Best Emissions Legal Catted Header & Exhaust?
 

What's the best catted header and exhaust combo that can still pass a state mandated exhaust emissions test? I'm thinking of changing headers/exhaust down the road but want something that is street legal. I don't want the hassle of having to swap headers every year just to pass emissions testing. I've searched through the threads but didn't find any that specifically addressed this issue. I also didn't find a post by anyone who actually swapped headers and passed an emissions test.

I'd like to hear from anyone who has changed headers and passed an emissions test. Please identify your State so that we can look up their exhaust emissions testing requirements to see home they compare to our home state. I'm also curious if anyone has managed to pass with a high flow cat.

[This thread should exclude California since any change to the cat will cause the car to fail inspection.]

What kind of emissions test?

Folks in California call them smog tests. Here in the east folks call them emissions tests. Same thing, just different terminology.

Well if it is illegal to alter the cats there like it is in Cali... Get a cat back and you're fine, but anything else is technically illegal.

In North Carolina they don't typically look at the cat to see if it's been replaced or modified. I've watched them do the testing and they simply put a sampling tube into the exhaust which runs the exhaust sample through their analyzer to see if you meet the requirements. I'm figuring other states probably utilize a similar method. In NC, we don't have the same extreme air quality problems as parts of California do, so things are less strict.

This is what I meant by what kind of tests since some also tests for obd2 readyness, running corn works with the air analyzer tests.

I think the consensus has been a single 200 cell highflow cat will pass most sniff tests. At what point does a new car like this even get a rectal exam anyway?

Sorry, I misinterpreted your question.

A North Carolina emissions inspection consists of connecting a certified analyzer to the vehicle's OBDII system to verify that all vehicle emissions components/systems are working per the manufacturer specifications along with a visual safety/tamper inspection. However, from what I have seen at some of the places I've had an inspection, inspectors often do not check the cat for tampering.

Header cat is hidden pretty well on this car

My brand new car was emissions tested as part of the state inspection I needed before I could drive it home. There's been discussion in the legislature about exempting new cars for 5 years but don't think that passed or they wouldn't have run emissions testing on it.

God bless Texas. That is terrible to hear about other countries.

Get a p and l or a jdl catted header

The jdl has flex joints
P and l doesn't

Well, so far this thread has been viewed 279 times and it appears that not one of those people has swapped headers and passed a state mandated exhaust emissions inspection. I want to make one more attempt to see if anyone has actually done it before this thread sinks off the front page.

In CA, a new car doesn't need to be smogged for 5 years. That's probably why you aren't getting too many responses.

In Louisiana...I have never had any vehicle checked. Just the simple...lights work...ok you good to go.

In Ontario (Canada) brand new cars now have 7 years before needing testing (except when being sold), so it'll be a while before anyone up here goes through it either.

We're on the OBDII readiness state only tests now, which are a joke. My wife's bone stock Camry failed, went back the next day after doing literally nothing but drive home and drive back (have to wait 24 hours for a re-test) and it passed with flying colours.

Idaho thankfully does not have scheduled tests.... If you were to change too much you may get pulled over and ticketed for no cats or too loud... Ect

In CA, it's 6 years to the first smog test. As far as running an aftermarket catalytic converter goes, well, here are the exceptions to CA's policy (from CARB's website):

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermk...ftermktcat.htm

The aftermarket cat you are considering has to have an EO number (same goes with intake) in order to be recognized as acceptable. If they are required to do a visual inspection, then it would fail without being certified. Naturally, it only goes up to 2009 because that is when you are required to test your vehicle here, so you probably won't find too many people advertising their headers as CARB-legal (even a catted header).

I'm guessing most aftermarket cats with pass in terms of the sniff test...they aren't as stringent in NC as they are here in CA, so I'm guessing any Magnaflow (or similar) will do. If you're worried, ask the header manufacturer about who they are getting their cat from and see if you can't do more research on that company.

If you are really worried about legality, there is no state in the U.S. where it is legal, because it is against federal law to remove a functioning cat. Period.
If all you are concerned with is fooling an inspection, that's a different story.

If I remember right any replacement cats must be equivalent to OEM, and you can't replace a functioning cat in the first 10 years. Basically all headers and front pipes are off road only. So you're banking on the inspection station missing or ignoring it.

