Need a enterprising Smog shop in Orange County, CA

[mnmasotto]

I am putting SSI with a dual in, single out MK muffler on my car this week. The exhaust is a custom fab by the one and only BEN at MK. I will do a post of his work after I install the setup. Anyhow, I have a SW chip with extrude honed intakes and a 964 cam. I do not want the hassel of exchanging the stock exhaust setup every two years. Ben Mcfarland is putting in two small 300 cell cats in parallel. From there he will modify his muffler to fit the two cats. This setup will mimic the GHL setup our host sells but the MK 2/1 muffler will be quieter and less drone than the GHL setup. I need an enterprising young man who can make the problem of smoging the car go away. I know the cost will not be inexpensive but that is O.K. Please help!

P.S. There will be two cats on the system! It is the visual I am worried about! The last smog I had the person did a thorough inspection of the exhaust system!!! He had a computer program which showed him a diagram of the exhaust system (i.e. how many cats and where they are located) Ben is sure the two parallel 300 cell cats will work better, pollution wise, than the stock 1987 cat.

[Quicksilver]

Unless the person running it was already a very close personal friend there is no way that they would help you. They don't get fined for doing something like this. They get yanked out of business.

The only way of doing this is to get the car to the point where it is running clean enough to pass smog and then take it to a place that is clueless about Porsches.

[viejopatron]

I use Mesa Smog;
609 W 19th St
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 650-4354

They're straight shooters. They won't throw it for the reason Quicksilver sez. They may be able to tell you how to pass.

[Hester]

+1

You know the drill on smog checks here in California. There are three parts to it: (1) Physical inspection of the required emission control components including the gas cap (for evaporative emissions control), the ignition timing, the e.g.r. valve; (2) a check of the O.B.D. system, if applicable, and; (3) a "drive test" of the tailpipe emissions performed on a dynamometer.

It sounds like you are only worried about #2 because you are eliminating the catalytic converter. I have never had a smog check station actually look under the car to confirm the existence of the cataltic converter. Of course, I have never brought in a car that obviously sounds modified.

You may be screwed on this point. "Sports Purpose" modifications in California are hard to get away with for long. I had a neighbor that had to undo all of his modifcatioiins once a year to pass smog. As soon as he did, he put them all back.

I doubt this is something that you'll be able to buy your way out of, unless, you buy some Arizona real estate and register it there.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by mnmasotto

I do not want the hassel of exchanging the stock exhaust setup every two years. I need an enterprising young man who can make the problem of smoging the car go away.

I don't have a problem with someone wanting to skate by the visual inspection portion of the exam. After all, every car out there with a Midas or Meineke replacement exhaust isn't running OEM stuff, either, and the state doesn't seem to have a problem with that.

But, if you want to get around the actual emissions portion of the exam (where things like the environment are actually involved), and you're not even willing to invest the sweat equity involved in swapping parts every couple years.... No sympathy from me.

Sorry, you'll think I'm an ass, and I posted without providing any useful help.

[Quicksilver]

If all the hoses and sensors are still on the car then the changes shouldn't be a problem: if it will pass the sniffer test. The lack of a converter wouldn't worry me because there is no way that it will pass the visual without one on the car. (No one is that stupid, even at the no name place in Santa Ana where I take my car.) Because you can't even think of trying it you will HAVE to do something about it so it won't be a problem...

Besides that I only see 2 items that would worry me which are the cams and the chip. The intake probably won't make a difference. If it will pass the sniffer with those bits in the car then you are good to go.

BTW - I have seen the "on the road" sniffer enforcement trailers on 3 different freeway ramps in the last 2 months here in Orange County. It is a trailer with cones on either side of the ramp around their sensor equipment and a camera to snap the license plate when it sees something it doesn't like. They are getting serious so I would make sure the thing actually passes smog because I would bet they are going to do a lot more of this because they can make money on it.
(The part that really pisses me off is they have signs up that says "Survey crew" instead of telling the truth. Remember to b!tch slap the government that lies to you even in the smallest way...)

[Carrman]

You'll never find anyone to do that for you these days. The $$$ they have to invest in their equipment is too high, and the penalties are too steep. Mesa Smog certainly won't do it, and they won't help you figure out how to pass, either ("we're smog only, we don't do repairs or advise how to pass" is all they'll tell you!)

I've seen those roadside sniffers, too. They have one on the 55N to 405S transition all the time.