california exhaust question

[ilan1115]

I'm going to be upgrading my stock exhaust, probably to the Meistershaft GT2, Borla, AA sig or Gintani race. Am planning on the muffler and connecting pipes and leaving the cats alone.

Does anyone know which of these are CA CARB-certified?

Thanks,
DW

[SleepyE90]

i dont think any of them are. maybe borla?

[randy McMann]

I'm thinking for "legality" purposes, remus "sports" something. That's the one in their line that's not a "race" system, and is Euro spec' approved, so it's the quieter one. They claim it has 63% less back pressure than stock, and 10 H.P. peak gain. I've been looking at the "race" version for when I get my next M3. Still looking...

RM

[aajami]

I'm not quite sure, but I think if you leave the cats alone then you should be OK from a CARB standpoint.

Noise pollution might be a different issue entirely.

[Brosef]

Originally Posted by aajami

I'm not quite sure, but I think if you leave the cats alone then you should be OK from a CARB standpoint.

Noise pollution might be a different issue entirely.

+1.

[LateBraking]

Originally Posted by aajami

I'm not quite sure, but I think if you leave the cats alone then you should be OK from a CARB standpoint.

Noise pollution might be a different issue entirely.

+2

If you're asking for emissions-related stuff, just remember that tampering or removal of OEM cats in ANY WAY is illegal in CA now. So as far as axle-backs go, all of those are going to be fine.

If you're asking about noise, 95 decibels or lower is the golden goose my friend....I think that if any of them had any chance of passing, it would be limited to the Borla. I'd expand my options....

[kitw]

CARB doesn't certify axle back exhausts for the M3 since none of them touch emissions equipment.

[sehrgut]

Spoke with a fellow officer and acording to him, upgrading your exhaust in ANY kind of way is illegal, and you will get cited for it, if the cop who pulls you over feel for giving you a hard time.

Telling a cop here in CA, 'Oh but sir, this is CARB legal', will get you no where!

[ryan@ActiveAutowerke]

If your worried about emissions, you will be OK as long as you keep your primary cats intact. We have stubbie pipes that can be attached to the primary cats and connect to the AA X-Pipe. You won't have any problems passing emissions

[Dave07997S]

Originally Posted by sehrgut

Spoke with a fellow officer and acording to him, upgrading your exhaust in ANY kind of way is illegal, and you will get cited for it, if the cop who pulls you over feel for giving you a hard time.

Telling a cop here in CA, 'Oh but sir, this is CARB legal', will get you no where!

We need his name and badge number to report to the Dept. what a moron he is. The fact of the matter is catbacks don't need CARB approval. To the OP, Borla if you use the OEM cats won't excede the Ca. limits of noise which is 95db. You run no resonators and cats you will obviously excede this. I have been doing aftermarket exhausts on all my cars for the last 20 years.

Dave

[F15-31]

Originally Posted by Dave07997S

We need his name and badge number to report to the Dept. what a moron he is. The fact of the matter is catbacks don't need CARB approval. To the OP, Borla if you use the OEM cats won't excede the Ca. limits of noise which is 95db. You run no resonators and cats you will obviously excede this. I have been doing aftermarket exhausts on all my cars for the last 20 years.

Dave

True Fact. The issue is with noise Pollution Or Smog. The fact that you Modified your exhaust is not illegal, But Smog/Sniffer Or Noise/DB Level is. If it's within your States Regulations, Then Mod on. "Legally"!

[ersin]

Originally Posted by sly335i

True Fact. The issue is with noise Pollution Or Smog. The fact that you Modified your exhaust is not illegal, But Smog/Sniffer Or Noise/DB Level is. If it's within your States Regulations, Then Mod on. "Legally"!

Good to know. Thx. BTW, how did you get that M3 on its back to take the picture without scratching the CF roof? It's a gorgeous looking exhaust you got there.


Cheers.

[F15-31]

Originally Posted by ersin

Good to know. Thx. BTW, how did you get that M3 on its back to take the picture without scratching the CF roof? It's a gorgeous looking exhaust you got there.


Cheers.

I do have the Agency power Exhaust, But the credit for the Photo goes to whom ever took the shot.

[ryan@ActiveAutowerke]

Active Autowerke Signature E9X M3 Exhaust System








Stubbies ( This is what is attached to the Stock Primary Cats that connects them to the X-Pipe and allows you to pass emissions)


PM if you have questions

[GT3 Tim]

Originally Posted by kitw

CARB doesn't certify axle back exhausts for the M3 since none of them touch emissions equipment.

Correct! As long as you don't mess with the cats, you will be fine. To further clarify, anything you do AFTER the cats is not an emissions issue. If you messed with the cats (any of them), O2 sensors, etc. you would run into issues. But, installing an axle-back is fine.

[GT3 Tim]

Originally Posted by ryan@ActiveAutowerke

If your worried about emissions, you will be OK as long as you keep your primary cats intact. We have stubbie pipes that can be attached to the primary cats and connect to the AA X-Pipe. You won't have any problems passing emissions

Um......wrong.

If you modify, remove, etc. either of the cats (primary or secondary) you have just sinned against both the State of California and the Federal Government.

Legally, you cannot remove either set of cats. Although you may be able to pass a sniffer test with secondary cats removed, it is still illegal to do so. If a tech sees the secondary cats missing, you will fail. If a cop sees them missing, you could get cited, etc. It aint like you are gonna get thrown in jail or anything....but still.........technically, it's true.

Just want to make this clear..................you may pass the sniffer, but you would definately fail a visual (if they ever bothered to look in California).