Bank II cat is going bad. It's a CA compliant car and I'm being told it's illegal by several shops to put a non-California compliant cat on in it. Is that true? I'd rather not pay $900 in Tennessee. One told me it would trip up the computer. How would the O2 sensors know? Would I be find with a cheaper Eastern cat? Thanks.

 

No they won't screw up the O2 sensor data. Unless YOUR STATE requires CARB compliant equipment then just order a set of cats for it and bolt them in yourself.

If the car has California plates on it that might be different though. I doubt anyone will touch the cats if it has Cali plates.

 

What understand is that if a vehicle is CA carb compliant (noted by a sticker on the door jam) it has to remain that way even if it's latter licensed in another state. I think that is BS. Hence the question, if when snogged in a non carb state, can it be noticed.

 

Ok so for example, I live in Washington State, all vehicles 2009 and newer are required to be CARB compliant (or be "50 state legal") to be licensed in this state however we DO NOT do emissions testing, we do NOT require CARB compliant accessories either and this includes catalytic converters.

In this state the only time your vehicle gets an inspection is when you purchase a used vehicle from another state and want to have it licensed for Washington, you have to take it to a State Patrol office for inspection. It must have either the CARB sticker, or the "50 state legal" sticker and be equipped with a catalytic converter (does not need to be an OEM/CARB cat aftermarket is fine), they will tailpipe emissions test as well as a plug-in OBD2 emissions check.

So the rules can vary WILDLY from one state to the next, even within a state it can vary from county to county, I live in southeastern WA and we NEVER had yearly emissions inspections over here, on the other side of the state though they DID have emissions inspects to renew your tabs.

You can definitely use aftermarket cats in my area, you should call around to a few different shops and see if you can as well. Worst case scenario just install them yourself, it's not really difficult just get some PB Blaster penetrating spray, use only 6 point sockets to prevent stripping out crusted exhaust bolts, slide a pipe over the handle of your ratchet for better leverage to get the bolts off (if you don't have access to an impact driver), and don't be surprised if you need to buy a couple new studs for the headers.