Is the FT86SpeedFactory catted header CARB legal? I am sure it is in their thread somewhere, but I don't feel like digging through all of those pages. :P

The best catted header would most likely be JDL EL, but I don't think any header is carb approved.


Best of luck.

So, is it?

Doubt it

Even if it was CARB approved, it is still against federal law to replace/remove/relocate any functioning catalytic converter. Therefore, there is no "fully legal" header or front pipe for that matter.

Our header is not CARB approved.

I'm new to modding. So there's no legal way to run any header? What's the worse that could happen? How can one avoid getting in trouble if they decide to get one? (Especially in California). It seems like many people are installing them anyway.

Know a smog shop or put it back to stock when you have to smog...those are the only ways to avoid trouble. Even with that running non stock cats carries huge fines in CA (around 10k+ per missing cat) haven't heard of anybody getting these fines, but theoretically any cop could write you a ticket for running non stock cats

In CA's predicament reaming the stock header car (off-road only disclaimer) makes most sense to me
.
Why spend upwards of a 1k for a header cat that does nothing for the environment and limits the tuning. Doesn't take much burning fuel to disintegrate the little cat and have the egr aspect of the exhaust suck sharp metal shards into the heads (IHO.)


The whole thing just isn't worth it for the street. If you have to have it for competition rules you better drop that header and inspect the cat frequently until you are comfortable the tune isn't killing the little cat.

People install them because they can haha. Honestly, passing smog and etc happens every few years, so people don't really care about the restrictions, regulations, and emissions. As long as one does not drive like an asshole, he or she will not get a "fix-it ticket." I live in California and I'm planning to install headers into my car, as soon as I save up enough money to buy the headers haha.

If your car is not throwing a CEL then the header will pass a OBDII check and likely pass a smog check. In GA the car doesn't have to be checked until it is 4 years old, and it's just a OBDII check.

My P&L catted header does not throw a CEL so it would pass. They do not do visual inspections here at all. I would say your best options are the JDL or P&L like others have said.

The poor guys in CA get an intense visual inspection, some people think that a catted header will allow a pass. I doubt it since the little header cat is going to be a red flag.


In CA just ream the stock manifold cat and turn off the cel with a tune. The stock manifold is very well designed.

According to the law, any Tampering to the Emission system of the car is Illegal. That means all are Illeggal.

Now, if you just want to pass the smog test while having some more power is a different story

Pretty much any engine/exhuat mod is for off-road use only. A tune is for off-road use only. I think technically even CARB approved mods wouldn't pass muster in a federal court. But that's not the subject which is passing the strict CA inspections.

Yah, I was just clarifying the point of the Op Thread Title :D

Do you have a header installed on yours?
I have M7 as well and I wonder how it'd sound... I was looking into JDL UEL header. What about you? :)

I actually don't have a header on my car yet (broke ass college student & financing is hard enough already lol). I'm pretty sure an UEL with the M7 will definitely be quite rumbly (which I LOVE) and loud. There's a video of a FRS with Revworks UEL Headers paired to a M7. It sounds rumbles just the way I like down in the lower RPMs (2k ~ 5K), but it also somewhat raspy higher in the RPM's. As far as what UEL I'll be getting, it'll be between JDL or the Borla. Why Borla? because it has a lifetime warranty lol. I'll most likely go JDL though, cause there are almost zero bad reviews on it. I'll probably be grabbing some headers later in the fall of this year or maybe in the summer.

Nice!!!
Do you mind giving me a link for that FRS with UEL and M7?
What I feared originally was the possibility of having a raspy exhaust note when UEL is mated to M7 because Tomeis sound quite similar to ours and it gets quite raspy with JDL UEL header.

Anyways, RevWorks sounds like a solid choice,too!
Or JDL for that matter.

Oh and if you go to JDL UEL route... since it looks like you live in Cali it won't be CARB certified for sure. How do you plan to pass the CEL & Emissions test?
I mean, I guess with a tune you can get away from the CEL but I'm not sure about emissions test.. if they use the sniffer? or w/e that is.

No header is legal in California. Technically no header is legal in the USA. California is now checking for tunes. Tuning is also technically illegal unless the tune has an EO number. Turning off CEL's from within the tune will now fail a car in California.

New cars are smog-exempt for first 2 biennial smog tests, so you would only need to smog the car starting the 6th year of ownership in CA.

Out of state cars need to have a smog check done the first time they are registered in CA. The above rule applies afterwards.

-alex