High Flow Cats legal in Cali?

[Black Adder]

Hi, I live in San Jose, California and own a 2006 SRT-10 convertible.
I am considering upgrading my exhaust system and have a question regarding the high flow cats.
Are they legal for use in California and will they negatively effect any smog checks?
Regards
Tony

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

Hi, I live in San Jose, California and own a 2006 SRT-10 convertible.
I am considering upgrading my exhaust system and have a question regarding the high flow cats.
Are they legal for use in California and will they negatively effect any smog checks?
Regards
Tony

Not if you have a CEL because of them or eliminate the working signal to the PCM when they check it. DC Performance will have all the CA. info you could dream of when it comes to these questions 310-841-6996.

 

[Martin]

As long as the high-flow cats are CARB certified, they're legal in CA. They basically fall into the category of aftermarket replacement parts and the consumer has a choice in what to install on his/her car when the original equipment fails. Technically, it's not 'legal' to remove a perfectly functioning stock emission device but that's something that's difficult to enforce. I know of someone who was told by a muffler shop that he couldn't install a high-flow cat on a brand new car. The stock cat started mysteriously rattling the next day, and the shop replaced it no problem.

 

[Alan Patterson]

FYI, I intalled the 3 inch High flow cats and 3 inch corsas on my 2006 and passed Calif. smog a week later... (Oh, my stock cats were rattling too...!!)

 

[Paul Hawker]

I believe it is technically illegal to change out your OEM cats unless they have become defective.

Some people have done it, but the shops need to be careful about emissions regulations.

You can sometimes get away with only one cat, but after some miles, it may also fail emission testing.

 

[JonB]

FYI, I intalled the 3 inch High flow cats and 3 inch corsas on my 2006 and passed Calif. smog a week later... (Oh, my stock cats were rattling too...!!)

Thanks Al......................

Tony, If you truly want a "Legal" answer, it is NOT legal in 50 states to replace an OE functioning cat under 5 year old. (Fed law.)

If you wanna know will they thro CELS on 06? NO

If you wanna know if it will pass Smog? Yes.

 

[eucharistos]

The stock cat started mysteriously rattling the next day, and the shop replaced it no problem.

 

[Viper X]

Funny thing, I've had some "rattling cats" too .....

 

[SoCal Rebell]

FYI, I intalled the 3 inch High flow cats and 3 inch corsas on my 2006 and passed Calif. smog a week later... (Oh, my stock cats were rattling too...!!)

Yup, I had 3" in/out randomtech cats and Balenger headers and passed

And that's after 10K track miles!!!!

 

[plumcrazy]

i would think as long as the car passes emissions, thats all that matters. who cares how you do it...

im sure im wrong, it just seems like too much common sense

 

[Martin]

i would think as long as the car passes emissions, thats all that matters. who cares how you do it...

im sure im wrong, it just seems like too much common sense

That's what you'd think - but this is life in the PRC... ANY emission related component that you have installed that doesn't have a CARB number on it will cause an instant failure of the visual inspection. They don't even get to the actual test until you pass the visual first. I wanted to strangle one smog test guy who refused to pass me because he couldn't see the cats on my GTS, and therefore assumed I hid them to try and pull a fast one. The bad thing is if they find something that they don't like, they can cause you all kinds of grief by failing you - by that time, they have your VIN in the system and a direct link to DMV. The guy I mentioned above wanted to flag me and force me to go to a referee station to get my test sorted out (big pain in the butt - you have to deal with the gov).

Even if equipment DOES have the appropriate CARB number on it, some stations will STILL fail you if they're in a bad mood. This happened to me with my Jeep - I have a supercharger on it, with all the proper CARB labels and full manufacturer documentation. The guy said that there was no way that it could be certified for California (it looked pretty radical, I must admit), and failed me. I had to get legal on his a$$...