Dirtyswiff

The debate is not about the catbacks legality. It's the sound it resonates when hooked up to the oem cat. I am still going to put everything back but was wondering if I can away with just doing a midpipe cat swap. And still be under 95 decibels. This was earlier in the thread btw.

OtherSyde

So we've established that with a stock (or CARB-certified) air-intake and a stock cat, you can pass the emissions sniffer test with almost any cat back, since it doesn't affect the emissions output - only the intake and cats do. Correct?

As for the ref, they sound like picky bastards who might condemn you at the mere visual sight of an aftermarket cat back, even if it's under 95 decibels and has no effect on the emissions. I think anyone in Cali would do well to have a stock cat-back and cat on-hand, ready for any ref harassment. But I have gleaned from this thread and many others I've been researching that if your cat back has no markings on it and looks fairly plain and conservative (not huge 4-inch tips) - and doesn't have "GReddy" printed boldly across each tip like my friggin one does - you might just get by though.

Is this the gist of it?

Dirtyswiff

Yes, unfortunately the more discrete the better. I personally don't drive around like a little kid racing everyone with my red car. Right now, I take pride in all the physical mods I've done so far as it's my daily driver. But I guess I can't speak for everyone in Cali. Anyway my appointments next week I will reinstall everything Sunday run it till my ecu adjusts accordingly, take it in during the week and then i will post the results after the test.

Karack

i don't quite get why these companies don't just affix the plate before selling the kits, it would be a better selling point if people could buy a 100% california legal kit.

in my american muscle car days companies like holley, MSD and edelbrock gave you underhood labels and affixed badges to their products even though many went onto pre-smog vehicles which didn't even need them.

companies like Injen, AEM and Apexi even though they may have a CARB certified part do absolutely nothing to promote it or do it the right way. as if it will hurt sales by affixing the CARB label to the part.. i've gone through the same thing with Apexi intakes which are CARB certified but have no labels.

notice the trend? import car part manufacturers couldn't give a damn, domestic car part manufacturers do it right.

WreakLoosE

If you have an exhaust it will past smog. If for some reason they test DB I dont think they do at the ref locations you are fine if you have a cat.. To get the fuzz off your back You can go to the CHP and get it tested. if you check under 95 DB you are good to go. they will give you testing doc. that it has been checked. A long time ago an agreement was made between law enforment and manufactures of exhaust such as Greddy etc. about this issue.. Taken from Greddy website...
Keeping You Legal
GReddy maintains a full line of CARB exempt 50-state legal performance products in addition to the race only products designed and intended for off-highway use. Our street exhaust systems have been designed and tested to give you the maximum amount of performance and meet the SAE sound test of no more than 95dBA. Whether you are just looking for a little better performance from your street machine, or are going for all-out race performance, the only name you need to know is GReddy.
A cop can give you an exhaust ticket or pull you over if he feels through reasonable levels your exhaust is too loud. However. if you have documentation showing that a db test was done by the CHP and it is under the 95DBA level you can present this to the officer or the court and get it taken off. This is only for sound. not for emissions.
What did the CHP put on the ticket?

Dirtyswiff

I was initially pulled over for expired tags that were in the mail...he put "Modified Exhaust" expired tags warning, labeled correctable violation.

WreakLoosE

You shouldnt need to see a ref. for an correctable modified exhaust.. what a jerk...that is a waist of everybodys time..

Karack

that's still a BS excuse for an officer to pull you over.

if the registration has been paid but you haven't received the tags yet the car would still show up as registered as soon as he ran your plates, and they always do. the tags are only there for an officer to have an idea that your car may be possibly out of registration and to check on it, and even then people have stolen them off of other vehicles before(i wouldn't suggest that, since it will get you into serious ****). if the tags are say 3 months old i could understand, if the tag is only a month out of date then he was just harassing you.

Dirtyswiff

I have a certain respect for sheriffs and city cops now, i **** u not I was going down the street prior to being pulled over, and I passed a sheriff on the other side of the road didn't look twice. 5 seconds behind him was the highway patrol staring he busted a bitch and then he pulled me over. I don't know how he heard my exhaust I saw that sheriff down the road and dropped it onto neutral then cruised by the chp. I live by a police station. I drive by everyday. I actually passed by a sheriff that I didn't see the other day at a light hitting 6k in 2nd. He didn't even bother. The chp started with the tags then the exhaust then I showed him my smog papers then I showed him my registration license insurance then he saw my clean *** record then he chilled out told me this might work to my benefit....saying to get the ref test and if I pass I can drive around as loud as I want. Even though that's not entirely accurate.

Karack

doesn't really seem to matter, in fact it's kind of rare for a CHP to write you up for a fix it ticket and their jurisdiction is generally on highways and not city streets. doesn't mean it never happens, but that's usually how it plays out.

Dirtyswiff

My thoughts exactly, but I'm sure he was assuming I didn't have any proper paperwork or numerous speeding tickets. I bet he felt stupid and just gave me a ticket so he didn't feel like he just wasted his time. Or maybe he was trying to show the sheriff ahead of him that he wasn't doing his job. When realistically, cops gotta worry about real **** like killings.

Dirtyswiff

I like to call it "Race Car Profiling"

Razz1

He heard your exhaust because you had no CAT. The car is loud with your mid pipe.

I have heard several Agency Power Cat Backs. They are not loud and you will not fail referee inspection.

Your lucky they didn't tow your car.

They have a right to do that with expired tags.

OtherSyde

The thing is, I want to tune my PCM, but what's the point with a restrictive stock cat?

OK so here's a question, what if I bought that Black Halo Racing resonated mid-pipe (that apparently muffles sound but doesn't restrict exhaust flow), and one of the quieter/lower-key cat-back exhausts like a Borla, that makes a nice low rumble? I know that combo wouldn't pass smog inspection and I'd have to swap the stock cat back in for that, but would the combination of the BHR resonated mid-pipe and the low-key exhaust eliminate that ear-splittingly loud rasp that causes the Cali Cops' ears to ***** up like those of a doberman pincer hearing the rustle of a rabbit in the bushes?