Is there a way to install an after-market Y-pipe and add something that will keep emissions clean? I don't care so much about the federal law against installing the Y-pipe, I'm more concerned about emissions\air pollution (no I'm not a tree hugger but I do care).

Maybe you could add a second cat in front of or behind the first one or add something to the b-pipe section that does the same job as the pre-cats in the stock Y-pip, but aren't as restrictive?

I have a Cattmann Y-pipe sitting in the garage which I haven't installed because of the pollution issue.

 

No. You're dealing with a pre-cat. In order for the pre-cat to work, it has to be in close proximity to the exhaust manifold. There's no place on an aftermarket Y-pipe to mount a cat in close proximity to the rear exhaust manifold.

Remember as well that the only time you'll be causing an excess amount of emissions is when your engine is cold. Once your engine warms up, the main cat takes over. That's why you can pass a smog check with a Y-pipe if your engine is fully warmed up and the inspector doesn't conduct a visual exam of your exhaust system.

 

I'm tired of your defeatist attitude! Someone has to be able to come up with a solution for this. We can walk on the moon, but we can't make an exhaust flow that's both clean and non-restrictive!?!

 

Go back and re-read my post. I edited it.

 

Friggin hippie.

If you loved the environment so much, go buy one of those Honda hybrid go kart thingys and sell your V6 gas hog.

Haven't you and I already been through this?

 

Sorry, just that this issue has been bugging me for a while. $200 for a used Y-pipe that I can't use because of a heightened sense of morality.. not all bad, but sometimes it sucks.

I re-read your post, now is it possible to add a pre-cat to the front of the Y-pipe? Maybe not on existing Y-pipes, but maybe one of the manufacturers could design a new Y-pipe with an unrestrictive (or less restrictive) pre-cat.

I always let my car warm up before I drive it (2-3 minutes). So that means I get to pollute my own home and office? Great...

 

I don't know how long it takes for the main cat to fire up, but I can tell you that with only one pre-cat missing, you're not going to create enough pollution to cause a problem. Hell, the methane you produce by farting each day is probably worse for the environment than running without a pre-cat.

 

Back for more eh?

 

Well, I fart often, so that's a lot of methane. Unfortunately, there's no federal law against me passing gas, but there is one about switching out anything before the catalytic converter.

Now if only I could prove for certain that removing the pre-cats (there's two in the stock Y-pipe, right?) is not that bad for emissions, then I'd swap the Y-pipes. Maybe I'll do a test at the local inspection station...

 

Your mother would be so proud.

 

There's no arguing that point, Tanmann9. The State of California also takes a rather dim view of removing emissions equipment. But you're in Texas. I don't know how the law is applied there.

That may work in Texas, but it would be a REALLY bad idea to do that in California. I believe inspection stations are required by law to report infractions to the C.A.R.B. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong about that.

In addition, by the time you get your car to the Inspection Station, the main cat will probably have fired up. At that point, you should pass the smog check with flying colors.

To conduct the test you're talking about, you'll need to let your engine cool down completely and test it on start-up to get an idea of how bad the emissions are.

 

Agreed, I'll have to go to an inspector close by and park it for a few hours while I go shopping. Hopefully they'll be cool about it and understand that I'm doing a test and not report me. Thanks for the information!

 

I'm not sure if a few hours would be enough to cool down the main cat or whether you'd need to let your car sit overnight to get a correct reading. In addition, your inspection station would need to have your car set up and ready to go on start up. The longer they wait to begin getting readings, the sooner the main cat will fire up. And once that happens, the game is over.

The ideal test would be to take your car to an inspection station and have them get everything set up the night before. Then they'd be able to jump on it the following morning.

Let us know if you decide to go through with this. Thanks.