Emissions and Visual test
 

I'm considering getting a downpipe or possibly a turbo-back exhaust. I would keep my OEM uppipe. Does anyone know if there is a downpipe or turbo-back exhaust that will pass both the emissions AND visual SMOG test here in the Bay Area?

I've done a few searches, and the Helix DP with cat seems cool, but without a heat shield over the cat, won't it fail the visual inspection (may not look like a normal cat)?

Pretty much the only thing thats going to be guranteed to pass is a gutted stock system.

My plan is the following:
Gutted stock UP
Helix Catted DP with a heat shield welded onto it. I also intend to scuff it up as much as possible before installation.
The Daddy's SCP intermediate pipe, also scuffed
Stock AB portion.

I don't know if it would pass, but its at least more likely than a shiny looking setup.

well up pipe is only that may pass. Anything else will fail the visual unless you have someone that do not care or does not know. Most test stations will fail you for anything that the ref may pass you. The gutted stock version may pass visual inspection but certainly it will not pass the snifer. :)

Cheers

Nick

Will a flex uppipe pass with stock dp ?

This topic is not one that can be answered w/ a %100 yes or no for any given aftermarket setup. It completely depends on who is performing the test...one guy may pass a catless uppipe and catted downpipe while another will fail you for the same exact setup. If you want to have an aftermarket catted downpipe and be sure it will pass, you need written documentation from a smog shop that your original cats were damaged.

How would one goo about "damaging his OE cats" ? ;)

'run over' a screw driver?

Without catalytic converters that actually convert you most likely will not pass emissions. Do not gut your rear cats unless you have a back-up pipe for smog tests.

as a somg tech I can tell you that the only safe set up is all the STOCK cats installed.
OBDII cars are not supposed to run any kind of aftermarket cat either.
the post cat 02 sensor will set codes that the smog machine checks too.
with that said the tech is not required to crawl under the car and check your set up. the DP is rather visible but with some carfull heat shield instalation you may get away with it.

as stated the best bet is to keep your stock DP to swap in for testing purposes. as for the up pipe? well that may slide thru ok as it dificult to see and is not the primary cat in the system.

[QUOTE=rallyruss]as a somg tech I can tell you that the only safe set up is all the STOCK cats installed.
OBDII cars are not supposed to run any kind of aftermarket cat either.
the post cat 02 sensor will set codes that the smog machine checks too.
with that said the tech is not required to crawl under the car and check your set up. the DP is rather visible but with some carfull heat shield instalation you may get away with it.

as stated the best bet is to keep your stock DP to swap in for testing purposes. as for the up pipe? well that may slide thru ok as it dificult to see and is not the primary cat in the system.[/QUOTE]

Are you saying that any aftermarket catted downpipe will always fail or is it dependent on the tech?

sorry for the tripple post

sorry for the tripple post

I recently had to have some work done because my cats were "damaged". I told the inspector that I took off the exhaust to work on my car and some jerk in a Prius ran over the cat....good for the enviromnet my ass.

You can pass the sniff test with one cat as long as your car's warm...visual is another story.

Uppipe - PDE uppipes pass 95% of the time. They're powder coated (not shiny) and have a bracket that lets to reattach the lower heatshield as well an an unmodified upper heat shield as well. If you get all that stuff back on the pipe is practically invisible.

DP - Very hard to hide. Your best bet is find a way to knock down the shine...either get it powder coated or header wrap...or maybe take a dremel tool with a wire brush wheel to it to at least get the shine off. If you get the "full" DP that eliminates the 3rd cat you WILL NOT pass 100% guaranteed.

3rd cat - no cat=no pass. period. end of story. If you have more than 80K miles on your car, you can replace any cat provided that something is wrong with it. For example - it was destroyed by a Prius driving over it, its clogged and no longer flowing as much as it should...etc. If a muffler shop is willing to replace it that's good enough. You shouldn't need doccumentation, but the inspector might ask what happened, so have a story ready. You MUST replace it with an OBDII, CARB-certified cat. ALL OBDII cats are considered "high flow". I believe there's only one big company that currently makes LEGAL replacement cats - Carsound. They're sold under the brand Magnaflow. So...if you just replace the 3rd cat with a Magnaflow and you have more than 80K miles on your car...you should still pass. You can't swap "2 for 1", and they have to remain in the same locations. So if you get a short DP and a high flow cat that doesn't count. Although you CAN replace every cat, you still have to have 3 to be legal. You COULD get the catted Helix DP, cut it, and install a 3" Magnaflow main cat. Although the DP cat isn't CARB-certified, and technically not legal, you shouldn't have a problem unless you have to go to a state ref.

Long story short - performance mods are illegal. The days of tinkering with your car to get a little more power out of it are long gone. No matter what you do, its illegal. It really comes down to "what can I get away with" rather than "what's legal?" - nothing is legal.

...and just in case you're wondering, these are illegal too -

Aftermarket BOV's
Cat-backs louder than 95 dB @ 5 ft (I think its 5 ft)
FMIC's
any aftermarket turbo
ECU reflash
ECU piggyback
CEL defeats
CAI's
Short-ram intakes
intake silencer delete elbow
snorkel/silencer delete mod

...and if you're not depressed enough yet, there's a law against lowering your car too

[QUOTE=rallyruss]as a somg tech I can tell you that the only safe set up is all the STOCK cats installed.
OBDII cars are not supposed to run any kind of aftermarket cat either.


.[/QUOTE]
U can install other aftermarket cat/cats, as long as they are labeled OBII, when the factory units take dump, which can be for any reason you want it to be
;)
But by law u can't put in a aftermarket downpipe on a SUBBY without C.A.R.B. #'s.

The best thing for those faint of heart would be a Prodrive down pipe, it looks like a stock unit, heatshielding and all., but it won't quite give you the power of a good TBE.

BTW, u would be suprised what i've seen people get away with, just don't have to much Bling Bling on the car when its smog time :)

[QUOTE=MARKSTI]U can install other aftermarket cat/cats, as long as they are labeled OBII, when the factory units take dump, which can be for any reason you want it to be
;)
But by law u can't put in a aftermarket downpipe on a SUBBY without C.A.R.B. #'s.

The best thing for those faint of heart would be a Prodrive down pipe, it looks like a stock unit, heatshielding and all., but it won't quite give you the power of a good TBE.[/QUOTE]


...and currently, noone makes a CARB-certified DP for a WRX.