Help: Emissions in NYC

Sam,

I put CAT back on mine a few years ago and had no problems for years(1990 GT changed exhaust in 1999). The K&N and flowmasters shouldn't matter at all. Be sure the car is throwing no codes from the EEC-IV and try to get them to strap it to the dyno HOT. Try to get to your service station firs. The key is to keep the car at operating temperature. Not cooled down.

The emissions test limits are HC 0.80, CO 15.0 and NOx 2.0. My car blew well under all of those thresholds on the dyno test.

Good luck.

Hey Jimmy-

Thanks alot for your response. I just want to make sure I understand - you DID put long tubes with a high flow catted H and it passed? I don't want to pay for the parts, do the work and fail the sniffer. (Sorry if I"m being dense but) Can you please confirm.

On a side note, I've read that wrapping the long tubes with header tape helps keep the O2 sensors hot for better emissions. My car runs like a champ otherwise - she passed last test fine with the stock 4-cat pipe. Best Regards,

Sam

sam one of the things we did to pass emissions was to have one of the sct custom chips burned for our 95 stang. this is a 4 bank 4 program custom chip with one of the programs specifically for emissions only. we both have the odb1 computer. worked great and we have our cats gutted

No I did not put on long tubes. Stock catalytic converters. Added a 2

1/2" cat back system. Pipes and mufflers from the converter flanges back.

Do the pipes for sale have the discalimer "not for use on pollution controlled vehicles" or whatever? I mean if you're in NYC you've seen some of the bombs riding around that manage to pass emissions/safety. People do manage to get these cars to pass.

Not sure how good of a wrencher you are, but if you're that concerend, keep the stock stuff and reinstall annually for the test.

Personally I think catted long tube headers will pass fine. But that's not what mattersn and I understand your concern. What matters is what the DMV sniffs out of your tauilpipe under the dyno test.

Got a summer house upstate? Register it there. North of Westchester and Rockland, there's > Hey Jimmy-

Jimmy and Barb-

Thanks for the help. Long tube headers are NOT legal for pollution controlled vehicles. I believe this is because by default you must remove the stock h-pipe (since long tubes won't fit with it) and they don't want you doing that because then there is no assurance you will meet emissions. Most people install off-road h-pipes and emissions go out the window.

However, there are dual cat (as opposed to quad cat) high flow h-pipes that ARE legal on pollution controlled vehicles. And they make them for long tube headers! Go figure.

So I figure if I can get a high-flow catted H-pipe for long tubes that will enable me to meet emissions, I will do it regardless of the ban on the headers themselves. The environment is OK while meeting my needs - again, getting rid of the short tube drone and maybe picking up some hp/torque. The only catch is, will she really pass with only 2 cats and the extra scavenging of the long tubes? My sense is YES since I keep her well-tuned.

I don't want to have to swap back and forth (headers and h-pipe) every year for inspection for 2 reasons. It's alot of work made problematic by the fact that headers often warp -and- I'd rather not drive around most of the year exceeding emission limits (just my opinion). The chip is an interesting idea, if it'd work year-round. I had an 86 GT

5-speed with a Superchip and stock gears (2:73 I think) that got 27 MPG highway.

If any of you have anything to add please do. I will let you all know what I decide and how it works out if I go with the long tubes/catted h-pipe.

Best Regards,

Sam

Long tube headers are illegal because they move the cat further away and cool the exhaust too much for the catalytic converters to reach proper operating temperature.

LJH

95GT

FYI the DRONE is not caused by the headers, its caused by the size of the exhaust pipes and by the mufflers. Changing the headers will not reduce your drone one bit.. in fact anything you do to increase the power (long tubes) will INCREASE the drone.

LJH

95GT (331 stroker, Bassani exhaust)

Thanks for the info, Larry. You are right - I got down and listened as my fiancee held the RPM's at 2000 (it was hard to crawl that fast but somehow I managed :^)

The drone is coming from the Flowmasters, which I know is a major complaint people have against them. When we drive we hear the sound from the front of the car, not the back (I assume because there is less sound deadening up front). I also read that people switched to Long Tubes and the drone went away. These 2 factors are why I had been considering LT's.

It now appears that Long Tubes are NOT the answer, but maybe a different muffler. I like the sound of the Flow's - to me they sound like "American muscle car". I've heard others - Borla I think - on later year Mustangs and they sound more "European" to me. I want to keep the deep sound but lose the drone!

So now I'm at a loss. Do I replace the mufflers and if so with what? Do I get long tubes or not? I will put in a high-flow catted H-pipe regardless. If I don't get long tubes I will probably put in some 1

5/8 unequal length shorties (man, those stock headers are awfully crimped looking). It's the question every asks - what to do with my Mustang exhaust - I guess it's my turn to ask it...

Sam