Some people here obviously have cars perform pretty badly as far as emissions.

lemme ask this, do you guys make your car all stock before it's time to get tested?

I'm thinking about getting an uppipe and an I-speed ECU flash...will my car still be cool for emissions testing after this? if now, what am I supposed to do? put it back at stock for the test?

I don't wanna drive a gross pollutor

 

this is one of those open topics that never rests just like CAI's. I still have the same question though and i guess an uppipe would be just fine because you still have a couple cats to do the trick. I suppose that you could do fine on a sniffer without any cats too. I don't think many people here have had any experience with SMOG on their subbies yet. Maybe a few. I guess you could switch out the exhaust the day of the inspection. Although it would be a PITA it wouldn't be the end of the world to do if you had a free weekend and a few jackstands.


try searching for smog related issues.

I've been wondering what exaclty you can get away with too so hopefully someone can shed some light on this with some factual info instead of assumptions.

eric

 

i have to wait tell 2006 to smog my car if i still have it. good luck cheers&ENJOY!!

 

You should be able to pass with an uppie. The cat in the uppie is for cold starts only. Just run the car hard/ or have it warmed up good for the test. Since the uppie is hard to see, you should be able to pass visual inspection.

If you get a downie without a cat, you'll probably have to put the stocker back on otherwise you may fail the visual inspection and probably the sniffer as well.

 

I doubt it.

 

I know you could for a sniffer in KY but alas... have no clue when it comes to CA inspections. Im sure you're right. But assuming everything in your car was good to go you might be able to pass with a sniffer and no cats. just maybe.

You'll be fine with an uppipe and reflashed ecu. If you added a DP in the future you'd probably have to swap it out before just to be safe.

 

just put the stock dp and midsection back on. Takes all but 30 minutes to do and you will most likely pass.

 

Passed SMOG with 2 of 3 cats....(uppipe).....no problems at all with the all the other mods I was running at the time when i brought it in.

 

KY laws are probably more lenient. CA is one of the strictest states in the country as far as mods and smog go. Some people have said that they can pass the sniffer with just 1 cat, but you have to have the car really hot (i.e drive the car like mad) before the test. With the visual inspection, best thing to do is to find a place that acts like they don't care or are too lazy to give a good look.

Either way, we don't have to worry about smog for 6 years :banana:

 

I failed the sniffer in my turbo GLHS Omni until the tech told me to take it around the block to get the cat good and hot. It was warmed up really good when I first arrived but he had other cars sitting in line before me so I idled the motor. Must've cooled down. Anyhow, after driving around the block he checked tailpipe emissions again and it was way lower with the warm cat, well below even the state average as printed on my results sheet.

I'm determined not to have to swap out exhaust systems when it's time for CA's bi-annual smog check. If I have to run two high-flow 3" cats I will do so. I'll give up some power by doing so but I want hassle-free driveability. I'll probably make a decision next year on a downpipe and third cat section. CARB officials - read no further! Obviously, the aftermarket stuff won't pass the visual if they check thoroughly enough. There are some little 'tricks' that might be applied to exhausts like welding factory-type heat shields over the high-flow cat and 3" tubing. I don't feel like I'm cheating the system if I actually pass the sniffer.


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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

CA = the emissions ****
If you wanna be 100% sure, just revert everything back to stock. You'll a have fun project to do too, that way
But like the others said, warm car with downpipe should be okay unless you have a super-****, Subaru fanatic inspector on your case

 

Why doesnt I-speed, vishnu, etc make a special smog edition reflash? Im sure theyd make good money from it.

 

You know you're in trouble when the smog tech says he's "gonna take a looksee" under your car and he's holding an automotive mirror on a long-neck swivel...

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

It's cost prohibitive for a small shop. And yes, Vishnu and I-Speed are small fish compared with some tuner shops like John Lingenfelter's shop. The testing for EPA requirements is much more extensive than the sniffer/dyno test they do for annual or bi-annual smog checks. It involves complicated instrumented road testing.

Dodge will soon offer two kits to bump up power for the SRT-4 and they will be 50-state legal, complete with a CARB E.O. (Exemption Order) numbers. How can they do this? Chrysler-Mercedes has vast resources compared with tuner shops.

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

That, and the goverment is more friendly towards domestics
At least, that's what we'd all like to believe