Question on PA emissions
 

So I can't seem to find a solid answer anywhere (or out of local shops -- I'm in NEPA). I live in Lackawanna county and require an emissions test. I believe it's jsut a visual and not a sniffer. Does anyone know if I can get uncatted headers as long as the secondary cat remains in place? Or do I need catted headers?

Looking to potentially move near pittsburgh if I can find a comprable job back there, so would be curious if Allegheny county would have the same rules as Lackawanna.

Sorry if this or similar has been answered elsewhere on the forum. I did search, but couldn't find a definitive answer.

Would love to be able to save a few hundred on uncatted headers if possible (not going to swap OEM back on annually)...

pa emissions test is an obd2 test sniffer tests are for old cars

So as long as I have the secondary cat under the car, I should be good to go as long as I'm not throwing a CEL (O2 spacer, tune, et al)? Sounds good to me! I'm not sure why I was thinking I needed a header with a cat...

Lackawanna county only requires a visual anti tampering test. You get one safety sticker and no emission sticker. Whether or not you'll pass is entirely up to the inspector. Technically you would fail, but depends on the knowledge of the inspector, and how thorough he performs the visual test. I would pass you if you come to me.
@Optimus Prime

I was wondering about this to and no one i talk to can give me a definite answer i am in the Pittsburgh region and i already have a greddy evo 3 and an invidia catless midpipe but i was looking at getting headers and an overpipe to finish off my exhaust but i dont want to spend all this money and fail emissions or inspection. And would a ft 86 speed factory catted uel header be more beneficial over the borla non catted uel?? Any help is greatly appreciated. :iono:

From what I've been able to dig up, I believe I saw Allegheny county did an OBDII check for a CEL as well as a visual check to make sure a cat(s) is(are) present.

What I haven't found a definitive answer on yet, is if the visual inspection would apply to just the cat on the exhaust (yeah yeah, head is part of exhast, but you get my point!), or if it also would mean they could fail you for removing the cat off of the header.

Final point, I think technically tampering with ANY part of your exhaust could fail you, but generally speaking, so long as cat(s) are in place with no CEL, it seerms like most places would pass you.

I'm not a mechanic/inspector nor did I stay at a holiday inn express, so take this with a large mound of salt.

I've had some unexpected issues pop up with my house and my daily driver, so my header research is temporarily on hold.

So a catless header with a tune shouldn't report a CEL, so we should be good there. But, I've read some things about readiness monitors (not CEL's but still in the ECU) that might not show as "ready" that might affect the ability to get inspected. Anyone run into this?

For Northampton it is also OBDII. As long as you are not throwing a CEL you are good to go. I believe that if you are throwing a CEL due to being catless, you can get that fixed at a performance shop to avoid the CEL light.

http://www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/aq_apps/emissions/test.aspx

Anyone else see this I just found it today and it seems like it clears up at least a little about our question. Seems as long as no CEL your good unless there is a visual check for cats. You can type in your county and car and see what type of test is performed.