The manufacturers got sued by the EPA for not actually enforcing the “for track use” only rule.
A lot of the big name exhaust companies have stopped producing catless products; and others require all of your information to be on file if you’re buying a catless race downpipe.
A lot of the install shops around here in Maryland that run a legit receipt paper trail of work type of business won’t even touch catless installs anymore.
They will require you to fill out a waiver saying you that you will use it for offroad use only, and all liability is on you and not them. They will also require you to upload your photo id in order to purchase it.
Is the rule really about "track use" or is it just off-road or on-private-property use? How does the distributor know I'm not just rolling coal on my uncle's farm?
From what I can find, "track use" isn't in the law, but rather a matter of enforcement discretion.
"The Clean Air Act does not contemplate removing emissions controls from an EPA-certified motor vehicle in order to convert it into a competition vehicle. As a matter of enforcement discretion, the EPA’s longstanding practice has been not to take enforcement action against vehicle owners for removing or defeating the emission controls of their EPA-certified motor vehicles, so long as they can show the vehicles are used solely for competition events and no longer driven on public roads."
ok, I've never heard the word catless but I've definitely driven vehicles that had a pipe welded in place :)
I or a family member has acquired a few vehicles where the catalytic converter was cut out by thieves, and I've done both so I can tell you from experience that it's the difference between $15 and $800 (parts and labor).
Having grown up extremely poor, sometimes families make those decisions because they don't really have a choice. Thankfully nowadays I do so I tend to err on the side of being a good citizen but personally will not judge anyone who choose s to weld a pipe in place rather than spend the exorbitant amount necessary to replace it, especially considering it might just get stolen again.
It has never been legal in the US to remove any emissions equipment on any vehicle that is to be driven on the street. Even if it is outside of the smog check window, it still can not be removed or tampered with.
You can't modify the factory emissions output to go below the required output.
People like the Diesel Brothers from the Discovery Channel settled for like $3 million USD with the EPA for selling and promoting emissions defeat devices like tunes and straight pipes.
A lot of the big name exhaust companies have stopped producing catless products; and others require all of your information to be on file if you’re buying a catless race downpipe.
A lot of the install shops around here in Maryland that run a legit receipt paper trail of work type of business won’t even touch catless installs anymore.