Hey guys, I'm in the market for a new exhaust and was wondering if I installed Pacesetter LTs (non-AIR) and a catted y, would I still pass an emissions test?...or does that depend on the standards where I live?

 

AIR only affects cold start emissions, and most tailpipe test cycles do not include cold start. So its not likely it would affect tailpipe emissions, as measured during the test. In many states now, they just hook up to the PCM, and if there are no codes, and the number of emissions systems that are "not ready" are below the limit, they don't check the tailpipe.

The question is what visual inspection is done, and is it thorough enough to notice the headers do not have AIR connections. If they do a visual, and know what they are looking for, it will fail. I don't know if the Pacesetter LS1 LT's relocate the cats, but in a state where they do strict compliance, relocated cats will fail (again, they have to know what they are looking for).

You also have to have the AIR diagnostics programmed out of the PCM, in such a way that they do not set a "system not ready" flag, or produce any codes.

 

Is there a difference in horsepower between the emissions and non-emissions versions? If not, I might go with the emissions headers.

 

who can do programming like that?