as the topic says, i would like to know if long tube headers is legal and will pass smog check...thanks for the info

 

No. 99% of people with long tubes on LT1's don't run cats.

 

damn, so we californian have to sacrifice a lot of power huh??

 

Long tubes are illegal in Calif. because they cause you to relocate the cats away from the stock location. If they will pass smog or not depends on how knowledgable the tester is. With so many different cars on the road they don't always know where the cats should be. I know a few people that have passed a visual because the tester looked but did not know they were in the wrong location. I plan on putting LT's on the LT1 going into El Camino. I also plan on using a 'friendly' place to get the car smogged.

 

where would this so called "friendly" place be located

 

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.

 

Arent you allowed to replace the cats after fifty thousand miles?

 

Replace them yes, relocate them NO.

 

Doesn't CA. require C.A.R.B. numbers on aftermarket parts? LT's don't have them.

 

Yeah, I'm curious about that too. What does the C.A.R.B. number do anyway? Does it somehow OK the part?

 

A CARB number shows that the part does not interfer with the smog capabilities of the vehical. (in a nut shell) If the part enhances it all the better, but normally shows that the vehical will not pollute more. That's why LTs do not and probably will not ever have a CARB number. They relocate the Cats further back in the exhaust so they do not get as hot (or as quickly) as they do in the stock location. This means the car now (potentionally) runs dirtier.

When an aftermarket part has a CARB number the smog tester should not fail you (on the visual part) for having it on your car. It shows that the part was tested to be in compliance with smog laws.

FWIW the police will sometimes look also for CARB numbers. Recently after some guys were done racing at Irwindale Speedway they went to an In&Out to eat. The police had them pop their hoods and a couple of guys got tickets for having aftermarket lids that were not CARB certified. I now carry the CARB sticker for my FIPK in my car just in case.

 

Poltergeist is pretty much right on the money. The law states that you cannot change the number or location of the cats, period. It also states that you can only used approved (tested and certified with the C.A.R.B. number) parts on your car.

However, the person doing the smog test has all the discretion to check these items or not, or send you to a "referee". My headers and blower have the CARB number stamped into a tag that is attached to them. The smog techs see that it has a carb #, and they are satisfied.

There is risk involved, but if you really wanted to do it, you could get say Hedman long tubes, braze or rivet on a stamp with the hedman shortie CARB number, and run them togther into a 2 in 2 out cat (I've seen them sold in JC Whitney) that locates where the original cat was (under passenger footwell). This will probably require hacking up the headers to make the ends point towards the passenger footwell. Is it legal? No, not really. Will it pass smog? Every time. Is it more hassle than it's worth? Probably.

Good luck.