My mechanic warned me that no aftermarket exhausts for Porsche are approved in California. They need some kind of number.

When a car goes for inspection, if the exhaust doesn't have this number the car is 'supposed' to be automatic fail, no matter what the emission testing results are. If this isn't happening, it simply means that the testing outfit is sloppy.

He said he's happy to install for me; this was just part of his pre-purchase full disclosure. If I got tagged I'd have to go back to stock.

What have your results been in Ca in terms of which exhaust, if it passed, and what shop passed the car?

 

In my experience if you have cats you will pass and most smog places with overlook the fact its a aftermarket exhaust. The issue only arises if you fail the tail pipe emissions test which isn't too tough. My friend just passed with his secondary cats removed so its not too hard. If you dont have any cats then you might need a "hookup," for a hookup expect to pay anywhere from $200 to $500. Since the state is cracking down on smog hookups they are getting harder and harder to find so I d advise you get a exhaust system that allows you to pass the tailpipe emissions test and you wont have any problems.

 

Marek's and Speed Tech's exhaust systems are a V-band design so you can swap in cats for testing.

 

Your mechanic is correct. You will need a CARB exempt number for the exhaust to be considered "street legal." I am not aware of any exhaust on the market today for the 996 Turbo that has the exemption number. Therefore, technically speaking, a smog test technician should fail you on the visual test aspect of the smog test.

HOWEVER, I have never run into any issues with passing the visual portion of the test with any of my cars (past and present) running aftermarket exhaust. As long as the cats are still intact, all of the smog technicians I've dealt with have overlooked the aftermarket exhausts without the CARB exempt numbers.

 

For top performance with no extra 'hot rod' noise at low
RPMs and pressure, get a Europipe stage II quiet. They
are so well designed and made that they look like factory
Porsche pieces, not 'hot rod' chrome show-off pipes.
Unless the smog shop is *very* knowledgeable and
****, you won't get a second glance.
Joe

 

that was me experance also, only dealers would know the difference. ep2 loud.

 

A few months ago, I was worrying about the visual inspection since my car has exhaust, intake, and piping changed; but passed them easily.

 

Check this http://www.car-sound.com/04basics/04california.asp

 

Glad I kept my stock exhaust, may come in handy.

 

just modify the cat back. don't mess with the cat and you'll be fine. most tech won't care about visual inspection as long as your car doesn't sound like an airplane.

 

Agree with both posts.

Most shops will NOT 'overlook' an exhaust. Truth is they do not know the difference.

Only way they will overlook is if you are related....CARB is cracking down and runs stings, shops lose their livelihood...not worth the risk.

I was looking for the ep2 quiet when the Loud came up on ebay, very glad I got it.

GL

A

PS Never heard of a "cat back" for the 996TT as (1) it is one piece with the cats, and (2) the cats are the LARGEST restriction on the TT.