catless in california

[Mustanger]

That really sucks about the California emission laws. Oregon = no emissions

Not quite true...only in some parts are there no inspections for smog...and just wait that will be changing soon...good ol' gov Kulongoski is trying hard to eliminate performance cars entirely! There is a bill under consideration that outlaws most performance items including tires!

Smog testing in Jackson County not in Josephine County for one.

Hey Thomas91169...it's not "too bad nobody lives there" that is the best part of living here! Nothing is crowded! However go to Portland if you want... kinda crowded there...you might like it...LOL:burnout:

 

[sisky wolf]

There are 6 counties in Ca. that do not require smog testing. If your car is registered in one of these counties and is not smog legal..whart are the consequences if you are pulled over and found illegal in a smog testing county?

 

[20psirabbit]

yeah i asked an officer about it once, he said it basically boils down to how far they want to take it. it could be as little as a warning or a ticket. he said it could be as high as a $2,000 fine per cat missing from stock as well as impounding the vehicle.

 

[bdcardinal]

There are 6 counties in Ca. that do not require smog testing. If your car is registered in one of these counties and is not smog legal..whart are the consequences if you are pulled over and found illegal in a smog testing county?

you are still expected to meet all emissions laws in CA, they just dont require the biennial test.

 

[BAMM BAMM]

What are the counties in Ca? I've never heard of this........

 

[murked99cobra]

you do know that those are illegal too and are considered the same as not having cats in CA right? only OEM is legal for your application.

to bad OEM looks like crap compared to the slp's.
How can deleting the mufflers be the same as deleting cats? cats control emissions and the muffler controls sound...that sounds different to me...:shrug:

uhg california is so difficult...

 

[blackmagicmach]

to bad OEM looks like crap compared to the slp's.
How can deleting the mufflers be the same as deleting cats? cats control emissions and the muffler controls sound...that sounds different to me...:shrug:

uhg california is so difficult...

no he's talking about the cats.... just about anything that is not stock on emissions equipment is illegal. case in point, i tried getting a mid pipe for my 86 GT, i went to the government site that tells and shows you all the parts that are EPA and CARB certified. i then went and found em on summit and jegs, but being California the will NOT let you ship any emission parts to any address inside califorina. which blew my mind, cause im trying to fix the problem the right way and pay the crazy amount for the mid pipe and they still would not let me ship it. i even called them and they said they would not ship it.... so i went and got it taken care of....

 

[stroked98snake]

Move to a state with where they don't care about cats. I live in kansas an have showed a cop my o/r x an he said they aren't going to write me a ticket for it.....but if i lived in cali an would keep a catless mid pipe untill i got caught then i would put cats on it

 

[Lt. ZO6]

Move to a state with where they don't care about cats. I live in kansas an have showed a cop my o/r x an he said they aren't going to write me a ticket for it.....but if i lived in cali an would keep a catless mid pipe untill i got caught then i would put cats on it

So one cop was the entire voice for the state's law enforcement community? They are illegal in every state, btw.

 

[stroked98snake]

So one cop was the entire voice for the state's law enforcement community? They are illegal in every state, btw.

that won't stop me and many others from putting catless pipes on there cars

 

[Ronias]

Well im forn the bay and I run an o/r x pipe with stingers. I got pulled over by a motorcycle cop and he said he didnt know what i did to the car but its way to loud, and wrote a fix it ticket. I had to go to chp and get the fix it ticket signed off by chp, (i put stock H back on) chp asked me what i changed I said the mufflers. so he signed it i went to court, fine was 20 dollars. this was about 4 months ago. My car lowered quite a bit so even if a cop wanted to look under my car and got on his belly. he wouldnt be able to see my midpipe.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

that won't stop me and many others from putting catless pipes on there cars

That's fine. As long as you understand what could happen. Though, if you ever get a cite for not having them, please don't pollute the forums with complaints on getting a ticket.

 

[mach1337]

i know for a fact in tn there are no smog regulations. when i was in highschool i had a bronco(351w) that i ripped the exhaust off while offroading. since i was a broke kid and couldnt afford new exhaust me and the old man welded strait pipes on it. got pulled over for bein to loud and got a warning. had to find some mufflers after that... i now live in cali and have never had a problem of being to loud in my mach. but then again i havent put the l/t and the or/x pipe on it yet either.

