CARB legal catalytic converters (50-state legal)

[oddomatik]

CA CARB-legal catalytic converters exceed federal cat requirements and should be legal to use for emissions checks in all 50 states. The other stickler states (New York, Colorado) defer to CARB in their requirements so this guide will apply to anyone that will need to pass an emissions test in any state. Even those in sane states might consider using this information if you think your car might ever make it out to California. Telling a new owner they'll need to drop money on a new cat will surely detract from value.

HERE is a link to CARB's database, which provides the definitive list for aftermarket catalytic converters. Search your year ITR and find a list of approved cats to choose from. Go to eBay, and type in the make and part number to do some price comparison. Most EO's I viewed through the database (which provides a link to the PDF) are required to provide a 5 year warranty, but if you wish to take advantage of the warranty, make sure you read the manufacturer's warranty statement and register your purchase. This usually requires you purchase through an authorized reseller (NOT the cheapest seller on eBay, most likely).

Print out the relevant EO pages that include your model, and highlight it to make a future smog tech's job easier. Keep it in an envelope in your glove box along with all your other EO's for intakes, headers, and any other aftermarket emissions equipment.

A muffler shop might charge a few hundred to install, and can additionally put in protective measures to prevent theft such as rebar down the length of your exhaust to slow thieves down, or an entire box around key cut points or whatever... Just make sure the cat part number is clearly visible for smog. I've seen many creative solutions. If I had to park mine in the street in an urban area I'd probably have heavy duty hinged plates welded over the cat and downpipe and muffler that have locks on them or something.

Sure, it's not OEM, but in CA with cat theft on the rise we have to take what we can get sometimes.

[Outrun]

Thanks for the link. I'm trying to get my POS Dodge Stealth to pass smog so I can sell it.

[coolhandluke]

Thank you for contributing this information.

[Dave7CDMTYPER]

Has anyone tried any on the Carb list and like the quality and fit? There's like 8 pages of parts for 2001 integra.

[oddomatik]

Has anyone tried any on the Carb list and like the quality and fit? There's like 8 pages of parts for 2001 integra.

They'll probably most be pretty similar, and will get you past smog. If a muffler shop is doing the welding they will need to work with the fit anyways. Many will come with either universal fit - which is a straight pipe that will need to be either welded inline or have flanges added, or a model specific fit - that will already have flanges but will still probably require modification/flanges added to the surrounding/existing exhaust. This is why you should account for a few hundred bucks to a good muffler shop for installation.

If it were me I'd shop by cheapest price made by a company that I would bet would still be making them in 15 years or so, with 5-year warranty. For ease I'd go with a model-specific fit (already has flanges) and modify the surrounding exhaust to add flanges as needed, which makes swapping out in the future easy - just buy the same model if possible and unbolt/rebolt in. Most are probably very similar in dimension though.

If theft is a concern, you might not want flanges and might want to box it all in and add security measures. This however will add complexity and cost for this and every future change.