I was thinking about getting a high flow cat for my 06 rx8 but I heard something about California having more strict emission restrictions than other states. The legality of the cat is irrelevant to me. The only thing I really want to avoid is getting stuck with a CEL. If anyone else has an 8 from California with an aftermarket cat or if you just happen to know whether or not the CEL will come on with one of these things please enlighten me. I admit I'm basically retarded as far as aftermarket mods go so all info is welcome.

 

yeah, its illegal to touch the cat in CA unless its failed. And no, a high flow cat shouldn't throw a CEL. From what ive heard it will even pass CA emmissions tests. CA is just retarded when it comes to this crap.

 

Stupid dumb noob question here but... would a high flow cat have less enough of a restriction to shoot flames out of my ****?

 

You might hear a small amount of backfire (muted backfire, nothing embarassing), but no flames. If you get the car tuned, you should have no backfire or risk of flamage. I ran totally catless on another car of mine w/ a tune, it had no backfire and the exhaust fumes even smelled clean-ish.

Edit: In CA, you cannot replace the Catalytic Converter until after 60,000 miles (unless it has failed before that), and even then, you have to replace it with stock. Just don't street race or do anything too stupid, and they won't pull you over and cite you for crap like that. Otherwise I believe its a $5000 fine.

 

Thanks for the info on the backfire.

In CA, I believe you get a fix-it ticket or a direct impound.... (Friend's SRT-4 with aftermarket BOV and catless mid-pipe got impounded due to those modifications)

 

Good thing they never caught me! hehehe

 

you won't see a CEL with a high flow cat unless it fails

I don't know of any CARB approved high flow cats for the RX-8. Technically you'd be breaking the letter of the law using a non-CARB approved cat, but you won't really be a gross polluter etc. and you can always swap the OE cat back on for the annual inspection. It's possible some dealerships or repair shops might have an issue with it.

 

if you have it tested it may pass the emissions test but not the visual exam. they will see it is an aftermarket cat. brgreen here failed his inspection on the visual test with the rp supercat.

 

I have the RP supercat and it does not throw a CEL. It does backfire a LOT and DOES shoot flames if I keep blipping the throttle above 7k rpm, but not during normal driving.

Why did BRGREEN have a smog check already? Isn't it 6 years in Cali before the first one?

 

yup, it's 'technially' illegal but unless you're driving around at W.O.T. most people won't even know you have an aftermarket cat.

Plus, its nice that we don't have these "annual inspections" like some other states. If you're truly worried, just swap the High flow cat out before you smog it.

 

Interesting, I wonder if its the density of the cat material, also could be that it takes allot to warm up the RP cat.

 

cuz he got ticketed for aftermarket parts/emissions

 

well, a state ref SMOG is alot more strict than a regular smog check. I bet if you get a normal smog check done, you will pass.

 

His car doesn't exactly "blend in". Too easy of a target for cops...

 

haha im glad my car is black.

 

Flames you say? Where can I get one? *drool*

 

You used to be able to shoot flames with stock cat / exhaust. requires driving at 9500 rpm, but it was possible.


(not sure if recent flashes have changed that)
There's a video of someone doing it at night at the Dragon