CA Smogged. Finally. FYI

[mah77]

I haven't been on the forums in some time. Work, family, and hobbies have been keeping me from.....my other hobbies. My truck had to be smogged this year, and with my cat ripped out and 4" exhaust in, I knew I was in for some issues. I did keep my original cat, which saved me a tremendous amount of headache/money. I took it to a local muffler shop to have the guy install it with some flanges, and that's when I received more bad news. Apparently California requires the downpipe to be the stock size all the way to the cat. Uh oh. I pitched mine, thinking I should just hang on to the cat. I searched Craigslist and eBay, and was surprised to find people selling them for almost $200. 3 months after my registration expired, I'm finally legal again. The whole smog inspection took only about 5 minutes. With my cat on, and stock tune back in, I putted home as fast as this slug would let me. I couldn't get that thing ripped off fast enough. So, word of advice to those of you in Ca, hang on to your downpipes!

[howell_jd]

I can't say that I am surprised that there are very strict emissions tests in California but I am surprised to hear that an emissions testing station employee is capable of identifying the difference between a 3-1/2 inch downpipe and a 4 inch downpipe without a mic caliper - is that what the 5-minute test included? I have read of in-pipe opacity checks and dynamometer measurements as well as visual inspection for the EGR cooler in addition to the usual OBDII port readings but I have never read of an exhaust size restriction/requirement.

Good advice, mah77.

Jonathan

[Fox Hunt]

Interesting. I've never heard this before. What size down pipe were you running? That seems pretty ridiculous that you can't have a larger down pipe. It makes no difference in the emissions. How hard did you look into this. Not saying your wrong in just curious if this is something the so you took it to said. Out if you asked multiple shops if this was really the case.

[ZMANN]

Did they plug into the OBD port ?

AZ just does the Opacity via a snap idle to WOT test and visual inspection.

I am waiting untill they start checking via the OBD port for a non stock tune and How bad it will effect people who have deleted EGR/exhaust components and need a program to keep the CEL from setting = automatic fail

[mah77]

There were 2 smog techs that looked over the truck pretty good with telescoping mirrors. They did use a caliper to check my downpipes diameter. They plugged some kind of device into my ODBII port (to check for trouble codes I assume). They looked at my EGR, CCV/PCV, air intake, and around my turbo. They did a "snap" test 3 times, but I barely saw a puff.

I did ask about the downpipe issue, and both Speedy and Smog-N-Go confirmed. They said it's because CARB doesnt want any modifications until after the cat.

[Fox Hunt]

Ya just found some info in the BAR newletter, such bs. I would imagine that if you took it to the right place that would be something that could easily overlooked. As long as there is a cat I can see a problem but thats CA for ya. Man I'd love to move..

[Fantom]

Yeah, the smog on these trucks is a joke. $60 for a worthless test that takes less than 5 minutes

[RRF985]

My friend with an Audi A3 2.0T had the same problem getting his car smogged. He had an aftermarket turbo-back exhaust with the stock cat in place and they didn't pass him either. Luckily he still has his stock exhaust and put it back on and got retested. I think its ridiculous that it matters. As long as the cat is there having a larger downpipe is not going to effect emissions. I don't think I could ever live in California again. I do miss it and I enjoy it when I visit but I also enjoy my truck without a cat and not having the hassle of going through smog anymore.

[Fox Hunt]

Originally Posted by Fantom

Yeah, the smog on these trucks is a joke. $60 for a worthless test that takes less than 5 minutes

Fantom- have you had any problems with your downpipe?

[Fantom]

Nope, my truck is cat-back since the smog BS started and my original exhaust is in the garage in the corner should any need for it arise.