What do you have for headers and x-pipes? Any problems with smog check? I have 04 A4 vert with after-market catback system (ARK Performance) and thinking of purchasing LT- headers and X-pipe. Any recommendations and comments are appreciated.

 

All LT's are illegal. JBA and B&B makes some legal shorties. Probably won't have a problem with the x-pipe as long as it has cats.....

I said screw it and went with LT's. I doubt it will be a problem come smog time if the tech has the right in$entive......

 

Anyone else have LT's and due for a smog check?

 

I have the LG Long tubes and 3" random tech cats along with the Halltech snorkle system and other mods. Passed no problem. I did the don't ask, don't tell route, just took it in. They looked at it and the cats and said nice system. All they wanted to see was the AIR system was hooked up and functional and the cats. That was at the Ca. State inspection station. The guy handed me the paperwork and did a double take and said wow the state really holds the emission standards on these cars tight. (actual exhaust test pass fail margins) if it looks good and professional everything working, they don't normally say anything. Mine is a 98 and this is the second time it has been tested. The first time it did have the B&B shorty's, but this last time it was with the LG LT system.

You go in there trying to make buddies with them and they will burn ya. If you go in and say nothing and let them just run the tests, if the car honestly passes they will let you through.

This is just what I have experienced, If you get some a~~hole who is looking to give you a bad day, he can give you a rough time...

 

Talk to Andy at A&A Corvettes. He'll give you the best low-down.

 

He's the one who convinced me I'd be ok. He told me if I couldn't get it smogged "he could". Whatever that means......

But BlueDragon is right too. When you go for a smog just ask for a pretest and then shut your mouth. Might cost slightly more, but also you'll know right upfront if the guy is gonna pass you or not and it ain't that big of a deal if he doesn't.....not a documented "fail".

What I meant by "in$entive" is that "I've heard" of smog guys that will pass you sight unseen.......for the right "in$entive" (which may or may not be about $300).

 

Are you LT guys running all 4 O2 sensors? I was told it wouldn't pass with 2 missing or edited out and it needed 2 extra bungs welded in and all 4 02s installed.

 

That car isn't due to be smogged for 4 more years. Use LG or other bolt on LT that requires no cutting, welding etc. and keep the stock manifold if you are worried. You can always put it back on if you have to.

 

I have the Kook's 1 3/4 with high flow cats and X-pipe. I have not had to have mine smogged yet, but I'm sure it will pass when I do. Get the long tubes and forget the rest. Don't waste your money on shorties.

 

Since the state opened up state run smog only stations there are fewer and fewer of these, and the ramifications of getting caught has really reduced the in$entive business to some very hard to find fly-by-nighters. If you can find them gopher it! They have pretty much nailed all the ones in this area. The state has a pretty extensive undercover task group that goes around and checks these guys out.

Plus if you make the In$entive offer and they turn it down, you are toasted!

 

Yup, you need all 4 under the new laws. Before and after cats. A word of caution on the Random Tech Cats and the LG LTs. Lou states that for best results you should mount the cats after the X pipe. I did this and had to move the cats forward. The reason? With the car sitting and idling (it was also cold outside, 43 - 46 degrees) We could not keep the cats hot enough to fire. If you come in straight off a good hefty road run and they test right away, you might be able to get by. We moved the Cats up to the collectors and found it passed everytime. The small size/mass of the Random's just would not hold enough heat in colder weather. Now if it had been summer it might have tested differently.

I did not notice any SOP difference in where the cats were mounted. Maybe the TQ peak is a few RPS higher, but no earth shaking difference.

As for the 4 02s if you run sims for the rear and hide them in the wire bundle they probably won't pick it up, and the codes will still pass. If you attempt to disable the rear 02s by making a computer change with tuner software, they will catch that every time as their scanner does check.

Like I said earlier if you get some a~~hole that is going to nit pick every item, than you could be in trouble. But for the most part if you go to your local station and act completely normal and pass the exhaust gas test, and everything else looks good, they will let you fly. And yes pretest! I forgot to say that earlier.

 

Personally I wouldn't take a chance unless you know for sure someone can hook you up.

I emailed Bassani, they are testing for a CARB # which is a lengthy process, they hope to have something soon. They said to check back with them. If they can get a CARB # (which certifies their LT's for legal use in Cali) that will be awesome.

 

Yeah.....to clarify......it's NOT a good idea to attempt to go this route if you don't already have the right connection.

The only ones still doing it are VERY cautious.....you need to have an "in"......

I wouldn't just start offering cash to your local smog guy......

 

Someone please lock this before someone gets pinched.

 

Yeah.....good idea.....with all them smog enforcement guys trolling this forum and logging IP addresses and all......

 

Personally, I would spend the money on some nice ported, complete LS6 heads and a nice aftermarket cam that would cost you less than $2000. Get a good dynotune, underdrive pulley, timing chain, etc. professionally installed for another $1500 and you will have a dealer stealthy, CARB legal machine that will put out far more hp than a set of LT's. Your going to spend $1500 for a good set of LT's plus $400-500 to have that PITA job installed, plus another $500 for a good dyno tune.
Spend the extra $1000 on a good set of heads and cam and nobody will ever know you modded the engine. Also, consider running a K&N FIPK intake as it is CARB legal and will give you another 10-15rwhp. Remember, you have an '04 so you are already starting with a LS6 block, intake, and exhaust manifolds. Talk to Andy at A&A or Shawn at LAPD, only about an hour from you. They stand behind their work. Good luck with your decision.

 

Uhhh...let's not disclose the "Who's" on these threads folks....

(and I would NEVER EVER have anything illegal on my car)

 

There was a local auto repair shop in San Diego where the mechanic would smog test your car "sight unseen". He would enter the information off of your registration and hook the machine up to his own vehicle. He charged $50 to do it and everyone passed. He was caught and lost his Class "A" license. He has since shut down his shop.

When I had my car smoged, the technician just got down on his knees and looked under the car to see if the cats were still there. Once he did that, he put the sensor probe in the tail pipe and did the test. No problem. My car is stock except fotr the Ti cat back.

 

that would be way cool

 

Doesn't requesting a pre-test send up a red flag?