are they street legal?
can they pass smog?
i hear both that they are but then they arent... whats the real answer
i live in cali so pretty much everything is illegal here... [:@]
but regardless of the legality here... what headers are good but cheap... most bang for buck?
isnt there a kind of coating to lower the heat under the hood as well... that i would pay more for

sorry for all the questions i like knowing as much as possible about cars

 

Mac mid-lenghts will pass as long as you have the cats on them. Technically you cannot move the cats from the stock location in the exhaust. Many states do not do a visual inspection, only an OBDII scan, so if you not seeing any codes, you pass.

 

I've heard it varies from state to state as to what exactly is legal. I live in Illinois and while I've been told that technically headers are illegal ona street vehicle, howeverno cop I've ever met seemed to give even the slightest ****. As forpassing emissions you should be fine sincemost stock manifolds rarely have anypollution controls on them, they're just more restrictive. As for the ceramic coating on headers, definitely pay the extra to get it. Not only will it dissipate heat better your headers will last and look good a lot longer. I personally like the shorty headers from Hooker, that's what I ended up with on my 78 Z28 and what I plan to put on my WS6 in the future.

 

With a 4th gen, you need to make sure you get an emissions compliant header, so they need an EGR feed as well as AIR tubes. I believe the Edelbrock TES(shorty headers and Y pipe) is 50 state emissions legal, and it's all coated. Don't get just headers with out the Y pipe, they really won't help because the Y is so restrictive.

 

I currently have the Mac Mid lengths with the y-pipe and high-flow cats and they bolted right in. All O2 sensors fit right in place as well as the AIR tubes, only problem was the HTS coating the came with them lasted only 3 months, so I sent them down to Airborne Coatings and had them aluminum ceramic coated, and now they not only work great but lookgreat as well!

 

i heard from my friend here that as long as it doesnt change the apperence of your motor and what not... that they are perfectly street legal... he said any smog place wont give a **** really... so i should be okay... thanks guys

 

just put a heat sheild over them or some kinda heat wrap so they cant be seen abd ur gravy

 

Header are legal and you can pass emissions with them as long as they CARB approved in 50 states and have AIR tubes. The rest of exhausr systme & cats have to installed. This also means the rest of the emission system & controls are installed and working.