Catalytic converters

pishta said
Soo, is that CARB statement correct in that the CARB branded cats are the same as the "49" state cats but just with an extended warranty? That's what Walker rep told me. If someone had higher failure rates with the non CRB branded cats, that is suspect.

As you can see by all the various qualified but confusing comments, this whole issue is a sh$%t show. By EPA guidelines, if we wanted to create a CARB approved converter to sell in California or NY, we'd have to design it to fit in the same way the original did. That means no welding allowed. We'd also have to do testing that proves it emits the same or less emissions as the original one's OEM specs approved by CARB in the first place. Yet I see 'weld in' CARB approved cats being sold. So in theory, yes, the cat could be exactly the same as a 49 state approved cat and clearly not be legally sold in CA and now in NY as well. At the time, we were not asked to provide longevity guarantees for such products.

Btw, not to jack this thread, but these same guidelines issued back in 1974 by CARB extend to all types of emissions devices. Super Chargers, Turbos, cams, air filters, Air intakes, Mass Air Flow Sensors etc. All have to be proven to meet or exceed the original emissions once installed on that particular vehicle. So in theory, if you come out with a Catalytic converter assembly for a 1996 Mustang, (which is appearance wise identical until 2004, you could be required to provide testing on each model year from 1996-2004. That's nine years of testing. I know they were working on a solution for this and we are about 2 years removed now but it just shows you the tremendous hurdles required for a manufacturer to want to introduce any type of performance device to your 1975 (ok 1976 :)) vehicle in states adopting CARB standards.