hey guys I have a question that alot of yall might findstupid.I searched already but after going through litterally 20 posts with no answer I gave up.OK so I know that no header on the market is street legal because they do away with the first cat.So heres my situation....I want a header because from alot of imput our intake manifold sucks and I want to do the whole I/H/E thing so make my TC breath better,Im not too concerned with preformance gains although I dont want to hurt my performance....Ok sorry but heres my question, is there any way I can buy say a Alpawerks header and put a CAT in it to make it legal or would it just be better to stick with the stock manifold?Sorry for taking up your time with a question like this but any help would be GREATLY GREATLY appreciated! Thanks in advance

Yes, you just get a high flow cat put in the midpipe. Although most shops will not touch that area of the car because of laws and such. There is a secondary cat on the midpipe and I don't think they will remove it to put in a high flow cat.

Easy answer, when you go in to get smog tested switch it out and switch in your stock header. That can be done in about 10-20 mins.

So most shops wont take out that secondary cat to put one main one in place of it? Gah, stupid laws. Its all the SUV's fault anyways...

Thanks for the replies guys.I guess it makes sense to just swithc it out when i go in for a smog check but isnt that not for like three years or do I need to look forward to it soon?

So most shops wont take out that secondary cat to put one main one in place of it? Gah, stupid laws. Its all the SUV's fault anyways...

now dont go jumpin on that bandwagon...

i would say its due to the fact that americans drive and burn more fuel than anyone...or if you wanted to blame it on someone, i would say its all the V8 domestics faults :loser:

In CAlifornia the smog test is every other year. I dunno how but my friend passes emmisions and he has no cat back at all.

there are no tests in kansas! :silly:

Only half of louisiana does emission tests.


I'd do the switch-out thing if you're serious about getting a header. Otherwise, I'd just go with I/S-pipe/E if you want a little gain with no trouble. A header would obviously maximize your gains, but you have to consider how much your time is worth, and how much you really want to put into your car.

So most shops wont take out that secondary cat to put one main one in place of it? Gah, stupid laws. Its all the SUV's fault anyways...

now dont go jumpin on that bandwagon...

i would say its due to the fact that americans drive and burn more fuel than anyone...or if you wanted to blame it on someone, i would say its all the V8 domestics faults :loser:

I am blaming the V8 domestics :) I didnt make it clear enough, sorry...
"Its all the SUV's fault anyways.... (HUMMER, suburban, tahoe, expidition, jeep, big ___ pickups that sound like a damn semi truck)"
And yeah, it is americans' in general fault, we drive everywhere (especially in the south)