Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches Capitol CEG MSDS + Emissions

I'm wondering what Josh? Jess? i cna't remember, how you did on emissions with them on? I'm tossing around maybe buying a set.

Hi Ryan,

i have the MSDS (non-Vortech spec) installed with a hi-flow Magnaflow cat. been running the car that way for a little over a year now. no problems passing either VA or NJ inspection this year but without the precats, you should make sure the run the car a bit hard before getting to the inspection station.

And if done correctly you should fail any visual inspection, since you have removed a set of cats. That would require a shop that knows to look for them, or a set of diagrams provided to the shop showing the cat location on a Duratec.

PA 3L SVT -

you are probably right. with the pre-cats removed, i passed the sniffers (as the pre-cats don't do much after you've warmed-up your car) but in thinking about it, not sure if i would pass visual at a state inspection centers who tend to be much more thorough. had mine inspected at local garages in both states since they were the only folks open on Sunday, and you didn't have to put-up with the long wait at the state inspection centers. nonetheless, a good word of caution from PA 3L SVT. thankfully i'll only have to go through that once / 2 years.

. . by the way PA 3L, are you running any special headers and how do you navigate the emissions issue? is it less strict in PA?

good luck!

Most inspectors don't know that our cars have pre-cats nor do they know what the look like! You should be fine!

-Andy

any recommendations on where to go around the alexandria area?

I still have the stock manifolds. In the urban areas of PA (Philly and Pittsburg) we have visual inspection and 10 MPH chassis dyno tests annually. My bank 2 precat is toast however, I threw a CEL for it on the way home from the smog test in April but still passed with flying colors. I made sure to have the mechanic take a quick drive to get the main cat warmed up before smogging.

Next year (supposedly) PA is going to OBD-II test - verify that all the monitors have run and passed and no current or pending codes are present. I'm going to have to install a MIL eliminator on the bum side to pass that so I don't have to pay for the dyno run. Maybe one day I'll get some gutted precats but I'm not ready to commit to that amount of work just yet.