Test pipe in MD
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 42,116
Likes: 31
From: Over the Electric Grapevine.....man
i have been pulled over a bunch for exhausts 
never in my S but i did in a previous integra and civic. it was more or less a noise violation as far as the cops were concerned. they never got under the car to check the exhaust. i only had my exhaust checked once visually. i got an inspection ticket and i had to take it to a service station where they visually looked under the car and signed off on the ticket and i sent it in. another time i was ticketed for a noise violation they said it was louder than the stock system therefore it's illegal. i had to actually pay for that one 
you'll pass emissions if you have the 02 fowler on the 02 sensor so you can get away with it if you want too. i did
never in my S but i did in a previous integra and civic. it was more or less a noise violation as far as the cops were concerned. they never got under the car to check the exhaust. i only had my exhaust checked once visually. i got an inspection ticket and i had to take it to a service station where they visually looked under the car and signed off on the ticket and i sent it in. another time i was ticketed for a noise violation they said it was louder than the stock system therefore it's illegal. i had to actually pay for that one you'll pass emissions if you have the 02 fowler on the 02 sensor so you can get away with it if you want too. i did
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,135
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From: New Freedom, PA
Well when I had my old GSX, I had a 3" Straight back from the turbo, no cat, no nothing, I drove it that way for 2 1/2 years and never had any problem with the 5.0 around the MD area. However my friend had a similar setup (with an external gate), cop nailed him saying his exhuast was "excessive", lol. Long story short, cop looked under the car and couldnt find a problem since we had cut his original cat in half, gutted it completely, and welded it back together around his "new" exhaust. Try doing that 
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,401
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From: Arlington, Virginia
I welded my heat shields around my Berk TP and it worked perfectly except for this harmonic noise that occurred at certain RPM's... it sounded like a swarm of cicada's were after me
I ended up just removing the heat shields.
I ended up just removing the heat shields.
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Joined: Sep 2005
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Not so sure about the state law in Maryland, but remember, not having a catalytic converter is a violation of FEDERAL emissions law, and I believe the fine is either $2K or $2500.
I've never heard of a case where the officer got under the car to actually check the cat though, although it's always a possiblity. Each one of us can tell immediately if we're behind someone who is running catless, just by the smell alone... I guess so far the cops are either clueless to this or too lazy to check it out themselves, but you have to ask yourself whether or not it's worth the risk of a $2K+ fine. I don't think it is, but I may be in the minority on that issue.
Good luck to you.
I've never heard of a case where the officer got under the car to actually check the cat though, although it's always a possiblity. Each one of us can tell immediately if we're behind someone who is running catless, just by the smell alone... I guess so far the cops are either clueless to this or too lazy to check it out themselves, but you have to ask yourself whether or not it's worth the risk of a $2K+ fine. I don't think it is, but I may be in the minority on that issue.
Good luck to you.