Best intake/exhaust mod for gains
11-29-11, 12:12 PM
#16
well that sounds like i'll be keeping my stock exhaust laying around just in case. but i've never had any issue with the smog man about an exhaust. how is the invidia mid pipe? is it worth the money
11-29-11, 05:14 PM
#18
Legally? You don't.
Not legally you can't. If you've "got a guy" you slip a 20 to, that's your business though.
If it removes any working emissions components, which all exhausts except the axle-backs do on the 2IS, it's not legal in any US state. CA is just a lot more likely to notice than, say, Alabama.
"cat back" on the 2IS usually removes the rear 2 cats (as do the midpipes).
That's illegal in every state in the US.
Now, there's a few vendors who call their exhausts catbacks, when they're really the same as the axle-backs, but that's another story.
In CA you can't even replace a non-working emissions component unless the replacement part has an EO# from CARB. Which far as I know none of the catback exhausts do for the 2IS (because it costs like $50,000 to get an EO #).
This is also why there are no legal intakes for the 2IS other than the F-sport one...nobody but Lexus had 50 grand to drop on the certification.
You've got your pick of the axle-backs in CA, since they bolt on past any emissions components, but that's it... legally anyway.
Not legally you can't. If you've "got a guy" you slip a 20 to, that's your business though.
If it removes any working emissions components, which all exhausts except the axle-backs do on the 2IS, it's not legal in any US state. CA is just a lot more likely to notice than, say, Alabama.
"cat back" on the 2IS usually removes the rear 2 cats (as do the midpipes).
That's illegal in every state in the US.
Now, there's a few vendors who call their exhausts catbacks, when they're really the same as the axle-backs, but that's another story.
In CA you can't even replace a non-working emissions component unless the replacement part has an EO# from CARB. Which far as I know none of the catback exhausts do for the 2IS (because it costs like $50,000 to get an EO #).
This is also why there are no legal intakes for the 2IS other than the F-sport one...nobody but Lexus had 50 grand to drop on the certification.
You've got your pick of the axle-backs in CA, since they bolt on past any emissions components, but that's it... legally anyway.
Not to be rude but you are giving out false information. Almost every thing you posted is incorrect. It appears you don't even live in CA and you are giving out wrong information.
"Cat back" means it is from the catalytic converter back. That means it only removes the existing exhaust piping, oem mufflers and oem resonators. The stock catalytic converters stay in place. People often confuse the resonators for catalytic converters. However they just act like small mufflers.
In CA there is no CARB number for ANY exhaust because cat back exhaust do NOT modify any emission parts. They only modify the sound of the exhaust. Now there are limits on the db (loudness) of the exhaust.
In fact most nice exhausts come with the paperwork proving that it is below the db limit.
My other car is a TT Supra and it easily passes smog in CA with a 4" Cat back exhaust. Why? because it has zero effect on emissions. It bolts up to my factory cats. Now if I take the cats off and put my down pipe on I would never pass smog.
An axle back exhaust is just what it says, axle back. It is for people who are not as concerned with performance. It does not have piping all the way up to the factory cats.
11-29-11, 07:58 PM
#19
The fact removing cats is illegal isn't a CA thing- it's illegal in every US state.
The only CA specific things were:
Intakes need an EO # (which they do, and the F-sport is the only one out there with one)
A part to replace a non-working emissions component (like a broken cat) needs an EO number. Which, again, it does.
here's my original statement for example:
Originally Posted by kurtz
All the axle-backs should be ok, but any midpipe, header, or "full" exhaust like the Joe Z system will fail pretty handily on a visual check.
Later I said:
Originally Posted by kurtz
"cat back" on the 2IS usually removes the rear 2 cats (as do the midpipes).
That's illegal in every state in the US.
The master exhaust sticky even mentions this!
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...st-intake.html
Axle back exhaust vs. Cat back exhaust. The simplest way to put it, is that an axle back exhaust only the section after the resonator/s and back. Basically it’s your mufflers with some sort of Y-pipe that leads back towards the front of your exhaust system to the resonator. They are also referred as “resonator back”. Cat back exhaust run the full length of your exhaust system from the manifold/primary cats (on our cars) all the way back.
I go on to mention there are axle-backs that call themselves cat-backs, but they're not (since as you point out, they don't go past the axle section).
Anything that does go past axle-back generally removes cats on the 2IS. The Joe Z for example.
Or the Borla-- see here:
http://www.hopupracing.com/boreexcatbae.html
Description
Borla Cat Back Exhaust System Lexus IS350 2006+
Note: Eliminates 2 catalytic converters. Not street legal
Borla Cat Back Exhaust System Lexus IS350 2006+
Note: Eliminates 2 catalytic converters. Not street legal
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...st-intake.html
LMS was the first cat back exhaust made for the 2IS. Luxury Motorworks makes a variety of parts for different models of Lexus. There exhaust is a true dual cat back that makes use of an H-pipe design. As with most cat backs, LMS exhaust removes the secondary cats of the 2IS making this not smog legal in CA
http://www.tokensolutions.net/megan-...-is250-350-06/
NOTE: All Megan Racing Exhaust and Suspension products are deemed for "off-road use only"
Perhaps you missed that it generally is not used that way for the 2IS. The exhausts called catback or "full" for the 2IS generally include a midpipe section, which replaces the rear two cats.
This is illegal in CA (and every other US state- it's not just a CA thing).
Every single real catback (ie anything more than an axleback) sold for the 2IS fits this description as far as I know.
So again, what, specifically, was I wrong about?
It doesn't disagree with anything I've said though.
I think you might wanna look under a 2IS with a catback sometime and understand your error.
Every exhaust I'm aware of that goes past an axle-back on the 2IS does so by removing the "midpipe" section including the rear two cats and is a "catback" from the FRONT cats.
Thus, illegal.
So, again, please cite any specific thing I said that was wrong... (let alone "nearly all" of it).
Last edited by Kurtz; 11-29-11 at 08:23 PM.
being in cali sucks
11-30-11, 09:36 AM
#21
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The 2IS is different, most cars catbacks mean after all the cats, a catback exhaust on a 2is means after the primary cats and removing the secondary, so Kurtz is right, and cwtt is kinda right for the most part becuase the 2is is the only car Ive owned and ive owned atleast 15 cars where a catback exhaust removes cats and is illegal, in all states. In fact some states offer rewards if you snitch on someone you know is running around with no cats.
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