[turbovation]

I called around el cajon to get price quotes on how much it's gonna cost me to put on the header. I got quoted 200 most of the time and then I called Budget Exhaust and the guy on the phone quoted me 100. I decided that was a good enough price for me.

So I got on the 15 south and drove 20 miles to this place. When I got there he took a look at the header and then told me it was not carb approved and that it was definitely illegal to put on.

He then told me it would be a 10,000 dollar fine against him and he'd lose his business license if he got caught putting it on. So he popped the hood and took a look at the procedure and was shocked that the exhaust manifold was in the back. This made him decide to go talk to his coworkers.

When he came back he told me he was gonna have to charge me 400 for the procedure. He also told me if I got pulled over the cop had the right to arrest me, give me a 10,000 dollar fine and impound/auction my car off leaving me with the payments. I don't know if he was just being a duschbag or if he was serious...but needless to say I told him adios.

So now I'm thinking about putting the header and flexpipe and shit on the forum for sale. I don't want to deal with this garbage cause my car has a 100,000 mile warranty.

Sorry ya'll...i'm real bummed.

 

[metallicnotazx5]

yeah no shop in their right mind would ever put a catless manfiold on a car or remove cats. too much liabilty

 

[Blue02SVT]

Put it on yourself. you gotta learn some how. I doubt the cop would take your car. Thats crazy. I dont have a cat on my car and every honda around me sounds louder than my car.

 

[turbovation]

Yeah I think that's sort of extreme. He might consider it if I was a major dick to him or something..but the amount of paperwork he'd have to fill out would outweigh the situation heavily. I'm not for sure about selling it yet but I am a little bit more shakey about putting it on. I will only attempt to put it on myself if I have the assistance of somebody who has at least a slight idea of what needs to be done. I can't afford to be carless for more than one afternoon.

 

[SD_Focus]

If I didn't have problems with the o2 sensors, I would have had my header installed in under 4 hours. I say you should do it yourself. Just be careful with the sensors. I would go help you out but I'm not sure if I want to get under a car again because that damn header caused me so much trouble.

 

[Ripped_06_ST]

HOW MUCH DID WALLY QUOTE YOU!?!?!?!

 

[turbovation]

I called wally's shop but he was already gone so the other guy had no idea how much wally would want for it. I really wouldn't mind putting it on for a while to see if it works well.

 

[joshco84]

if you werent so damn far away i would offer to do it half price from whoever quotes it to you, but yeah cali is a little ways away from kansas so...

 

[Ripped_06_ST]

Dude no offense but [nutkick]

Don't sell it... Do you really think a cop is going to KNOW that there was a CAT in the exhaust manifold... MOST cops would look at it and think it's prolly just any other Honda and just has a CAT somewhere throughout the exhast system. So if you have a resonator like the sport resonator on with the focussport system that SOMEWHAT resembles a CAT then you'll foul them and if you ever do get caught just act stupid and say sir I SWEAR I didn't know.

 

[turbovation]

man I would honestly like to put it on at some point but I don't want to pay to put it on and I don't have a place to do it myself...and I don't want to spend money to put it on just in case it is way too loud for my liking. I was creeping through carlsbad tonite around 12:30 and my car was nice and quiet and I think it's more economical that way. If there is a way to put it on just to test whether or not I like it I would do it.

 

[cruzstyle]

well i grew up in cali and i kow for a fact that that guy was serious. it is not good for his work, he could lose a lot of things doing that for u. just like if a tinit place just darker then legal limit tinit they get fined, thats why when u see epopel with illigal tinit they usally have a bogus sticker on there or no sticker saying who put it on which is also a fine. now u can put it on yourself and hes right its not carb legal no header for the focus is carb legal and with that said if a cop does pull u over in san diego it is legal for a cop to inpect your car and fine u for every after market part u have so they can add up very high. another thing some on here saied the cops wont know. but when i was doing Jr cop work where u follow the cops around in high school. they actually get clases and have books for what to look for when somethings not stock and what parts are. another thing is most men know about cars so your just palin out of luck somethines and just like the ex-gang member task force they have an ex- street racing task force, there the ones that give the classes as well. so u can risk it because theres thousands of cars out there not just yours so be safe dont drive stupid and you should be fine. then u will have no problems with the header. do it yourself its easy and fun

 

[macdiesel]

Put it on yourself. you gotta learn some how. I doubt the cop would take your car. Thats crazy. I dont have a cat on my car and every honda around me sounds louder than my car.

