SSI's. Illegal in Ca?

[richenry]

Gentlemen,
I have moved to southern California as a result of work recently and brought with me my '83 SC that's still registered in Texas. My question is: Can is legally backdate my exhaust to an SSI/early muffler setup if I keep my car registered in Texas or do I have to keep the CAT setup? I really want to do this! Also, is there a law that states when my 20 year old car will be SMOG exempt? Thanks in advance.

Rich

[Moses]

Yes, you must keep the cat.

Your car will be smog exempt in 2013 if the laws don't change.

Welcome to the Peoples Republic of California, comrade!

[Joeaksa]

Register the car in Yuma Arizona... know several people who do so for this same reason.

This, and the gun laws, are some of the reasons why I did not accept one of several job offers in the Peoples Socialist Republic of California when looking last year... Nice weather but the climate is bad...

Joe

[Silveresrty911S]

Wooohoooooo only 4 years to go for some new SSI's
Or will they go by the engine year of my car?

Joe, What's the down side of registering my car in Yuma? My parents have a winter place in Country Roads.

[Joeaksa]

Rick,

The down side is that its probably illegal. Your having parents living there make it a lot safer but I am sure that the CA cops could make life difficult for you should you get stopped.

If you had a AZ drivers license that would help and you could say you were in town for training or work. They usually say you have to register if you are in the state more than 30 days and what bites you is if you get stopped by the same person more than once.

Personally after pulling the stock system on my 85 and going with SSI's, the entire personality of the car changed and I could not go back.

Joe

[emcon5]

They go by model year of the car.

Many Californians have SSIs. You just swap them out every 2 years, or hope the guy at the smog station doesn't know whet he is looking at.

I have also heard of shops fabricating a cat/muffler combo that will bolt to the SSIs.

Tom

[Joeaksa]

Tom,

Know of a guy here in Phoenix who has his car smogged every couple of years. They look under the car, see the nice shiny stainless heat exchangers and say "dual cats" and move on!

Problem here is that if they realize that you do not have a cat on the car and it had one orginally, they tag the VIN number and you are forced to buy a BRAND NEW one before they will retest you. Cannot put the old used but functional one back on, so it gets expensive.

Joe

[Joe Bob]

Or they take it to a smog shop that does not normally see P-cars....the SSIs can be mistaken as dual cats.....ask me how I know....

AS long as the 'cats' are there....and it passes the sniff test, you are home free.

[emcon5]

Come to think of it, they are probably illegal nationwide for any car that came with a cat. converter. Isn't there a federal law about tampering with emissions equipment?

Tom

[Joe Bob]

Rarely enforced on the single car issue....mostly against fleet operators and it's a State law.

[Lorenfb]

Wait and see what happens now (post 1/03) at smog stations when
you get a test for a '96 or later car. You think that the early
cars have problems.

Good luck
Lorenfb
Systemsc.com

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Hmmmm, I have a smog due on my SC right now, So if I did SSI's after I would have 2 yr's?
and I don't think the guy I've been using has ever even looked under the car.
I guess if a guy was going to keep a car long term it might be worth a shot? I would think if you sold your car you would have to go legal.
Please don't post any pictures of those pretty thing's or you may corrupt me.
cheers

[confused]

Ok my partner is a licenced smog guy here in LA california, here is the scoop. No you can not legally backdate your exhaust and drive your car on the road. Fact: if your car is taken in and is missing the cat converter they can mark it down as failed in the smog test, then if you take it another place and it gets marked down no cat again then you may be marked as a gross polluter. True many shops have no idea what the difference is between heat exchangers and cats but do you really want to take the chance. All information from the smog test stations is sent to a state run database so all records are held by the state. If you fail a test 2 times in a row you can be marked down as a gross polluter.

There is little chance you will find a corrupt smog technitian in Ca these days as new penalties are so so stiff. If a technitian is found cheating on tests they can confiscate all of their smog testing equipment (this stuff can cost $100,000). In fact the next step the state may take is mounting web cams to the testing equipment so they can randomly monitor techs working. Right now the only way to really cheat a test is to enter the info for one car and test a different car with the same specs that will pass.

You can register a car in another state, just keep that states lic plate. Now yes you are supposed to register your car in Ca after you live here for a certain time but no one will ever check unless you get pulled over by the same cop. I don't think there is a fine, you would just have to switch.

Easiest way to stay legal: smog your car with the cat system and then remove the system for 2 years. No one will check youe smog equipment when on the road, the Police are not qualified to give tickets for missing smog equipment. There have been known smog check random check points (like DUI checkpoints) but really with the state of the economy I haven't seen one of these in years. (I'm not kidding we really have smog checkpoints, some are automatic and computer controled like red light cameras, you drive past the thing and if your car is polluting they mail you a ticket).


Ya california isn't the freest state, I wouln't go so far as to call it socialist. The smog is bad because we have so damn many people. Guns are still legal.... but if you really want fully automatic assault rifle or carry a .45 magnum on your side to go get milk and eggs from the local store then there is something else wrong with you. We don't live in the wild west and there is no domestic war going on here so there just is no need for super liberal gun laws. Watch the movie BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE. Biggest problem to warn people about comming to Ca is that we are over crowded, there is no room left! There are no fields or vacant lots left where you can walk through without getting a tresspassing ticket.

[nestorjw]

Right now, I have an 83 SC w/ a bypass pipe on it. The PO also installed a Borla muffler. Would it be worth while to switch to SSI's given that right now I can put the cat in at any time. I have it in my garage, but the car was just smogged so I have two years. Not sure how much HP i would gain from going to SSI's from the no cat setup.

[Joe Bob]

Even though you have a cat-less system, the stock SC heat exchangers go forward, make a left, neck down to one collector, make a left, make another left, enter the muffler, make a 180 and then out the tip of the muffler......

SSIs are a stainless copy of the Porsche designed equal length headers with heat exchangers....the best oem design for your motor.

added benefits
The stainless steel heats up faster, and transfers more heat to the cabin and dissipates more externally, plus no rust.....

My seat of the pants dyno gave it a 25 hp increase with the dual out muffler....

[speeder]

Agree w/ Mike completely, they're not the cheapest ponies, but they are real and usable. Also one of the only ways to increase performance significantly w/o any downside/trade-offs. (Gas milage, longevity, street manners, etc.). All of these things improve, and car runs cooler. Biggest benefit will be on a stock SC or 2.7, Carreras gain less due to pipe size not optimum.

As for the smog issue, I register my SC in another state where I also have a home, actually I can choose from 3 or 4 if I use all of immediate family's residences and lie a little. When you get pulled over, tell them that the car is just visiting for less than a month, otherwise they can force you to register in CA. forthwith. Good luck!

[emcon5]

Originally posted by confused
Watch the movie BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE.

Without saying anything that would get this moved off topic, I will just link to discussion of that huge misrepresentation of reality passed off as a documentary.

Ask your partner if you could just request a pre-test to see if the tech says anything about the cat? Wouldn't it only fail if it was the normal test?

Tom

[confused]

Pre-Test is the way to go, they are like $25-35. You won't have any problems with failing a pretest.

[k9handler]

Man the cost of living in Cali.

I am not sure where I will bringing my 911 back to...but I have the 993 cat installed, it's the mufflers that I am missing! Ha Ha

[NYNA 11]

Guys,
I remember someone said that with one cylinder pumping air, that is with the injector discabled or plugged, any engine would pass smog.
I am not sure if this applies to a CIS system as the injection is continuous and the disabled cylinder might still get a combustible mix from the airbox. Sounds doable in a carrera though with electrically actuated injectors.
Has anyone tried this?
Ned