HFC, maybe not for me?
 

So I'm driving my Z the other day and I get lit up by a state trooper. I'm sitting there thinking what now as I offer him my insurance, registration, etc.

He said that I made an improper lane change which I admitted to then he started asking questions about my car. "Why is it so loud, why do you have so much rasp?". I explained I had aftermarket exhaust. He started to look under the car then went back to his.

My heart started to pound as all I could think of were my HFCs which are "ODBII Compliant" per Berk Technologies but it's still not technically legal to swap them out. All I could think of was jail time, court fees, and my life ruined over +5hp and an aggressive exhaust.

He let me go with a warning since I have a clean record and I slowly drove off.

Am I being overly paranoid here or do I have a legitimate concern with running HFCs?

Texas is an ODBII/Scan state for inspection so the sniff/visual is no longer but a random trooper could seriously ruin your day.

Any thoughts on this? I'm considering taking these off and putting my stock cats back on.

if you take them off ill buy them from you ;)

Keep em on. The trooper didnt seemed to really mind the noise. Just drive cautiously and you'll be good.

The problem is what if I do get caught and they pull a visual. I'm not schooled on Texas laws but from my understanding it is illegal to replace a working OEM emissions component.

Is it likely that I will get caught? Probably not, but the idea of jail and/or 10k+ in fines scares the living fcuk out of me.

I'm sure theres TONS of people running HFCs and TPs but I really wouldn't want to be the of the small percentage that gets caught.

berk HFC and berk exhaust shouldnt be THAT loud unless you were ocmpletely flooring it near the cop or have a massive leak somewhere.

U get jail time? In CA, you take it off and pay a small fine.

If it ever got to the point of jail time court etc I would play stupid and be like "the car came like that" or "I hit something in the road and replaced them with these" How are they going to prove your lieing? But I dont think it will get that far. I'm running around with no Cats and I have been infront behind and even pulled over by cops and they never asked me anything about the exhaust.

I am still getting used to the sound, a lot louder (the HFC) than I expected - this coming from someone who had downpipes, uppipes, full turbo back on a WRX. It really isn't just on WOT that it starts to resonate sound either, mid point on throttle and you start to make discerning tones. Only had the CBE and HFC on for several days, but have managed to cruise by cops throttling at under 3k RPM.

Just my opinion.

Really? I read in CA it's mandatory jail time. Have things changed over there?

I think the law states fines and/or jail time up to blah blah blah. But for me it's just the potential of going to jail or having to pay so much money for someting so stupid is really getting me paranoid.

HFC's should be legal. In Texas as long as you have some kind of resonator on there.

I've never even heard of someone getting busted for hfc's in texas

ive seen a cop pull over one mustang and used a mirror to see if the car had cats, which it didn't.... this goes back 8 years.

rare occassions I've seen any cop pull anyone over for that.

I SERIOUSLY doubt you'd get any kind of jail time for that.... if you did get a ticket for it, i'm 99.9% sure you could get it dismissed by just replacing it with OEM by the court date...just get it done at a muffler shop so you have documentation of the work.....i think you're being over paranoid. i think if it was as big of an issue as you think it is, you would've gotten a ticket or be in jail now because the trooper wouldn't of just given you a warning.......

You don't get jail time for high flow cats. Hell, you won't even get jail for straight pipes. They'll give you a ticket for straights and they won't say anything about the HFC's because a simple visual look under the car will show that you have 2 catalytic converters sitting there like you're supposed to. So you're fine. I had a highflow cat on my cobalt for 2 years and got pulled over and the cop wanted to take a look. He looked, he saw, no problems. The only other thing I can think of that you can get in trouble for is for having WAY too loud of an exhaust, which is hard with HFC's and a catback. You're fine man.

they don't usually care that much unless there's a lot done to your car. Even then they usually just want your money.

I would worry less about state troopers and more about the EPA. They will clean out your bank account, though usually only for TPs.

Did you install the cats yourself?

i think the trooper wnated to know so he could put it on his own Z.