Yeah, if its that big of a hassle to have a shop do it. Bust out the tools and slap that bad boy on. Sit back and take some pride in your work. You bought the header for a reason. Don't let that mechanic discourage. Keep your old gear, if the header does become a problem just swap it out. Good luck.

 

[Svtzx555]

You're in Cali....I thought you had to have all car parts "carbed" approved. I know here in Alabama, riding with no cats isn't a problem, but we don't have emissions tests here. The whole street racing thing isn't a problem here like it is in Cali from what I'm told. My dad lives out in L.A. and he said that it is so bad out there at the first time your caught street racing, they impound your car and crush it. Not sure if that is true or not, but I wouldn't risk the header in Cali.

 

[macdiesel]

I'm pretty sure in Chicago your car is impounded for racing. So is the header installed yet?

 

[SD_Focus]

man I would honestly like to put it on at some point but I don't want to pay to put it on and I don't have a place to do it myself...and I don't want to spend money to put it on just in case it is way too loud for my liking. I was creeping through carlsbad tonite around 12:30 and my car was nice and quiet and I think it's more economical that way. If there is a way to put it on just to test whether or not I like it I would do it.

If you can install it now without paying any more money I would do it, just to see how it sounds. It will be very loud, and if you pull up next to the wrong cop, you will get a ticket for it. If he looks under the hood and remembers his training, you're F#[email protected] You can keep it reasonably loud during city driving, but you would have to be accelerating painfully slow. If you want to get up to speed as fast as the rest of traffic, or you don't want to get honked at, just be prepared to crack people's eardrums as you drive down the street.


edit: this post contains some mild dramatization.

 

[Ripped_06_ST]

well i grew up in cali and i kow for a fact that that guy was serious. it is not good for his work, he could lose a lot of things doing that for u. just like if a tinit place just darker then legal limit tinit they get fined, thats why when u see epopel with illigal tinit they usally have a bogus sticker on there or no sticker saying who put it on which is also a fine. now u can put it on yourself and hes right its not carb legal no header for the focus is carb legal and with that said if a cop does pull u over in san diego it is legal for a cop to inpect your car and fine u for every after market part u have so they can add up very high. another thing some on here saied the cops wont know. but when i was doing Jr cop work where u follow the cops around in high school. they actually get clases and have books for what to look for when somethings not stock and what parts are. another thing is most men know about cars so your just palin out of luck somethines and just like the ex-gang member task force they have an ex- street racing task force, there the ones that give the classes as well. so u can risk it because theres thousands of cars out there not just yours so be safe dont drive stupid and you should be fine. then u will have no problems with the header. do it yourself its easy and fun

I know some cops know their stuff but not ALL men know their stuff... a friend was pulled over and the cop asked why he didn't have a BAR sticker on his intake... hmm.. I always thought it was a carb sticker... and how will a cop know that there should be a CAT in the exhaust manifold???

 

[Mastodon]

Makes me kind of happy I live where the cops care more about real crime than hassling someone with dark tint or loud exhaust. Only time a cop ever mentioned my tint was about 8 years ago when I got pulled over for doing 65 in a 35 with expired tags that were registered to a different vehicle. He let me off with a warning. []

 

[turbovation]

Yeah...it sucks. Won't my car be at least a little bit quieter since I have the 20 inch glasspack? My CAI is more than twice as loud as my exhaust.

 

[eazyrider_tim]

Man, as long as you don't go driving around like a lunatic, you should be fine no matter what mods you have when it comes to cops.

 

[turbovation]

I generally don't drive like a lunatic but I do drive real late at night and often in residential areas.