Hey,

I'm moving to Cali soon and this is going to be a first time in a while since my car have done any emission test.

I know the cat on the car still stock (120K) . I'm scare to fail the test.

I'm doing all the tune up now. I was thinking of replacing Cat before moving there.

Can I use 49 state cat? since I'm not in cali when this was installed. Will it pass smog or They will tell me i have to change to cali cat converter.

Cali Cat converter are 3x the price CRAZY!


Thank you.

 

California is the worst state in the world. I was stationed there with legal registration, if you drive a Honda you are a criminal, I used to get some of the worst tickets for just normal driving, they use to dig for problem when they see no obvious ones, then I did an engine swap and paid a shop under the table to past me, and it was on fix it tickets every week. Hated that state. plus its the only state that every warning sticker says its known to cause cancer in... sorry *** place.

 

Really? I was born and grew up there, never had any problems. I don't rice out my cars though and draw attention. Not saying you do, but I wonder why you were targeted like that.

You can use a 49 state cat and no one will ever know the difference. It's not like they make everyone replace their cat converter when they move. Google CA DMV registering an out of state car. It's no big deal unless you have a turbo, B20, or stripped off charcoal canister for a wire tuck or some other silly nonsense.

 

Ok. I will just do a tune up and find a stock air box for del sol at Junk yard.

Thank you for the advices. Hopefully SMOG test is not as scary as what I read online.

 

Never rice. Car was lowered, B16 swap, stock looking aside from wheels, I was stationed in Fort Irwin... everytime I drive out of Barstow I was pulled over and then they start picking around looking for **** to give me tickets on... I should have kept my Florida registartion but did not know the rules.

but lesson learned, if you are not from Cali bring your state registration.

 

i lived out in California most of my life and the DMV sucks. they will do a visual inspection of your engine and if you fail that they won't even smog your car. i have heard there are a few places that will not charge if you don't pass the smog test, but i have never needed them. i have always just kept the stock pieces and swapped them in when going to smog the car.

 

You should replace it with a stock cat. 49 state legal isn't going to pass in CA. I just passed with flying colors with a jdm b16 in my hatch. I have the stock cat with bolt-ons and I had no issues at all. Buy a used cat on H-T, I see them on here all the time.

The SMOG laws do suck here, but they're definitely not the end of the world.

As long as you don't drive like an idiot, cops here aren't that bad. Unless they are having a bad day.

 

My Del Sol cat worked until about 200k then failed smog (the smog guy told me it was probably the cat). I then had to replace it. I bought a bolt in one from summit racing website that was CA legal for ~$300 (I had to buy different bolts at Home Cheapo). The smog guy said it was cleaner than a brand new car. I also felt like the car had a little more grunt than before. I've got 350k on the car now.