Narnian

The previous owner of my 1990 coupe removed the mufflers and the center Catalytic. He told me that the car has two mini cats on the exhaust by the engine and didn't need number three on the X pipe. I was too lazy to look, and somehow I always managed to pass the sniffer test in Ohio without any troubles.

RDHayward is enroute with my car to my current residence in California. Very shortly after he arrives I will have to get the car registered here, which means doing the California smog test.

I have the original Catalytic the previous owner removed.

Here are my questions:

1) Should I just try to get through the smog test here without changing anything, or is it definately going to fail?

2) Do I need to put mufflers on or is that ignored by the California testing?

3) I think I might want mufflers anyway. What's the least expensive muffler worth having?

4) If I need to put a cat on before I get it tested, should I use the original, or buy a new one?

slickfx3

if... then get a new one.

where do the pipes exit?

dynomax superturbo generics are worth owning and cheap

the shop may not crawl under the car to look for compliance.

you could ask them to do the visual first if they say it's a go then smog the precats should scrub the exhaust if you engine is stock...

cv67

Aint no way youll ever pass the visual without cats.

If his car is entering the state the one time inspection bet they will stick a mirror under there to look for them. If they dont its time to buy lotto tickets lol.

The two on the front are just precats youll need all 3. They need to function right to pass out here. The actual sniffer is lenient compared to some states but tightening up. The visual everything has to be there. Cats, egr etc.

Just get new ones MIdAmerica motorworks Corvette Central etc all sell premade ones too.

Stock replacement muffler is fine. You could always upgrade the catback to 2.5 rather than 2.25 also wont do anythign except help some.

slickfx3

i know a shop that was very easy going...

Narnian

Is it in Northern Cali? I'm in Sacramento.

Narnian

The pipes exit in the rear with chrome tips.

Narnian

Waitasecont! They don't put the car on a lift? How can they check under a 90 Vette with a mirror? Is there is enough clearance to see the pipes that way?

Will a Cat from Autozone do, or is there really a noticeable performance difference between an autozone cat and one from Mid America?

BTW, The engine is stock.

cv67

When you bring a car in ca to reg the first time DMV will ask you to bring it in to inspect.

You cant pay a smog guy for a bum smog then go to dmv.
Maybe after that..


Ive had smog guys use a small mirror mounted on a long rod that they simply hold down under the car and can see whats there.

They may put it on a lift these days who knows. Usually some DMV worker walks out looks at the car matches VINs then your off. Been yrs though
Mufflers they may not pay attention to.

Its not a big deal really. Easiest imo to buy a bolt in cat system with the cats already on it. Local auto parts store is a rip..

You can always take it in to dmv anyway you can pay transfer fees at least then smog and get tags. Who knows maybe youll be one of the lucky ones that slips through.

Narnian

It kinda sounds like if I put on mufflers, they may not bother looking to see if the Cat is there, and the pre-cats will probably get through the sniffer test.

I want mufflers anyway - I'm gettin too old for all that noise.

If for some reason they look for the cat, I'm guessing I have a grace period (30 days?) to get it corrected.

cv67

You wont pass the smog without the main cat, sorry youll need it.

All your smog equiptment needs to be on and working.
it doesnt slow the car down really.

3D87C4

Well...you don't want to get flagged as a "gross polluter" as this will impact how often you have to have it checked.

If it were me, I'd try to get everything as close to original as possible and get a pre-test done to be sure it passes both the visual and sniffer before the "official" test. You might do a little more than needed this way but hopefully get less grief from the state.

3D87C4

Hopefully someone will pipe up on this question, otherwise you should search some more. I think I've read that CA does care what cat you use. Someof the on-line vendors may mention whether their cats are CA approved. And it's not just an issue of what comes out of the tail pipe---the cat has to have the right CARB number if it's not original equipment.

Narnian

Hmmmm, if they are that picky, perhaps I should put the original cat back on. I was under the impression that the PO took it off very soon after buying the car. That would be about 14 years ago.

Is it really that bad of an idea to put the old cat back on?

PLRX

They Look for cats and O2 sensors.

No cats=Fail Visual and Fail Sniffer.

There is a member (L98) here that lives in California and he passes CA SMOG with only two main cats. Needless to say, his center cat was removed.

Welcome to California, where you'll find the #2 most expensive gas, expensive real estate, 8.75~11.75% sales tax but, the best weather in the nation.

383vett

I agree with Cuisinart, there is no way the car will pass the sniffer test without a cat. If the car is over 5 years old, California lets you replace the original cat with whatever will work. You can put a high flow cat in there and hopefully it'll make the sniffer happy. Visual won't be a problem. Also, the smog test station could care less about your muffler situation. The DMV might when they look at the car. Years ago I bought an 02 Z06 from Phoenix and had it registered in California. The DMV did look at it after the required smog test.

slickfx3

not going to mention any names but, was told many times during performance type convos with numerous shop/mufflers and the like and I mean numerous enough to establish a consensus,

the 2 front ones will normally give the inspecting party the sense of compliance, albeit you and I know it is not. somehow they don't know what car has what from the factory and there is no way to check, alls they say is it has cats, this is from my soft memory on the subject.

many times in these convos, it had been suggested to me to nix the center cat, knowing the 2 huge canisters , call it pre-cats or whatever euphemisms you will, it will scrub the exhaust clean regardless of the downstream unit; if they are in good condition.

I don't know how this applies to your importing the car into the border and what cusinart says about the protocol is for something like that, it may be more of a body cavity search than a normal bi-annual obligation.

as far as muffs, who cares? but if you think it will pacify the inspector and distract him from his job, and not red flag the underside of the car, it may be worth a try, and besides you don't like noise like you said.

last thing our cars has a tube that feeds the main cat with air from the smog pump in open loop/start up, if you want full compliance you need the tube

I am in So cal....

GKK

Replace "Everything" that was removed because California smog shops are Strictly regulated and large fines or arrests are given to those shops that try to deceive the system.

You are in for a terrible emmisions nightmare if your Vette is not stock. You'll see what I mean...

mike100

that catalyst having been off for 14 years means that it is really fresh and hasn't had burned oil or rich exh fumes going thru it for the last decade and a half. If everything else is in order, it should pass nicely with it on.

I don't know for sure, but usually the 3-way part of 3way catalyst is in the rearward section of the cat, so NOx numbers will be too high without the center/main cat. They have got real real strict on the oxides of nitrogen(NOx) if you live in the populated areas, so you ought to put everything in place and then get it pre-tested to make sure it's all working (check the egr valve too).

RLG

I read somewhere that the EPA had approved the removal of the 2 pre cats. I don't remember where I read it ,but it was an EPA document. You might check that , it could save you some money.

jeffp1167

Being a new to California vehicle you will be able to take the car to any smog station so at least if it fails they can work on it. DMV inspection is just a odometer check, VIN check, and they also look under the hood (probably for non-stock items) That what they did on my 2000 windstar at any rate when I brought it from Seattle.