I have y pipe sitting in my trunk because I am afraid If I install it I will **** myself over. Do California smog places actually let the car run for 30 minutes before testing it. That sounds a bit odd. And how would I even convince them to do that.

Does California do a visual inspection? If so, I'm ****ed.
Secondly, If I actually do grow the ***** to install the y pipe, how easy is it to put the old one back on after I fail smog. Could I just swap them in and out for just the test... I'm not trying to spend hundreds of dollars failing smog tests.

 

What year, and fed or Cali car. If you don't have Cali or 99 you should be ok. Ymmv

 

if your profile is accurate and you have a 95, don't worry about it. The only ones you need to worry about is 99 cali-and newer.

 

Unless you have O2 sensors AFTER the pre-cats, you'll be ok. '95 should not.

 

I would recommend leaving it on for the smog. A buddy of mine just got his car smogged and we replaced the y pipe with his stock, and he was running a ghost EGR so it was a close call, and his levels were border line to not passing. Uninstalling the old y pipe isn't as hard as you might think. You just unplug the O2 sensors and take off the y pipe. I'll admit that you'll need a funny swivel extension for the rear headers to get access to the old Y pipe, but you should be good in taking them off after. And yes, cali is a ***** about visual inspections. They're doing surprise ones nowadays, so after you smog, just call it a day and swap out that Y-pipe and be worry free for 2 years at least

 

For 95 I know that in Cali you have what's called the EVAP test, which is mandatory on 95 and older and costs an extra $10

 

Stillen Y-Pipe = Failed
OEM y-pipe = Passed

No visual inspection for me.

 

Inspector didn't tell me anything about this
I just paid $40 flat.

 

Lucky Dog. Lol. Nice though! Though I paid $27 for mine all the way... Wait... now that I think about it, I passed with my aftermarket Y-pipe....

 

all of us have sensors after the pre cats, no? i know for sure i have 3 o2s

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...nsor_95-98.gif

how do they test it and what are the limits? In ontario they hook up a sniffer and i passed with y pipe + high flow cat and a bad tune and it still passed.

 

maybe thats because "most" 95 and older are OBDI?

we have OBDII 95+

 

I know. It's just on the opposite side of the waterfall, right? Rather than being on the driver's side it's on the passenger one.

@Cars Yeah, we all have 3, except we don't have that rear sensor going after the Cat.

 

What part of Cali, some spots are more d1cks than others and some dont look for aftermarket parts....

 

Ontario, CA doesn't seem to care much for it. Just as long as your emissions are spot on

 

San Jose Bay Area

 

We used to have emissions testing here in Florida a while back. One trick the tuners would use to pass emissions is to run the tank near empty, and add a few gallons of denatured alcohol, and then go test. Pass with flying colors every time with the sniffer. Now, you can just do the same thing with E85. Just remember that right after you test, go to a gas station and fill up your tank to dilute the E85.

 

Damn up North, just checking if you were somewhere down South maybe somebody could recommend a place...

 

All my cars have passed with a ypipe. Nobody gets on their knees and looks.
I've even pointed it out to some smog shops and they still don't care. Just tell them the OEM one rotted out and you replaced it with an aftermarket one, should they look or ask. The only visual part is under the hood and making sure your CEL works properly and is not on.

Most shops let your car run for 20 minutes prior to the test (especially the pass or don't pay places) cause they want your cat as hot as possible to increase the chances of passing (lower NOx) and so that they get paid.

Go to "Pass or Don't pay" places...no need to waste money on smog tests like you said.