Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches New England How do you aftermarket exhaust guys pass emissions

So i'm not pricing out exhaust sets and what-not... Dont want to go ahead and buy a $500+ system only to find out that the tips are too big to pass. The guy at the inspection place told me anything aftermarket bigger than stock wont pass... I know theres at least a few of you on here with bigger than stock so im wondering how you get by each year.
My current tips are massive as some of you know, and have never had any trouble for it, but this inspection place is a friend of a friend and theyre telling me its no good.
I plan on going smaller than what i have anyway (maybe some trubenz system, looks like 3" max)
So how do you pass emissions with your aftermarket exhausts?
feel free to PM me if its a secret

thanks in advance.


.Snipey

It isn't really the size of the tips, it's the amount of sound they put out. And before anyone rices him out... the car came like that when he got it. I remember those things, it is big enough to put your freaking head in.

Mine passed with no problm but I'm CT. You Mass people suck at everything.

so they do a sound test too? if u like the system try putting in a center resonator if its missing or end mufflers with resonated tips?

nah i have a pretty bad leak ive located to be at the cat, so im going to be getting cat-back + a new cat, but the trubenz system ive changed my attention to is 3". the guy said it isnt supposed to be louder than stock..and im sure almost every aftermarket setup is(although im not sure how he would know how loud stock is? )
i just didnt want to get this installed only to find out im going to need to get stock tips to pass.. not like im made of money
i figure if all else fails i can take it to the place that passed me last year, although its a little out of the way.

Thanks matt for the rice-shield hoping to finally trash those stupid tips

.Snipey

Seems like to much work for the test site. It's too subjective. I can't imagine they have a factory decible reading for every car ever made, nor do I think they have something that measures the sound at the test site. I can see them questioning the volume if it is noticibly louder than stock and looks noticibly different from stock.

When I changed the downpipe on my Mazdaspeed the sound got deeper and only slightly louder. Cat back it is all stock. And for my car, Mazdaspeed makes an aftermarket exhaust for it that can be instaled by the dealer.

tecnically as long as you have the paper work from the manutfacturer that says it is 50 state legal, then they have to pass it.
but then again they have the right to refuse to inspect it.
and they are supposed to do a preliminary walk around and and if anything sticks out as not going to pass they are supposed to tell you before they pull it in so you can have it fixed before.

some of the dudes can be dinks, the guy i brought my SVT to said that it shouldn't pass because the exhaust was too loud.
i was like doode..its factory!
him:well, its still loud!
me:blame ford!
hehe

size of the tips should not matter

One thing i've started to notice in mass is each station makes their own rules. They aren't supposed too but they prey on the fact that most people don't know all the rules.

If the station owner for example has a thing against fart cans he will try and pull his crap. It works the other way also some will check tint some won't. I had a garage give me crap about my car being loud. I laughed at him, throaty tone yeah loud not. I told him he better know what he is talking about. he looked at me funny. I said you can't tell people [censored] if you don't have the proof, so if you fail me I'm going to the state and file a complaint. I got my sticker , but it still doesn't change the fact that these asses are out there .

If you have a 50 state legal system, tell them to kiss it. They can get you for being too loud though, they just have to proove it.


Just be lucky we don't have registery cops anymore, yep they had white cruisers and would bust your ass. they would do stings in areas we would cruise alot like forest park. They would open the hood, look under the car looking for test pipes, converter removel, etc. Mass dissolved them into the state police. anyone remember those days?

yup, i remember them doodes.

the inspection stations are now the ones who are supposed to look for cats and stuff.
if they dont see them its an instant fail.
as for the noise thing, the car isnt supposed to be louder than factory. but like you said, they have no way of proving this.

If you really want too tick the guy off say " whats loud? what is the factory sound level? do you know, do you know all the factory sound levels, do you have a chart, a meter.

Really they would be failling alot of throaty mustangs. Figure one of the biggest mods next to tires/rims is an after market exhaust. if you put on a 50 state legal system, then it is just that, legal. sema does alot of work to get this stuff done, but it's still up to the little guy to fight the man. Find another station.

I will say this though. Those huge fart cans you have snipey aint helping you. get a well designed cat back and don't worry about it. Like Elky say's "fugg'em"

Technically, anything modified from stock won't pass. I think in reality it prevents only things like straight pipes and REALLY loud rice fart cans. I have never seen a shop do a sound test or emissions metering unless it was boderline. They can loose thier license if they pass something that shouldn't.

last year I passed with my Borla and a black tap over the CEL light...and this was a dealership too btw

In CT stations are supposed to look for a cat, no obvious holes in the piping, and make sure that the CEL isn't illuminated in their preiliminary. There is nothing in the procedure that says to look for something less than obvious obscuring the CEL.

So are you saying i could maybe get away without getting a cat? i was planning on getting a trubenz system and a cat seperate from somewhere. i will probably still plan on gettin the cat too, maybe a high-flow cat..unless i find out it makes no difference.

1 more question..the aluminized steel is a good $150 cheaper than the stainless system i was looking at. Does stainless really make that much of a difference? if stainless is just mostly for looks, and aluminized will last me nearly as long, i might as well go for the cheaper option.

thanks for all the input guys

.Snipey

Go with the stainless steel. I made the mistake of buying ceramic coated steel headers and as soon as the car started the ceramic fell off and the began rusting immediately. I will never get anything exhaust related that isn't at least stainless steel.

stainless, stainless, stainless. you will save $150 but you will replace the cheaper system within 2yrs or sooner. stainless is cheaper in the end. The high flow cat makes a difference go for it.

You live in MA, where they use more salt on the roads there than anywhere else. Salt is the most corrosive thing in the world to steel.

If you buy aluminized in the first winter the aluminization will degrade away and rust spots will start to appear, by the second winter the rust will have covered a good portion of the parts. After the end of the second winter you might see the steel exfoliating (rust peices that flake off) and probably after the third winter you'll spring the first leak due to a rust hole. If you go with stainless it will last longer than you own the car.

as for the check engine light during mass tessing...
they check for the light when they turn the keyon to make sure the bulb isnt blown out.
if you have a CEL during the test you are supposed to fail instantly.
unless...
it is an insignificant code.
that is determined by the machine.
when i tested my svt last year the computer pulled 2 codes during the test (CEL did not iluminate) and the car still passed.
they were codes for stuff like catalyst not warmed up.
the test machine knows that that means the car wasnt warm enough.
but if yo uhave an existign code like a 420 you will fail.

Yes you definately want to spend the extra and get the stainless, i got mine in stainless and no problems at all. especially in mass where you guys dont believe in sand just salt salt everywhere