Are high flow cats legal?
 

i am in NJ and was wondering if HFCs are street legal. i know they free up a lot of power but i wouldnt want to deal with the hassle of getting it inspected

I think it depends on the exhaust AND the state. If you read some of the manufacturer's descriptions, they'll say "49 state compliant" or whatever, which I"m assuming only excludes California.

usually, they are legal, however....
It is against federal law to replace your cats unless the original ones are damaged.

iirc they are illegal in ny/nj

HFC's look just like stock Cats minus the heat shield, you will pass any visual inspection, so regardless of legality, as long as the car meets emissions, which it will, you'll be just fine. Now go get some :)

I guess it'd be wirthwhile to drill a hole through the original cats...lol

That or pour some old engine oil in the engine side....

speaking of the original cats, have any of you actually cut one open? Jesuchristo, no wonder the HFC's unlock so much power.

I highly recommend NOT cutting one open! asbestos is present.

ohh, that was the stuff I hastily scraped into a neat line with my razor and snorted, damn, thought it was the good stuff.

having people exposed to asbestos isn't a joke! it was just an alert to be careful. :tiphat:

not legal in cali unless they are stamped with a carb exemption tag

i gutted the cats on my other car, a honda accord with 80k miles and it increased my gas mileage alot, it also allowed the intake and cbe to function a bit better. ill prob be doing exhaust in the spring, im gonna try to do it all one shot hopefully headers back!

As Mike stated, replacing the stock cats are illeagal if they are not damaged - there is also a 10K federal fine that goes along with replacing the stocking cats if they're are not damaged. The good thing is no one cares so you are fine.

i always wondered how they could judge if the cats were damaged. would they make you prove that the cats were broke by keeping the old ones for proof?

How can they force you to keep something broken?
Only way I can see it being a problem is if you are caught in the act of changing the cats on your personal property.

I'll try to clarify some things first.

California has stricter emissions standards than the other 49 states, thus cats are separated this way and Cali cats are approved everywhere.

Permanently removing a working catalytic converter on a street driven vehicle is illegal. Replacing a damaged catalytic converter is perfectly legal.

There are many "high flow cats" out there. Some are advertised that way, but they are actually just resonated test pipes. Some high quality aftermarket high flow cats will pass emissions and will not throw a CEL (check engine light). Others won't pass inspection and will throw a CEL. Kinetix Racing makes a great high flow cat that has passed emissions, is guaranteed not to throw a CEL, and comes with a lifetime warranty. Berk also makes an excellent product, but I don't have as extensive knowledge on their product line just yet.