Hi all,

Just picked up my new to me 2011 GS. Got it from a dealer and they stated it did have CATS on it (bought it from several states away unseen, yes I know...). I asked this question as I could tell from the photos that it had headers on it. Upon getting the car, it has a very heavy fuel smell, so much that I need to change clothes after driving it for basically 20 minutes. I cant deal with the V8 Cologne. My previous Vette after 54k miles still smelled like new. This smells like I have been mowing my lawn for 8 hours straight.

I know based on googling stuff that it is likely a exhaust leak, no CATS, or crappy tune making it run rich. Here is a photo of the installed headers ( I added the CAT question? on it). And the next photos are of what I see when I look under the car. It definitely looks like the CATS arent there, and I suspect I wont pass inspection in MD due to it. This is my first car with headers so just want to get some input. I typically just do axlebacks.



Can someone please confirm my suspicion? I know the photos arent great that I took, but I didnt have the time to get it up higher to get better photos. Any help is appreciated as I am about to lay into the dealer and want to make sure I am not imagining missing CATS. The other thing I noticed is that even from like 30 feet away you can still smell the car exhaust. It is pretty strong. Also, after the car is shut off, there is still residual smoke coming from the exhaust tips. I have a video of it, will see if I can pull a photo from it as I dont want to do a youtube link/for it.

 

Tough picture to tell from the one side view, but it looks like a straight pipe has been inserted in place of the cats. Are those your oxygen sensors before the cat cutouts? Are there spacers between the sensors where they screw into the headers? Are you getting any CEL or codes? Does the car have a tune?

 

A lot of kits are identical but can be ordered with or without the cats. It looks to one like you have straight pipes, but the good news is if you know who made the headers, you should easily be able to get cats swapped in.

 

Yes I took several photos but they all sort of looked the same. It looks exactly like a straight pipe to me as well, so just wanted to ask others. Not sure on the sensors, will need to get back under there. No CEL codes and it was tuned by a shop in KY. I have contacted the shop in KY to ask them if they can provide any records on the car. They have responded to me initially but have not got back to me in a day or so since I sent them additional info and pics on the car.

 

Yes my thinking is that I will need to get an X-Pipe with cats on it or get some cats welded in.

But per the invoice that the dealer provided as part of the docs it does say it came with high flow cats but looks like they were removed to me.

Here is the exact part number and link for the headers. This is the exact part # on the invoice.

Stainless Works C609178HCAT Stainless Works Long Tube Headers | Summit Racing

 

Added 2 more photos

 

I don’t think that dealers can even sell a car without cats

 

Correct!!!! That is my understanding as well, and I told the dealer this before they sold the car to me....which is why I am ready to go off on them. I am going to call the state DMV/EPA or whoever on Monday to verify that and find out what the penalties are for a dealer that actually does this. I want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row to argue and dealer compensation which to me is new Xpipe and Cats plus a tune (or equivalent compensation to correct it). I have sent pictures or videos to the dealer every day of the mileage I have driven in it along with me speaking the mileage and date directly so there is a record. I dont want the dealer to come back and say something like I removed them etc and that when they sold me the car it had cats. The dealer has said that they would make things right if it doesnt pass inspection, but I dont trust any dealer when it comes these types of things. And when they see the bill for it they wont like it if it has to get retuned. Not saying that it needs a tune for adding the cats back in, but if it is running really lean and wont pass emissions, then a tune is a minimum. It really does smell bad. I drove it today for an hour just so I could walk back in the house and ask my wife how bad I smelled of gas when I walked in. She confirmed I smelled like a gas can (not that I needed her to say it cause its all I could smell).

And what I have seen from doing some preliminary google searches, many of the CAT options are backordered for weeks, which means I cant get it to pass inspections in my state if I did have to go out of pocket and get it done ASAP, so cant get it registered because it has to pass, which means the temp tag will expire. I want to be excited about my "new" GS but so far its has just been anxiety over it and the dread of having to drop money into a car just to pass inspection when it was "supposedly" good to go.

 

Wait...
You can smog a car in MD with headers, as long as it has cats?
Wow! That's a lot different than CA, for sure!

Sure looks like no cat to me, too.
Unless it has also has a giant cam, it sill shouldn't smell like a lawn mower, if it's tuned well.

 

in my State dealers have to get the car inspected, but if the inspection doesn't catch it well.....

 

we don’t have “smog” here like in CA. For our pre registration state inspection (one time thing), the car simply has to have catalytic converters (among many other checks), even if they’re aftermarket.

afterwards we have an emissions check every 2 years, and as long as the car isn’t throwing any codes, it passes (even without converters, as there’s no visual inspection)

 

Also, that car definitely doesn’t have converters

 

Thank you, and also the others that have given their input. I just wanted to make sure I wasnt somehow missing the obvious. Someone mentioned about in a post above about it being possibly a large cam....there is no chop, if it is cammed, my guess is it is a really mild cam, but dont know for sure.

I am taking the car in for its MD inspection tomorrow. Will see what they say. I just want the car to be drivable and not smell like gas. So my guess is a tune and new cats will be the fix.

 

I've had several cars with no cats (albeit not corvette)...but no fuel smell if tuned properly. are you sure there's no fuel leak? from tank crossover?

 

No I am not sure but I have not seen any fuel drips etc. but it has crossed my mind. The car was filled up when it was dropped off to me.

 

In CA, if a dealer sells a non-complying car to a retail customer, they'll be buying it back.
Probably facing a big-*** fine, too....

 

LT Dan, you aint got no cats!

 

Yup. Not that I want them to buy it back, just throw me some cash to correct the CATS. Have already reached out to the Header Vendor to confirm the cost and that they have the CATS In stock and if I can get them ASAP.

Car is at Criswell Chevy Corvette Center now getting its MD safety inspection. Waiting for them to come back and give me the official results. So I have my ammo to go back at the other dealer.

 

They could be cats Here is a pic of my aftermarket cats on my 68 C10

 

Just a FYI, but some systems came with resonator, not high flow cats. My guess, done this way to pass just a visual inspection, since they are shaped like high flow cats to begin with.

And without high flow cats, no way in hell your going to pass a sniffer test, no mater how lean the car is tuned.
Its the reason that the sniffer test is done on a rolling system, since may run very clean when throttled up, or even held steady, but as soon as the test tells him to slow down, the motor/exhaust system is going to go rich for a second as he comes off the throttle, and that is when you will blow the sniffer test since will not be cats to burn that excessive fuel.