CrazyCracker82

^not if you have an o2 fowler that doesn't throw a CEL

as far as the smell goes i think you can smell more of the burning oil smell than a stock exhaust. but then again i'm FI

herecomesboost

The fine is VA is ~$500 for no cat. I was pulled over running open downpipe on my turbo integra.

Kyle Ritchie

Black Nugget

Alot cheaper than I thought, however still an expensive fine.

thewhop15

kyle, how did the cop know about the downpipe?

herecomesboost

They knew because they could hear me. (That's why they pulled me over was because my car was sooo loud). I didn't have ANY exhaust at all, so when they looked under the car, they could see that all I had was a 3" dp and nothing else. (Although I did get away with it for ~4 months or so before being pulled over ) I didn't learn my lesson either, as I plan to run open dp on my S this coming spring (Although the car wont be driven as much as my integra). I'm sure if you had some kind of heat shield as suggested above, that they would have no idea that you are catless. (The smell isn't that much of a difference)

Kyle Ritchie

Aze85

the smell is definately noticable.
as for passing emissions... if you do not throw a code and pass the visual inspection you should be fine. so, it would be nice to have a testpipe that can hold the stock heat shield

Drinks2k

Does the Berk Technology Test pipe allow you to use the stock heat shield?

vbb

I haven't read the law in quite awhile, but I believe not having a cat is also a violation of Federal emissions standards as well. While the fine may only be $500 state side, I'm pretty sure it's $2,500 if you're charged under the Federal Code. Of course, a state or local police officer does not have jurisdiction for writing tickets for federal violations, but if the officer wanted to be extra tough, he could easily refer your case to the feds.

There are probably thousands of cars in VA running test pipes, gutted cats, or no cats at all. The risk of getting slapped with the federal fines is generally small... but if you get caught, it's going to hurt.

Black Nugget

^^ That sounds more like what I've heard previously.

vbb

At one point, earlier in my career, I looked up all the laws surrounding the typical fines that people in the "import/car scene" generally face. Everything from emissions, to ride height, to exhaust laws, etc. I even looked up how many points each traffic offense is worth on your license and other things like that. Of course now I'm not sure I could quote the laws from memory, but I have the gist of them pretty much down.

I do know that removing a working catalytic converter is a federal offense and the fine is somewhere in the thousands of dollars. $2500 is just what sticks out for some reason.