Catless downpipe in Nc?

[iAmSubified]

Alright I know there probably is a thread in the archives stating some ways to get my answer, but I've searched and haven't really gotten any good answers.

So here's the question :
I've been looking at downpipes I have always ran with a high flow cat invidia but I would like to go Catless. In NC I know you must have a cat but is there a way to get around this? I've read one people have stated going stage 2 will fix all the CEL's so you can pass but these were dated in 04. Does this still work? I have the 2013 and was just wondering, it's a way cheaper alternative than with the Catt.


Thanks,
Nathan

[EJ257]

There are two things to consider before deciding catted/catless downpipe other than price:
1) ECU mapping. What tune do you plan to run?
2) Inspection. What type of inspection requirements do you have where you live? OBDII? OBDII + Inspection? OBDII + Inspection + Tailpipe Sniffer?

[iAmSubified]

I would be going with the cob accessport, with the torqued performance stage 2 tune. And when I get my car inspected all they do is plug it in to the computer and check the system. So I'm guessing OBDII.

Here's what it says on a site :
• 1996 and newer requires OBD II Safety and Emissions Inspections.

[RayfieldsWRX]

It's county by county in NC, last time I checked. Here in Mecklenburg, they do what you said, that is, plug in to the OBDII port. My AccessPort clears any problems that could happen, there. Some other counties still had sniffer checks, a while back, but my info may be out of date.

Bear in mind; technically part of our local checks is a "tamper" check, meaning that they're supposed to fail you if something's been changed, emissions-wise. I think about it every time I take it in for inspection, but it's never been a problem. I always make a point to be running the stock catback when I take it...quiet cars attract less attention.

[iAmSubified]

Yea I live in Catawba not too far from Mecklenberg. Yea I looked it up and found its just OBDII in Catawba. So going stage 2 does clear all of that up so I will pass?

[RayfieldsWRX]

If you're using Cobb, you should be good to go.

[iAmSubified]

Awesome man thanks for the info. Where do you take your wrx to get tuned? I usually take mine to Draco just seeing what else is out there at the moment.

[RayfieldsWRX]

LOL, Draco built my hybrid and tuned it. That was 3-1/2 years ago...haven't really done anything to the engine, since.

[iAmSubified]

Haha okay yea they are good. Just don't think they like me getting one Wrx worked on getting rid of it and bringing another in.

[RayfieldsWRX]

Haha okay yea they are good. Just don't think they like me getting one Wrx worked on getting rid of it and bringing another in.

I would think that they would be fine with that! It's all money in their pocket!

[iAmSubified]

Alright one more thing to pick your brain about. I've been reading some posts about bellmouth and divorced neither have sold me on one another. Just read up both can boost creep under low temps. But would paying less for a bellmouth do any harm to my wrx? Would I experience anything different from a divorced( which I have always had in the past )?

[RayfieldsWRX]

I'll defer to the guys that know more about the recent models. All I've ever used on my 2002's is the bellmouth design, with success.

[Mikie13]

There has been no significance shown between going bellmouth or divorced. There are two camps of thought...bellmouth is just open and free flowing, where divorced supposedly provides less turbulence after the turbo and smooths exhaust flow. But...there's no proof anywhere showing one is better than the other. Neither will have anything to do with combating boost creep as it is a mechanical issue brought on by the wastegate opening being too small in general.

[iAmSubified]

I was wondering about using something else a little bit cheaper with a tune. If I went the open source route and got the torqued performance map could I still pass with a Catless downpipe? Or does the accessport only allow me to do that?


And does anyone know of a good write up on how to load a map with open source?(I'm not so good with these types of things)


Thanks,
Nathan

[EJ257]

I was wondering about using something else a little bit cheaper with a tune. If I went the open source route and got the torqued performance map could I still pass with a Catless downpipe? Or does the accessport only allow me to do that?

Depends on what testing is done.

And does anyone know of a good write up on how to load a map with open source?(I'm not so good with these types of things)

Check the stickies in the Tuning subforum.