cat replacement suggestions
 

Hi guys,

My cat is going bad so i figure if im going to replace it might as well upgrade. Looking at the agency power dual resonated but open to suggestions.

I live in California(Bay Area) so I have 2 main concerns:

-passing smog

-passing visual inspection by an officer
(if the cop looks under the car it will appear as a cat is there to avoid fixit ticket/getting towed)

Are there any replacements that will allow me to do the 2 above?

Open to suggestions. If anyone near the bay is selling lets talk.
Thanks.

Why not go with a high flow cat? then you should still pass smog, and pass a visual inspection.

there's a few out there, BHR has one, i think rx7store, and there's a few others, a quick search should sort you out.

maybe i'll consider that. do you know anything about the agency power?

Nope. I would think that a cop MIGHT see a resonator and think its a cat...and I suppose if you were really worried about it you could take an old cat, cut it in half, empty it out, and weld it to the outside of a resonator for a "cat-look", but honestly, i'd go with a highflow, no issues then. (though, california has some mighty shitty rules).

As the other guy said go with a high-flow cat if you are concerned about passing smog or a cop noticing it. I know california is pretty strict about their smog so maybe just a midpipe would not be the best idea for you. Also if the cop has a brain in his head he will know just from the smell that you have no cat, it is pretty strong and distinct.

The AP midpipe is a great thing though, I have one and I like it. It is your cheapest option with a resonator. It is pretty damn loud though and with the stock exhaust it makes a honda-ish sound at about 3k to 4k rpms. From what I have been told if you have an aftermarket exhaust that sound will either go away or be much less loud.

Funny thing about California smog regulation is that, the only transportation that's not under its regulation is the big yellow huge school bus that operates everyday, around kids. Go figure~

Right now the only legal option in California is an OEM replacement from Mazda.

http://www.racingbeat.com/mazda/perf...emissions.html

A direct-fit replacement from Magnaflow or others will pass the sniffer. In principle, nothing but OEM should pass visual inspection, but I doubt anyone would notice.

I think I'm more concerned with passing smog. My car is lowered so it's kinda hard to see the cat anyways. I'd like to find something that meets both my preferences but if I had to pick one then passing smog is more important.

Glad you like the AP midpipe I heard youtube vids of it on stock and i plan to get an aftermarket exhaust eventually so that'll get rid of that raspy sound. I prefer a deep growling tone if that makes sense.

As far as the cop hopefully he'll confuse the resonator for a cat haha that half cat idea isnt bad either since i'll be taking it off anyways.

CA's strict smog laws are so annoying and stupid...

you most likely will NOT pass smog with a high flow cat.
I've had 2 RP supercats and both failed so I never got a chance to test it at a smog shop but my gut tells me it wouldn't pass based simply on the sniffer test.

Next up is something like the Davesport cat.
I have one of those as well.
No WAY it would pass CA smog inspection or test


In CA, your only real option for passing smog is an OEM cat, even if you have to borrow one for the day and then put on whatever midpipe / high flow you want.

I was hoping someone from california would chime in. Luckily vegas isn't as strict. haha.

yah i know vegas doesnt care. im jealous.

maybe i'll just find a midpipe/high flow and just swap it out with an oem on smog day like jedi said.

anybody hav any friends selling an rp super cat, ap dual resonated pipe, or rb dual resonated pipe for a low price? located in bay area. dont mind paying for shipping but dont mind to if the price is low.

Yea I think your best bet is to swap it out at inspection time, thats my plan here in vegas. I just have my oem cat in my garage waiting for the yearly inspection. I'm sure there is someone in california that would be willing to loan their cat to you when you need an inspection done, just start going to meets and being friendly with people.

That's what I'm doing, taking out my OEM and putting in an AP midpipe this weekend. I'm due for registration but doesn't require a smog this time.

eff it ima do it. i really want a midpipe haha

As it looks like I'm going to need a cat replaced along with my engine (97k just under the warranty expiration), I would LOVE to find some sort of CA and smog test friendly solution to a cat replacement that doesn't require the obscene amount for an OEM part.