Teal94Z

Hey well my questions is pretty simple, im looking at a aftermarket dp and i want to go catted but since the stock piece has 2 cats and aftermarkets have 1 would it even pass the sniffer in cali when i do have to smog it later? because if not ill just save my money and buy a catless and swap them out when i have to smog it since i would have to do the same thing with a catted dp

mofofernando

iTrader: (3)

go catless and save your stocker for when the time comes

RooTBeeR

iTrader: (4)

true story

Berto09ss

mod your car but keep all your stock parts just in case

Omnigear

iTrader: (4)

you will fail visual since your suppose to have the stock cat for 5-7yrs?

AndrewSS/TC

I believe all 50 states require cars to have a cat.

Omnigear

iTrader: (4)

talkin about if your goin to have a cat, i think u need 2 use the stock for 5-7yrs

RyRidesMotox

None of my cars have been visually inspected that closely. Try runing E85. You will probably pass without cats.

40rty

LOL, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. You really think it would work? I'm going to be moving to Cali soon but I plan on using my residency that I have from Florida(getting licence plates FL) and avoiding emissions all together.

BlueSS/SC

In Canada we have emissions as well, and hi-flow cats fail our "e-test" best bet is go catless and just swap em

calicobaltSS

as luck would have it....I have a state refferee station at my college...and I asked him that same question......you CAN have an aftermarket cat...as long as one........its on the car and installed properly IE welded....and two.....it has a CARB cert #...then it is legal in cali..... hope that helps...

094doorSS/TC

Im a smog tech in cali and odds are you would fail the sniffer test for NOX or HC, with one cat, and also the visual inspection for a missing cat. If it was me i would go with the catless, and save your stock dp for smog. There are no CRAB legal DP that i know of for the cobalt, not much of any aftermarket for that matter is CARB approved for the cobalt.

Teal94Z

cool thanks thats the answer i was looking for

RyRidesMotox

Yea I have done it with race gas before on a very aggressive BMW my friend owned. E85 runs with alot of advance so it has a LONG time to burn. Its very clean when it comes out. But the visual inspection is what they will get you for. I just found out the shop I went to back in the day (before I got my diesel) doesn't smog anymore, so I have to change DP now for every smog. ******* greedy California stealing my money via smog check. I'm going to register in Oregon and never smog again.

Omnigear

iTrader: (4)

lol base requires you smog even with outta state plates, you have to pass state laws to drive in the state ^_^ . well thats just to get a base decal, hope yours do not expire soon or become **** about you having HI decals. there is only one close e85 gas station in SD.
let me kno when your in the area.

blackbird

The law in California requires you to use the factory, OEM cat as long as you are under emission systems warranty. It is assumed if your cat goes bad that your warranty will cover the replacement cost during that period. If you modify the car and run too rich and burn it out and GM won't cover the repair but you're still under the warranty period then you'd be required to buy an OEM one from the dealer ($$$).

After that period you can use an aftermarket cat but it has to be a "special" one that is "OBD-II" certified for use in California. What that means is the aftermarket catalytic converter manufacturers have to pay the Air Resource Board a certification fee and be able to prove they will last and work as well as stock which raises the prices for aftermarket cats here in California. There are also technically no "generic" cats as they have to be certified for specific applications and there also aren't any high-flow cats that are legal for sale in the state.


Will you pass a general smog test with a high-flow unit? Maybe, but then again maybe not. The direct injection does run cleaner and while the stock cats are somewhat restrictive they do a good job cleaning up the exhaust emissions. Even if you pass the sniffer test it will be up the the individual smog test facility if they hear a louder aftermarket sounding exhaust because of the louder high-flow cat and any other exhaust modifications and look under the car and fail you on visual.

By federal law you're required to not remove a catalytic convert on a vehicle that was equipped with one but there isn't a federal agency that goes around and enforces this. If I were you I'd go with a quality high-flow aftermarket cat. While still technically illegal in California it will help quiet the exhaust and not draw as much unwanted attention from the law. It's also the responsible thing to do as there isn't going to be a ton of difference between a catless and well designed high-flow cat as far as performance.

If you get stopped and don't have a cat on the car there's also a better chance you'll get sent to the state ref inspection where they will go over the car with a fine tooth comb. By retaining a cat you reduce the chance that will happen and many officers don't frown on that as much as just removing it completely.

Whatever you do make sure to keep all stock parts. You may not need them just to get it to pass a regular smog inspection on initially bringing a car into the state or for the bi-annually inspection after six models years, but should you get stopped and sent to the state referee for an inspection they can go over everything down to verifying part numbers for legality in California (such as checking for a stock part number on an OEM cat or to run one on an aftermarket car against the approved CARB database for an EO (Executive Order) number).