Catted X-Pipes Legal in California?

3

3.8L_of_Pain

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Jul 4, 2004

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Southern California -- Orange County

Jul 12, 2004

#1

• Jul 12, 2004

• #1

Is it technically legal to remove the factory cats and install an aftermarket catted X-Pipe in California? Will it pass emissions? I know a lot of people do this, but I was wondering if anyone has hard evidence on the legal issues.

 

M

MachOut

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Feb 21, 2004

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Jul 13, 2004

#2

• Jul 13, 2004

• #2

No it is not legal to remove working cats.. If in a case that it did go bad, you must replace them with what the car came with. So I've been told..

Most catted X's will pass the sniff test, however some places will not pass it on visual. However, the smaller mom and pop shops that do smog testing won;t give you a hard time about it usually.. I used to go to a shop that'd pass me and skip the visual..

 

wms004

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Jan 15, 2002

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Los Angeles

Jul 13, 2004

#3

• Jul 13, 2004

• #3

3.8L_of_Pain said:

Is it technically legal to remove the factory cats and install an aftermarket catted X-Pipe in California? Will it pass emissions? I know a lot of people do this, but I was wondering if anyone has hard evidence on the legal issues.

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its not hard to find a smog shop to pass you as long as you pass the sniffer, which a catted pipe will. I've got a catted magnaflow and i'm not worried about finding a gas station to pass me.

 

3

3.8L_of_Pain

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Jul 4, 2004

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Southern California -- Orange County

Jul 13, 2004

#4

• Jul 13, 2004

• #4

Good information. I will keep this in mind.

 

decoy562

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Oct 9, 2003

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Jul 14, 2004

#5

• Jul 14, 2004

• #5

wms004 said:

its not hard to find a smog shop to pass you as long as you pass the sniffer, which a catted pipe will. I've got a catted magnaflow and i'm not worried about finding a gas station to pass me.

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That is correct, I doubt most places would even notice that the car only has 2 cats instead of 4.

 

B

bdcardinal

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Jun 10, 2003

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santa barbara, CA

Jul 14, 2004

#6

• Jul 14, 2004

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technically there ARE CARB legal cats. they are made my magnaflow. however there are stipulations for the use. you must be out of the CA required 8year/80,000mile emissions warrenty, if you are in that you must use OEM cats. also you must have proof that the OEM cats have failed due to a production error. that means taking it to a referee and having the referee say they are bad and you can use aftermarket ones. when you do a smog test you look for cats, there are books that tell you how many cats are in a car and where they should be. however you theotrically can find a place that will do a "hot smog" but they are becoming harder and harder to find thanks to a crackdown by the BAR(bureau of automotive repair) with undercover vehicles and fines that range from $500 - $10,000 per offense.

 

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3.8L_of_Pain

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Jul 14, 2004

#7

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Thanks bdcardinal. That is the kind of hard, factual information I was looking for.

 

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bdcardinal

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#8

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Roger_4.6_96

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Jul 16, 2002

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Reno,NV

Jul 15, 2004

#9

• Jul 15, 2004

• #9

You can have no cats and pass smog. how you ask ? mil eliminators trick your computer thinking you have perfect working cats. they do sniffer and obd2 in cali ?

 

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bdcardinal

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Jun 10, 2003

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santa barbara, CA

Jul 15, 2004

#10

• Jul 15, 2004

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yes they do sniffer and obd2, plus a visual. certain areas put the car on a dyno and load test the motor.

 

KLozeR

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Jan 26, 2002

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SoCali

Jul 15, 2004

#11

• Jul 15, 2004

• #11

keep your stock mid-pipe and put it back on for smog testing, and then put your x-pipe on afterwards. No worries, no problems, and not too difficult to do.

 

CobraRed_96_GT

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May 20, 2006

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May 20, 2006

#12

• May 20, 2006

• #12

bdcardinal said:

yes they do sniffer and obd2, plus a visual. certain areas put the car on a dyno and load test the motor.

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Actually it's state law for the to be load on your car for a ppm test on any hydro carbons or CO2. They put ur car on 10% and 25% load here in the north bay. Tampering or replacing any stock cat w/out ref authorization in california is illegal- *******'er! I have a SLP 2 high flow cat x-pipe set up and for sure im going to have to reinstall my old h-pipe in August. The only break i have for working w/ a guy who also works at a smog test station is on under the hood visual stuff like all my intake, besides that all test info goes directly to Sacramento where it's stored. The days of slipping the smog guy a 20 are over, say hello to stock cats!
Edit: In addition all O2 sensors must be hooked up and working

 

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CENTENNIALSTANG

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Apr 15, 2005

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May 20, 2006

#13

• May 20, 2006

• #13

Theres always a price to someone.

 

C

CENTENNIALSTANG

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Apr 15, 2005

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Houston

May 20, 2006

#14

• May 20, 2006

• #14

Of course i live in NM,(no emmision law) where i have a cutout after my headers so i can turn heads

 

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thomas91169

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Aug 19, 2005

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Modesto, CA

May 20, 2006

#15

• May 20, 2006

• #15

like someone said. keep your stock stuff and reinstall it when the time comes. its cali, throw nothing away.

 

DisposableHero

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Oct 4, 2004

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May 20, 2006

#16

• May 20, 2006

• #16

i just passed last week with a catted prochamber...

it passed and actually did great on the sniffer

you just need to take it to someone who doesnt know anything and they wont know the difference