Ziff951

Maybe I'll do the large cat, 02, bottle of gas stuff, and have the DME ready for retarding, just in case... I'll see if I can have my guy do a test run before it records.

Does the restriction of the large cat necessitate any other adjustments, like AFR or anything?

Thanks again for the help.

Ziff951

Just spoke with a muffler shop and, damn, CA has pulled all cats from regular stores and only sells through shops. Plus, all CA cats have to have laser etched plates on them that show the cat is specific for the 'family' of engines it was designated for. So, even if I go with a 3 in cat, it will never be 'legal' since the car came with 2 1/2" exhaust. LOVE CA!!

And to add to it, they also laughed when I said I had a hi flow cat now. They said that doesn't exist, since all cats manufactured have to pass the same laws...wow...goodtimes.

87Hybrid944

I didn't know that about the Cats... Cali is out of control!

Rogue_Ant

There are higher flowing cats. Those with a smaller square-count per inch are going to be higher flowing.
Let us know how the test goes...


-Rogue

Tom M'Guinn

That's not really true for the 951. The 951 is a "pre-OBDII" car and therefore can use any CARB approved cat designed for single exhaust pre-OBDII passenger cars. See this CA DMW newletter with overview and links:

http://www.bar.ca.gov/80_BARResource...C-summer08.pdf

You can buy a legal "univeral" cat that is legal (CARB certified) for the 951 in CA at places like Summit Racing. Such as this one:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MPE-43009/

(Although, the 3" exhaust is technically an issue, though I've never come across any smog shop that have reference material showing the factory original exhaust diameter.)

Ziff951

Everything you're saying used to be true. It just changed. All CA cats must have new laser etched plates on them that can be identified 5 feet away and they no longer are exactly model specific, but are based on engine 'families'. Outside companies can no longer sell cats to CA. It's 49 state cats and CA cats. It's causing a real pain, according to these guys. Pep Boys, Autozone, etc, can't sell cats anymore, either.

Crazy...I hear Hilter's coming back from the dead to run Cali...just a rumor...;-)

edit: Out of state companies can't sell 49 state cats to CA....I suppose some do carry the CA only ones, though.

Tom M'Guinn

The current California Air Research Board website regarding aftermarket catalytic converters can be found here:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermk...ftermktcat.htm

It describes the basics and has links to FAQs and other resources, including this current list of approved converters for use in California:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermk...xemptcat09.pdf

If you read the list and the notes at the bottom of the list, you will see that the label must indeed be visible from 5 feet as you say, but you will also see that pre-OBDII converters need not be designed for any particular "family of engines". Note the various "pre-OBDII" converters in the approved list, which are not tied to any particular vehicle or engine. Note also the reference to approved "universal" converters in the instructions.

All converters used in CA, however, have to be CARB approved, and the label must meet these requirements:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermktcat/amcatlabel.pdf

Most converters that meet the CA requirements and become CARB approved also meet the requirements of all other jurisdictions and therefore are "50-state" legal.

Ziff951

Interesting....I wonder if there have been even more recent changes? One of the problems with mine is that with 3" exhaust, there is no 'legal' cat for it, because it didn't come with 3" exhaust. Luckily, my smog guy doesn't check that...;-), but I'm worried that at some point the restrictions will get too tough to sneak around? They're just slowly trying to get all older cars off the road...what a joke.. Oh well, once Cali slides into the ocean, Nevada will be much easier to register in...:-)

Tom M'Guinn

Always possible things have changed I guess, but those are the current webpages posted on the official california website. I've found these seems to be lots of misundertandings about the requirements as they relate to a 951, even amoung smog techs.

You are right about the 3" exhaust -- that is not permitted by the regulations technically, so even a 3" cat is not techically compliant. However, as long as it looks stock, most techs will not fail it for that reason. But you never know for sure, so always a good idea to keep the stock parts just in case.