So, what do you do if your cobra should pass inspection but morons fail it?

[CobraBob]

Sounds like you have the factory cats. If it were me, I'd find a stock catback nearby (maybe check through your local Mustang club), swap it in, get the inspection, and then swap your Borla catback back on. As suggested above. It's the cleanest/safest method to get the inspection done without any hassle with the state.

Which Borla catback do you have? If it's a Stinger, the loudness factor likely got you nailed at the beginning of the inspection.

 

[kevinatfms]

^^yes, in maryland if it passes emissions it passes inspection.

wrong.

are they actual mufflers or just resonators?

answer: resonators are not mufflers according to the MD code book(the blue inspection bible). go to your local station and ask to read it or find a cop who has one on them and ask them to read it. on your inspection form it will list what you failed for and the section in which you can find why you failed. MD inspections and emissions are different.
if he failed the inspection it is because he probably has the borla resonator mufflers instead of the full oval mufflers, unless you have the CARB sticker you're screwed. if he failed emissions, something else is wrong.

also, how loud is it?

answer: they normally don't do this but if the car seems too loud, the MD state inspection station can ask an MSP inspection officer for a decibel reading. if your car fails that, your car fails MD state inspection. if you are at the emissions station(VEIP) and you fail for excessive sound you have done something wrong to piss someone off. that is a very hard thing to get written up for at an emissions station.

what type of Borla catback does he have?

 

[Fast Freddy]

mufflers have nothing to do with emmissions. mufflers are all about sound. it is impossible to fail a hydrocarbon and ppm test based on mufflers. now cats are a different story. if the they failed you for mufflers than you did not pass a decibel test for noise :read:

 

[Fast Freddy]

wrong.

are they actual mufflers or just resonators?

answer: resonators are not mufflers according to the MD code book(the blue inspection bible). go to your local station and ask to read it or find a cop who has one on them and ask them to read it. on your inspection form it will list what you failed for and the section in which you can find why you failed. MD inspections and emissions are different.
if he failed the inspection it is because he probably has the borla resonator mufflers instead of the full oval mufflers, unless you have the CARB sticker you're screwed. if he failed emissions, something else is wrong.

also, how loud is it?

answer: they normally don't do this but if the car seems too loud, the MD state inspection station can ask an MSP inspection officer for a decibel reading. if your car fails that, your car fails MD state inspection. if you are at the emissions station(VEIP) and you fail for excessive sound you have done something wrong to piss someone off. that is a very hard thing to get written up for at an emissions station.

what type of Borla catback does he have?

carb = california air research board

carb is irrelevant in any other state than Kali :read:

 

[mustangmike02]

:lol: my 96 saleen with a twin turbo kit, long tubes, and a O/R x passed, oh and it has 35% tint :banana:

Mustang owners who run these shops helps :beer:

 

[WillyBob98]

Im bringing this thread back just for anyone who cares. We took his car to Days Truck center on rout 40 and they failed him for his tint. We did not mention the previous exhaust problem to them. So, my buddy took the tint off and replaced it after the re-inspection.

Thanks to those of you who took the time to respond. I actually learned a lot. From what I understand, if you follow the "book" 100% you can make a case for failing a car because of an aftermarket catback. It does have borla mufflers, not resonators. But, it is loud for just a catback. The part that pissed me off was that the first tech said it failed because "there are no mufflers on the car". So my cousin said, "they are not resnators, they are mufflers". The mechanic then corrected him self and said that he made a mistake, and ment that there was no baffling or packing in th mufflers. Then said, "but we can cut those and weld you new ones for $500". They were just trying to make some money by taking advantage of what they thought was a young dumb kid.

 

[jenkins_1120]

Im bringing this thread back just for anyone who cares. We took his car to Days Truck center on rout 40 and they failed him for his tint. We did not mention the previous exhaust problem to them. So, my buddy took the tint off and replaced it after the re-inspection.

Thanks to those of you who took the time to respond. I actually learned a lot. From what I understand, if you follow the "book" 100% you can make a case for failing a car because of an aftermarket catback. It does have borla mufflers, not resonators. But, it is loud for just a catback. The part that pissed me off was that the first tech said it failed because "there are no mufflers on the car". So my cousin said, "they are not resnators, they are mufflers". The mechanic then corrected him self and said that he made a mistake, and ment that there was no baffling or packing in th mufflers. Then said, "but we can cut those and weld you new ones for $500". They were just trying to make some money by taking advantage of what they thought was a young dumb kid.

