Thread: Bay Area Smog?
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      09-08-2023, 08:01 PM   #7
thejeremyman9
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Drives: 2015 BMW 335i
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Cali

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Quote:
Originally Posted by SpoolinAddict View Post
Does the Fabspeed catted dp look similar to the Stock DP? or is it one of those things where you have to find a smog shop that's sorta lenient on passing the Visual
If you are just looking down in the engine bay from the top, it looks quite similar, since you just see the "bulge" from the cat, the O2 sensor, etc, and the size/shape from the top is basically the same. However if they start looking under the car or using mirrors, it has a fabspeed label. It just depends how hard they look.

I went to a new shop this year and they did specifically look at the DP from the top and didnt say anything. They did call out my turbo inlet (silicone MST v2). Surprisingly didnt say anything about my CP that is heat-wrapped in gold and probably the most visible mod of all. What i have found is that if you are able to pass the OBD2 checks, which are quite extensive now (for both monitors and tunes, etc), then the visual things like an intake, inlet, CP, or IC usually wont be a problem.

If you have a pre-OBD2 car is a entirely different ballgame. When i brought in my 3000gt they used mirrors and whatnot to read the labels on the cat and put it into the CARB database. Not to mention all the functional tests. There are some engraved letters i believe on the BMW DP, but i think they generally just rely on the OBD2 tests to confirm everything is "legit" for the newer cars, instead of inspecting parts in detail. YMMV
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