[carlsontheflyer]

Originally Posted by falconey

I'm in Atlanta and I had zero issues passing an emissions test with the downpipe fix. Inspector didn't even look at the cats, but you shouldn't be failed if you keep the secondary cats which aren't deleted with catless downpipes anyway.

The EPA rule book says that primary cats must be present. The secondary cats are too far downstream to heat up enough to initiate the proper chemical reaction. In other words, they are not enough to burn off the remaining HC, CO and NOx gases. The vehicles that only have one cat or dual cats downstream rely heavily on the EGR system, which in those cases is much more prone to failure as it gets clogged up with carbon buildup.

Of course, many, if not most emission inspectors are ignorant of the fact that some cars have primary and secondary cats, or what cats looks like, for that matter. They will often glance under your car with the aid of a mirror on a broomhandle, see the resonators and assume those are the cats, and you get a pass.

Next time come to my station for emission test. I wont open your hood.
I'm in Alpharetta / Johns Creek area.

[falconey]

Originally Posted by carlsontheflyer

The EPA rule book says that primary cats must be present. The secondary cats are too far downstream to heat up enough to initiate the proper chemical reaction. In other words, they are not enough to burn off the remaining HC, CO and NOx gases. The vehicles that only have one cat or dual cats downstream rely heavily on the EGR system, which in those cases is much more prone to failure as it gets clogged up with carbon buildup.

Of course, many, if not most emission inspectors are ignorant of the fact that some cars have primary and secondary cats, or what cats looks like, for that matter. They will often glance under your car with the aid of a mirror on a broomhandle, see the resonators and assume those are the cats, and you get a pass.

Next time come to my station for emission test. I wont open your hood.
I'm in Alpharetta / Johns Creek area.

Cool, I live off of Nesbit Ferry. Moving soon though. I think the key is the knowledge part of this. Most inspectors don't even know all the tricks to get around what the computer reads, let alone what stock parts come with the car, so if the computer says 'pass', they just roll with it.

[fistofsouth]

So after conducting some research apparently there is not a custom exhaust/ muffler shop in DFW that can make mandrel bends. That being the case I guess I'm back to buying a pre-built cat-back.

Is the AFE 2.75 inch cat-back the largest diameter cat-back made?

If it is then I guess my best option is to get the Ar Designs catted DPs, which are a full 3 inches up until the flange, then have the muffler shop cut off the flange on the DP and then fashion a stainless steel transition to the 2'75 inch aFe cat-back, giving me at leas 2.75 inches throughout the system. Ultimately I just want the system that reduces back pressure by the maximum amount.

[Maxmil982]

Originally Posted by carlsontheflyer

I own an emission testing station in Atlanta, Georgia.

Here, even if you have a DP fix installed that doesn't trigger a CEL with a P0420 and P0430 codes (Catalyst Efficiency Below Threshold), which is another way of saying your cats have failed or do not exist, your car will not pass the emission test. Due to availability of devices that fool the ECU into not throwing code, in Georgia emission inspectors are required to visually verify the presence of catalytic converters, and in the process of the performing OBDII test, the emission analyzer actually asks a question on one of the screens whether the catalytic converters are present. If the answer is NO, the computer will fail the vehicle.

I am pretty sure that in Texas the rules are the same. So, unless the inspector does't check if your car actually has cats, or your downpipes or midpipes look like they have something resembling a cat (), you may have a problem.

P.S. This is the main reason I will upgrade to downpipes with high flow cats on them, even though it will be considerably more expensive. I'll just be a hypocrite if I drive around without catalytic converters, while at the same time not allowing others to do the same.

This is BS. I've lived in Atlana for 20 years, and have owned AT LEAST two cars the whole time. I also take my wife's car for emission. I've literally been to at least a dozen emissions locations a total of about 50 times, and have NEVER EVER, had an emissions place visually inspect for cats. NEVER ONCE.