grey280 Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I just went into the muffler shop to get a quote on new piping and heard some new information. "All of the smog shops had to send in their pre 2009 catalytic converters for new ones with stamps" I didn't get a picture of the stamp on the cat but it looked almost like a cattle brand with CA and 2009 This kinda screws me since I bought my cat last year. Anyone else heard about this new "law" along with the other bull---- smog for 2009? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Nope, was there any more information, like ALL smogged cars needed this, or just post 08/09? What year Z do you have? And where/when are you in Merced? If you've seen a blue S30 covered in dust, that was me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey280 Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) The guy told me that any exhaust systems built from now on will have to include this new cat. The only problem I have is now I have to go to another shop to have them weld the "old" cat onto my mid pipe, and then take the car to the other shop to have the exhaust finished, so no one shop can get in trouble with the law. I think Im headin to the shop tomorrow to get my truck worked on, so ill snap a pic of the new stamped cats. I live off of north bear creek in merced and its a 77 with 83 motor. I haven't seen any s30's in town for a while, but I just got back in the country. Once I get this beast runnin legally, we should meet up and compare notes haha. Edited April 9, 2009 by grey280 forgot a note Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 The guy told me that any exhaust systems built from now on will have to include this new cat. The only problem I have is now I have to go to another shop to have them weld the "old" cat onto my mid pipe, and then take the car to the other shop to have the exhaust finished, so no one shop can get in trouble with the law. I think Im headin to the shop tomorrow to get my truck worked on, so ill snap a pic of the new stamped cats. I live off of north bear creek in merced and its a 77 with 83 motor. I haven't seen any s30's in town for a while, but I just got back in the country. Once I get this beast runnin legally, we should meet up and compare notes haha. Oh man, bear creek is a blast to drive (well, compared to all the other roads in town, atleast the paving is consistent). I'm over by 20th and V. From what you're saying, it sounds like maybe just stricter rules for cat replacement. Given what I know about CARB though, I would have thought that as long as you passed smog and had a cat it wouldn't matter. And hey, if you ever need an extra set of hands for the Z, drop me a line on here and I'll probably be free to help. edit: Quick check of CARB and the BAR doesn't come up with anything relevant to new cats. The BAR has some new standards on smog testing that they are trying to get through, but that looks more like procedural changes rather than anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 This has been posted elsewhere. CARB is cracking down on certification on the el-cheapo aftermarket cats out there, and to do it they had to snag everyone. Someone just tried to get a Volvo Cat, FROM THE DEALER, and was put on hold while they had to order a new 'California Compliant Catalyst' which likely is the exact same catalyst with documentation (since they are an OEM)... Before it got some pass, it was insane to be able to make a cat, and have a two-tiered system for longevity. Stock Cats now have to last 100K miles or 10 years, formerly they were 5 years 50K miles. And there were 'universal catalysts' out there??????? The loophole was closed, and CA wants replacement aftermarket pieces to last for more than a year. It was not uncommon for a replacement cat to die before the next smog check. But for only $149 hey! What a deal! Right? Dealer's Catalysts were more along the line of $1200... One would net you $400 in the scrap yard, the other one the scrap man would laugh at you and give you 0.16 cents for the stainless steel shell! There was a difference. Sucks to be a catalyzed car and have to buy a catalyst that is no longer supplied by the OEM....but the upside is that what you will have available from this point going forward will at least last some time period more than the next smog test! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey280 Posted April 17, 2009 Author Share Posted April 17, 2009 ^ very similar to what this muffler guy said. I'll get those pics of the cat up tomorrow. Don't know how it will help anyone on here, but there's bound to be someone screwed by this sooner or later. The curious thing is that the universal cats are still available with this new certification, specifically the one he showed me. He said that the cost sky rocketed from 70 bucks (example) to about 200 or so. Makes sense that it costs more since it will last longer, but i wonder if good ol' Sac gets a little cash out of these new cats? As always Tony, appreciate the info. I'll look around again to see where this other post is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_furious Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 but i wonder if good ol' Sac gets a little cash out of these new cats? Absolutely! The manufacturers likely have to pay for certification and the stamp. That's a huge racket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyuri Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Just to throw it out there, RockAuto didn't blink at shipping a Bosal cat ("Not for sale in California"!) to my house in Southern California; it just arrived today along with my new front pipe and O2 sensor. Those magnets are just about my favorite part of ordering from RockAuto. Really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 What you can do, is just have the shop weld flanges on the cat and the piping, so you can technically install it yourself, just by bolting it up. So they won't get in trouble, because "they" didn't "install" it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Smog techs are trained to look for the proper cats. I just had my wife's Lexus ES300 smogged and the tech slid a mirror under the car and verified the cat on the car with what the callout was in the smog check book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey280 Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 ya i finally got it done and he did a nice job. i basically had him just do the flange work so he wasn't actually installing it. Nice enough guy but he was sayin a bunch of smog/exhaust shops were bein busted by the state workers for not following new laws so he was just bein careful So he told me as long as the cat has been installed pre 2009, it follows the law. luckily for me, the stamps on my cat that say its a 2008 are on the heat shield which has a 2.5 inch clearance to the body i would love to see a smog tech stick a mirror into that little spot (it doesn't matter though, the cat was installed in 2008 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Man, reading about all these new restrictions make me really glad that I'm not required to smog and never have to run a cat. grey, after the 16th I'm available to help you get the z back on the road if you need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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