 

[slowr w/o blowr]

I wonder what my car sounds like with cats, its never had them on it. I wish your laws would stay over on your side of the country and let us do as we please on our side. Hopefully an earthquake will seperate us normal people from that section of the country. Ohh and Al Gore is full of shit! Global warming is bull isht. Seriously though. Your emission laws piss me off and i dont live anywhere close. i just hope that our politicians dont get any ideas from your state.

BTW, in our group of 30 or so cars that get together regularly, maybe 1 or 2 have high flow cats. the rest are all off road. Sounds like nascar races when we are out cruising.

 

[RydeOn]

Well its so difficult for me I might just quit this hobby altogether.

My original h-pipe is in great shape but the smog guy said it was bad because my smog test blew over 2000 hcs!! I called several Ford dealers in the area asking to buy a new stock h-pipe and they all said no, its an obsolete part. Then they said they could sell me cats for $800 each and Id need 4 but they arent the ones that come on the car. Then you guys say that I cant use summit cats or any aftermarket cats. I also have a Magnaflow X-pipe with 2 cats wich is now obsolete because I guess in California you have to have 4 cats as of this year, not two. So basically I cannot buy a new h-pipe and cant smog/drive my car. I just think out here in California you just buy a new car drive it for 5 years, then buy another. I know you officers see it a different way but the only thing people really want is money. Money for a new car, money for a ticket, money for smog, money for cats, money unecessarily being paid just to drive my old but super clean low-polluting car. It sucks because I have two older vehicles I absolutely LOVE but instead I just drive the new Toyota everyday because its easier. If a hardcore car guy like myself is ready to give it up then that should say something about the direction this hobby is headed in this state. I guess thats exactly what california wants. :nonono:

 

[uofipilot]

For what it's worth, the huge fines (up to 10k per cat) are fines based on federal emission laws. They have nothing to do with California laws. I know absolutely nothing of California laws, but for the guy that was excited about having no emissions in Oregon, you are still violating federal law (which supersedes state law) and could get huge fines for no cats if you come across the wrong officer.

However, from what I understand, the huge fines are mostly aimed at shops that do illegal exhaust work, and less at individual motorists. (That doesn't mean the law doesn't apply to you though.) From what I understand, individuals will most likely get some type of minor fine and a fix-it requirement.

An on another note, the ONLY federally legal emission equipment is the stock parts that came on the car. Most aftermarket cats are illegal.

I can't find the stuff I was reading about these laws a few months ago, but this is a good start.
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/factshts/catcvrts.pdf

 

[MustangSteveGT]

i drove with no cats in CA for 3 years with no problems. it also depends what part of CA you're talking about just like any other state. if you drive through some gated community with million dollar houses every other day then some jerk will likely try to call you in or the local cops will get on you.
its one of those things where as long as you dont so something really stupid to draw an excessive amount of attention your way, you dont have to worry about until you are actually taking an emissions test (which require stock midpipe btw and you'll be fine).
i'm from way up north in humboldt county and my friends in high school had some really rough rides and the cops never ever ****ed with any car of anyone i ever knew.

 

[LostRacer]

You might want to search out some company's that make aftermarket cats anyway. Some are listed as being CARB legal and are normally seperate from their main stock.(Due to California Regulations) For instance I bought a replacement cat from Magnaflow a few years ago. They one that was Ca. legal and some others that weren't. I don't know what the differences were, but I passed emissions with no problems. Just a heads up. There has to be a resolution.

 

[MustangSteveGT]

You might want to search out some company's that make aftermarket cats anyway. Some are listed as being CARB legal and are normally seperate from their main stock.(Due to California Regulations) For instance I bought a replacement cat from Magnaflow a few years ago. They one that was Ca. legal and some others that weren't. I don't know what the differences were, but I passed emissions with no problems. Just a heads up. There has to be a resolution.

i asked for the same thing when i ordered a new catted x pipe through american muscle. the cats that came on the pypes midpipe had a CA stamp on them. i still dont know if those are good enough. definitely need to check into that.
it doesnt matter though because IF the inspector you get does it by the book. they will be looking for the noise resonators/pre filters + the regular cats. which you only get on the stock midpipe.
also JBA makes emissions legal shorty header. just an fyi. i have them and love them.

 

[98Stangt]

Keep in mind if you get sent to the smog ref. they can and usually will go through your entire car looking for any emmission violations ,that includes any aftermarket tune you may have that affects it.