Emissions vs Aftermarket Exhaust in MA?

[izackary]

OK, so I've been out of the loop for some time as I haven't had a vehicle inspected in MA since 2001. How tight are the emissions standards these days? I have an MS6 which I've had in NH when it was stock, now in northern AZ where if I wanted I could run the exhaust thru a catless downpipe and out the side of the car if i wanted. It's possible I may be taking it back to MA in the near future. Do any of you turbo guys with downpipes, intakes, race pipes, etc have issues with MA emissions with what you have on, or do you have to swap parts back in whenever Sniffer Season comes back around?

[jd42]

I don't live in MA, so I can't comment on the current emissions testing. I can give you a few tips to consider, however.

A catted down-pipe will prevent CELs and should be fine if the OBDII port is scanned during inspection. A catted down-pipe should also pass a sniffer test, since a cat is present. Tricks can be performed to keep a cat-less setup from tripping CELs, but I don't see anyway a sniffer test could pass.

If visual inspections are performed, the catted down-pipe will probably not pass if the inspector knows the car comes from the factory with two converters. A test pipe would be easy to swap out for inspections for the second cat, but that leaves you with the factory down-pipe. I suppose a cat could be welded into a "shorty" down-pipe, and the second cat could be bolted in for inspections.

[dfw6er]

Doesn't look like you'll undergo a sniffer, they'll just plug it into the OBD port and check for any problems, CELs, monitors not ready, etc. Here's the link: http://www.vehicletest.state.ma.us/about_whywhat.html

[izackary]

Thanks for the reply, Mainah!

Yeah, if anything, I've convinced myself that any downpipe I put on must be catted, no exceptions. Even if I got a downpipe out here, it would be catted, because who knows if I'll even live in Cali someday, so why buy a downpipe twice? It's also easier to justify the extra one or two hundred bucks just by the environmental aspect.

I guess if they look for smoke, I'd best bring it in when it's warmed up for a while.

[jd42]

QUOTE (Isaac @ Jan 29 2009, 02:27 PM)

Yeah, if anything, I've convinced myself that any downpipe I put on must be catted, no exceptions. Even if I got a downpipe out here, it would be catted, because who knows if I'll even live in Cali someday, so why buy a downpipe twice? It's also easier to justify the extra one or two hundred bucks just by the environmental aspect. [/b]

I went with a catted down-pipe mostly because I didn't want to deal with CELs. Plus, I get to claim I'm being nice to the environment and all that :-)

Good luck if you ever move to CA; their emission standards are crazy. I doubt any aftermarket down-pipe would be legal. As I understand the requirement, anything but the OEM cats, in the OEM position, is a big no-no. Heck, even something with no emission impact like a BOV or FMIC can be disallowed because the intact path has been modified from stock.

[late8]

I just want to chime in since the topic is emission related. From what I read here by those who went through the OBDII emissions check in Cali is that the ECU records reset events and if the last reset event is too close to the smog check inspection, the vehicle is required to return at a later date for the inspection.

I guess it's a "stop gap" measure for those who have CEL issues and try to hide those issues by pulling the neg batt. terminal to clear the CEL right before the inspection.

I wonder if other states that model their smog program after Cali do the same?

[izackary]

QUOTE (jd42 @ Jan 29 2009, 12:47 PM)

I went with a catted down-pipe mostly because I didn't want to deal with CELs. Plus, I get to claim I'm being nice to the environment and all that :-)

Good luck if you ever move to CA; their emission standards are crazy. I doubt any aftermarket down-pipe would be legal. As I understand the requirement, anything but the OEM cats, in the OEM position, is a big no-no. Heck, even something with no emission impact like a BOV or FMIC can be disallowed because the intact path has been modified from stock.[/b]

Fuck CA. If I move there, I'm leaving my car registered in WhoGivesADamn, AZ.

[jd42]

QUOTE (late8 @ Jan 29 2009, 02:48 PM)

I just want to chime in since the topic is emission related. From what I read here by those who went through the OBDII emissions check in Cali is that the ECU records reset events and if the last reset event is too close to the smog check inspection, the vehicle is required to return at a later date for the inspection.[/b]

I believe that is normal for any place that scans the OBDII port for emissions codes. Basically, they want to make sure the car has been operated for a reasonable amount of time during normal driving without encountering a condition that would set an emission-related CEL.

If the ECU is reset in the parking lot of the inspection garage, just driving the car from the lot into the bay isn't really a representative sample of normal driving conditions. :P