Yes, I installed them myself. I guess I shouldn't have read the horror stories of the 25k fines and 4 years in jail. Probably just should take it for a drive and enjoy it.

That's what I was thinking, he did let me go and troopers usually aren't all that kind.

But being pulled over and having him ask questions turned on instant-paranoia for me.

I received a violation for test pipes on my last car. If you fix it and pay admin fees, they usually let it go.

You are being rediculously paranoid. A bit of paranoia is safe in some cases, like when doing big financial deals, being given a hard sell, get phone calls asking you to verify your credit card number for "security" perposes, or get invited in the door for a $5 lap dance....but unless you are a criminal you will never get done for an exhaust job. Next time you get a ticket of any type, hire a lawyer. I started 12 years ago and had a perfect "record" ever since, despite being pulled at least 20 times, and been given at least 13 tickets, I have lost count at about 10. Drive safe.

^probably not familiar with the EPA's fine structure

I see. Did you get hit at the inspection place or on the road? I find it hard to believe that they would try to enforce some mandatory felony instead of giving the consumer a chance to fix it.

Not sure if it's different here in TX vs AL. But thanks.

I get what you're saying and yes, I'm probably being overly paranoid but I'd rather err on the side of caution I suppose. I've had numerous cars in the past that were "questionable" in regards to emissions without issue but as I grow older I'm starting to do a little more homework. In this case, after the fact. I guess I start thinking about the cushy gov job, sports car, and lux apartment going bye bye when I heard the words, "Federal" and "Jail time".

More than anything I wanted to find out about probability and also user experiences.

I have a lawyer on call if I get a ticket though I haven't received one in over 5 years but it's good to know he's there.

There's several TX users here who run HFC or worse and never had a problem but saying that it will never happen is like saying you will never fall out of a roller coaster. sh!t happens..

And for the record, $5 lap dances aren't a problem for me ;)

My understanding of MOST states laws regarding emissions equipment is that it is a fix it ticket. Essentially, as most people stated if you show up to court with the OEM or manufacturer approved replacement installed it is a moot point.

You are in Texas, I am surprised they don't just hang you from the nearest tree!

That's only if you're retarded. Literally, a retard

I lived in Texas while I was in the Air Force. They need to plant more trees to be able to take care of them all!
;-)

State level tickets are fix it. Federal level tickets are no joke.

I got the ticket in the mail, back when I was living in VA. Busted by one of the roadside metering vans. I had 14 days to have the vehicle inspected (I think the closest station was 45+ minutes away). I called, played dumb, and they told me if I sold it out of country they'd let me off with a $160 fine or something. Gave some dude in Canada a great deal on the car...only paid $25 of the fine too.

State shouldn't matter though, since it is federal...

Good point. Didn't even think of that

GA court let my buddy go who had an S14 240SX with an SR20 (illegally) with test pipes. He told the court he replaced the exhaust and went back to stock and showed 1 picture of a stock 240SX exhaust and they let him go. Also funny that he drove the car to court, loud as f*ck, and noone bothered him.

This is why I'm not messing with cats. It's one thing to get a fine for tints or lighting. Quite another to mess with smog regulations.

Most people will never be caught. But some people will.

I'd rather not run the risk.

Hell, I'm debating on ever upgrading my exhaust, because the stock one is so quiet, officers generally ignore me.

Who needs an exhaust upgrade when you can supercharge the car and leave the exhaust stock!

lol, my buddy Kirkster has the stock nismo exhaust and a supercharger. When he canes it, the supercharger's so loud and obvious. But when he's just driving it normally, you can't tell.

LAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.... You dont want your car to sound or smell like mine????

I'd like my car to sound mean and loud, but more than that, I'd like to keep it a sleeper.

From all that I have read, the Berks are 49 state compliant. Whats the issue here?

Put in electric cut-outs LOL.

In some states, it is illegal to uninstall compliant cats.

Yeah but all you have to say is that your OEM's were defective or were broken in some sort of "accident". Such as running over something.