So I live in Utah, and I purchased a '97 that has the California emissions for the car("V" on the metal plate). Is there a way to detect the Cats, and take them out so it relieves restrictions, and can still pass my state emissions laws? Or if it has the tag(the one in the engine bay on the passanger side), it says "V" in the 12 column, meaning California, could I still take them out regardless of what the tag says?

-Thanks.

 

Help me out please?

 

Bump

Hmmm, im not sure what you can do, bet the actual cat is the same but the rest of the exhaust is different.

 

I had my cat cut off and am now running straight pipe. It increased the power alot. You can either take a chance by doing this, or you can just gut your cat. To do this all you would need to do is take your catalytic converter off and knock out the honey comb filter like thing inside keeping more air from flowing freely. You should be able to pass emissions with this. It will look like you have your stock catalytic converter on but it will be hollowed out. I have been told by the muffler shop where I got mine done at, that at some places they have a special kind of instrument that will tell if you are running to much air flow or not and thats how they will be able to tell if yours is still on or not or something like that. I really don't remember what he said about it. I don't know how emissions are where you live and I don't know how strict they are on them. But the power increase is alot and if you are afraid of emissions checking then either go with a hi-flow cat or gut your already existing one.

 

ok...dont listen to that guy. the california spec doesnt add the main cat...everyone has that. and gutting that/getting a straight pipe is just horrible for the enviroment, and doesnt "increase the power a lot" the most you would get from removing the main cat is 3-5hp. the cali spec has the extra sensor above the y pipe, that explains the need for its own special type of Y pipe. i think this can be converted over....but no real purpose. A y pipe would help power. talk to the guys in your regional forum to see how THEY passed their emissions, im sure there are some ways around it, and they could help you with the specifics, how tough it is, etc.

 

I've wondered about this too. So california has stricter emissions, but the exhaust system is essentially the same. Same main cat, same precats, just one more o2 sensor. That wouldn't have much, if any effect by itself. So it must be that the ecus for the cali spec maximas have a different program that causes the engine to run with fewer emissions to meet the california requirements? Maybe an ECU upgrade could get you running emissions like the fed spec cars?

 

we pass an OBII emission test, actual emissions test, and visual inspection. The ECU is checked for codes...that extra sensor can throw codes, especially if you change things on the engine.

 

Hmm, so I guess the Y-pipe is different than "Non-California" Maxima's. My Maxima doesn't seem to have as much power as the other Maxima's I driven. The other Maxima's I test drove didn't have that "V" lettering below the VIN#. Would I have power loss just because my Maxima is made for California emissions?

 

What do you mean? The CEL will be tripped if you put on mods? I've got a couple on my cali spec car, and don't have any cel.

 

yea, a fed spec y pip goes up all the way, while the cali spec stops short, the stock pipe has the sensor on it. No, your car wouldnt be slower because of cali spec, not noticably slower. What year were they? different mileage? maybe you need a tune up, were they stock?

 

just because the CEL doesnt go off doesnt mean that the ECU hasnt thrown any codes. It's just an extra monitor on the emissions system. also, not all mods throw ECUs, didnt say that.