aftermarket catted H-pipes and emissions

This was a PITA. I learned a lot when I saw the EPA referee. The dude was cool (they dont pay well - I hope he's there this year. He was a big time muscle car guy).

In AZ (and what I was told, which seems reasonable) it doesnt matter what the Fed mandate is - it's up to the State and in my case, county. The county rules state that nothing cannot be non-OEM (which is stricter than Fed statute here). Because the car came with 4 cats, I needed 4 cats - no if's and's or but's. But the Ref said that they arent really enforcing this stuff until the air quality gets worse. The levels of allowable emissions are controlled by our overall air quality (as air quality gets worse, they lower the passing thresholds for emissions). I took him for his word - just a vibe I had (esp since he was passing me and I was the one inquiring about the ins and outs afterwards for my own edification). He knew his job well and liked to talk.

In any case, he waived me even though technically by the rules, I should not have passed.

For 68KB, Phx (Maricopa) emissions are all different - I ran a car through once up there. They were pretty laid back about it (though I freaked when they made me go sit in that booth thing). That's amazing that they didnt do a visual for cats (though I think that's the way it should be - if you can tweak a car to pass the sniffer, it shouldnt matter what is or isnt under the car).



That's what I recall - I will have to do this crap again pretty soon here. In any case, I recommend going through early. Down here, the sniffer test is valid for 90 days as I recall. So if tags are due in June, I go in April so I have room for tinkering time.

Let me know if you have other questions and I'll try to answer. I just dont know that much about Maricopa sniffer protocol.
Good luck!


Oh Matt, that's a great idea. The thing is that I think I have a Prochamber O/R pipe (I know it's an O/R pipe, but not totally sure on the flavor) and the cats were added to it later (all by a PO). I dont have any paperwork. Now I appreciate why people save or put the stickers on things (I was happy to see Mac headers come with a plaque atleast).