pumped it
up with an air pump.

I will add that for me, and perhaps many of rsx drivers, the rsx is a
sort of compromise between what we want, and what we can afford. I paid
17k for mine, which is about what I can afford comfortably, but if I
had more, the rsx might have dropped off my list. Hmm, I was going
somewhere with this thought, but now I have to go - maybe later.