Rochester

iTrader: (3)

Removing and cutting shields, removing and gutting the Front, gutting the Rear, installing the O2 Sim... 4 hours.

Exceedingly happy. I thoroughly enjoy driving my car. Always have. And now, a little more so. (Not bad for 9+ years of ownership.)

A deeper, throatier exhaust note.
A little extra pull in the upper range.

zachpark17

Hey guys, I think my rear precat is rattling. I used my mechanics stethoscope to pinpoint where it was coming from, and indeed it sounded the loudest right on the rear precat. However, this rattling started the first time I started my car after I installed nwp 5 piece phenolic spacers (coincidence?) I was VERY VERY careful not to get ANYTHING in the uim and lim (blocked off all holes). Used a torque wrench and tightened everything to specification. The other strange thing is that it is ONLY on down rev. Rev up is perfect, no noise. Rev down is a very loud rattle which sounds like it's coming from the rear precat. Car seems like it's performing great still.. Any suggestions? Any writeups on how to punch the rear precat out still on the car? I'm a little confused. Thanks guys.

Maverick4189

iTrader: (7)

Maybe it's the heat shield....

Gut the cats off te car only.

zenjia 03merlot

anyone with gutted pre-cats, y pipe or headers with either o2 sim or anti fouler setup pass california or new york smog test? they have a visual part to check/confirm CARB numbers on pre-cats, if it's not there even if your car car passes the emission tests, you do not pass.

maxiiiboy

I have the same question, and more .....

I am in California. Here, every car older than 6 years (or so, .... could be four or five) has to pass a "smog check" inspection at one of the designated stations. You have to do this every two years, and there is no way to avoid it.

I don't think you can get away with "gutting the pre-cat" or any other mod of this type because the smog check not only measures your emissions, but it also includes visual inspection of the vehicle.

I am the original owner of a 2000 SE and I plan to keep it for a while. What should I do to avoid damage to my engine? Is my only solution to preventively replace the pre-cat ??? This is a PITA ....

To CA members: What did you do, or plan to do? Appreciate your suggestions.

Maverick4189

iTrader: (7)

Lots of CA member have headers....so I'm sure there is a way around something.

D.Stillwell

^^ I think the only way is you make sure to know someone at the shop, so they can pass you without looking into it much.

I have gutted pre-cats + fastcat. Find a shop that will look past the visual, as well as the high NOx output.

maxiiiboy

Well, the "smog check" stations are government approved/controlled .... I don't think this would be easy. But I'll investigate.

To CA members with headers: Did your car pass the smog check? How ?

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

With the new CA smog laws in effect there is no more sniffer part if the emissions test. They only do a visual check and read any engine codes.

With that you can pass easily with gutting pre-cats. If you do get a check engine light after gutting pre-cats then you install am O2 sim and call it a day.

maxiiiboy

Disagree - they don't just do "visual check and read any engine codes".

I just did mine. They do the test (15+ minutes), and the results go directly to the DMV. Not sure what exactly is passed to the DM - whether all the details or just pass/fail.

The test is quite thorough: they connect a pipe to your exhaust (the pipe goes to a machine that does ***/NOx/other analysis); the test includes cold/warm test, running on Dyno, etc. - it takes about about 15-20 minutes net of actual testing.

Edited: Oh yes - the mechanic is (mostly) out of the loop. The machine passes the results directly to the DMV.

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

Disagree all you want...my wife's 2001 Ford Explorer was emission tested last year and they did a visual inspection and checked for engine codes, that's it. Look up the law yourself...what you describe is the OLD WAY of testing. As long as you have OBDII you will not undergo a sniffer test.

See the thread linked below...

http://forums.maxima.org/west-coast/...-changing.html

maxiiiboy

I appreciate your input.

I did my smog check last November. The letter from DMV stated I must do it at a STAR station.

The guy at this STAR station went through the procedure I described earlier (connect hose to my tailpipe, etc., etc.).

I just re-checked the DMV site again. I could not find any links to "new" smog check requirements. If you can point me to the "new" rules, I appreciate. Thanks a lot!

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

Did you visit the link to the other thread? It has that info.

Marc2theMax

I just had a smog check done the other day in my 2002 maxima up here in the bay area california. I too thought the new smog laws would mean no sniffer test and check codes but i was surprised when the tech busted out the sniffer test.

I was ok though because i put back all my stock intake parts just in case and took off my catch can. Besides the nwp bop i dont have any big mods like headers or exhaust or gutted cats so i cant speak of that.

I did see him look under the hood with a flashlight real quick but didnt see him hook up any scanner to the obd2 port. So ya i dont know. Maybe not all countys implement the new smog laws yet. I did however pass with really low low readings.

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

Hmm...maybe they are still doing the sniffer test for some cars? Did you have to go to a STAR certified station?

Marc2theMax

Yeah i had to go to star certified smog location. Ya i was kind of surprised. Thought i didnt have to do sniffer test after i read the new laws.

foodmanry

iTrader: (15)

Oh damn...good to know! Makes more sense because my wife's explorer did not require a STAR rated shop.