Wow some shady shops

 

[NasteeNate]

horrible. New Jersey inspection use to be like Maryland, but they got rid of all the ridiculous stuff that they did at inspection because it only accounted for less 6% of people on the road, and saved the state some money. Now we only do emissions.

 

[PaladinMan187]

Im bringing this thread back just for anyone who cares. We took his car to Days Truck center on rout 40 and they failed him for his tint. We did not mention the previous exhaust problem to them. So, my buddy took the tint off and replaced it after the re-inspection.

Thanks to those of you who took the time to respond. I actually learned a lot. From what I understand, if you follow the "book" 100% you can make a case for failing a car because of an aftermarket catback. It does have borla mufflers, not resonators. But, it is loud for just a catback. The part that pissed me off was that the first tech said it failed because "there are no mufflers on the car". So my cousin said, "they are not resnators, they are mufflers". The mechanic then corrected him self and said that he made a mistake, and ment that there was no baffling or packing in th mufflers. Then said, "but we can cut those and weld you new ones for $500". They were just trying to make some money by taking advantage of what they thought was a young dumb kid.

I'm going to have to play *devil's advocate* here. I've been a service writer at a shop. We had a car we inspected and passed the same day come back to us with a ticked off MD state trooper. The trooper called the TI or whatever the title is for the guy who oversees the techs in my area for the MD state inspections. The trooper said the mufflers were too loud and didn't meet the book and the TI agreed with him. The tech got a slap on the wrist and the shop had to eat the repairs to get the car to conform to the code of the Inspection law.

What I'm trying to get at here is that some techs don't care, some do and some have been bitten by the system so have to be super strict to keep a license. Are there more than a few who will be dishonest and require things that are questionable or may marginally pass? Yea but its not all of them. There are more than a few reasons a tech can fail a part. Just don't always think its because they want to get your money.

This is my opinion. I could be wrong.

 

[J-Hem]

Are you sure is should pass? in most states it is illegal to alter the exhaust in ANY way from factory.

Really ? Ive altered exhaust on every vehicle ive ever owned and driven around legally. Even Draconian California.

 

[RDJ]

^^yes, in maryland if it passes emissions it passes inspection.

you should have made passing state inspection a condition of the sale. when i lived there the car was only inspected when it was transferred to a new owner. don't know if that has changed or not but whenever I bought a car I required it passing as a condition of the final sale

I have personally driven around in my truck *needed a different car inspected that I knew wouldn't pass* and asked point blank if the inspector would write a certificate for cash without looking too hard at the car. It took about 5 shops and 400 bucks but I found what I wanted. This is all up to you. Don't go in your own vehicle tho. Take a buddy's. The shops who brown nose to the cops and turn you down for a cash under the table inspection could write down your tag #, call it in to a trooper *T.I. - Trooper Inspector I think is what they are called* and then the trooper would see if you registered and inspected a car recently for the next 6 months or so. If they find you paid for an inspection, its not a fun outcome.

yes because bribery is SUCH a fun thing to have on your record if you get caught and they decide to charge you and the guy taking the money

Are you sure is should pass? in most states it is illegal to alter the exhaust in ANY way from factory.

not true at all. in those states that have these types of laws they USUALLY read "to modify the exhaust so it is louder than stock" so you can put the aftermarket on and be legal as long as it doesn't make the car louder than stock.

it is against federal law to mess with the cats unless they are broken but states don't usually enforce that. but the CAN and the fines for both the owner and the shop are substantial

 

[LS2GTO]

I'm going to have to play *devil's advocate* here. I've been a service writer at a shop. We had a car we inspected and passed the same day come back to us with a ticked off MD state trooper. The trooper called the TI or whatever the title is for the guy who oversees the techs in my area for the MD state inspections. The trooper said the mufflers were too loud and didn't meet the book and the TI agreed with him. The tech got a slap on the wrist and the shop had to eat the repairs to get the car to conform to the code of the Inspection law.

Did the tech actually admit to hearing the car in its current "loud" state and still passed it? Who's to say that the person didn't do what everyone on here is saying to do eg. put on stock mufflers for the inspection then run around with loud aftermarket ones afterwards?

There's got to be some rules and regulations about such. They can't be punishing shops that actually do what they're supposed to do when people modify their cars AFTER the inspection.

 

[GloomySVT]

Move out of the shitty state you live in.