ISO: ROW tune in the Utah area - willing to drive

[FoFoJoe]

I am strongly considering flashing to the ROW tune on my 2001 986 base. Main goal is to eliminate the rear O2 sensors. But not needing to press the clutch into start the car sounds like a positive as well.

So two questions on that..

1. If anyone has a PST2 in the Utah/Idaho/Colorado/Washington/Oregon/Nevada area and has the ability to flash the ROW tune, I am very interested. No idea what fair compensation looks like for that but I'm willing to pay a fair price for the hassle and time.

2. In searching threads here, from what I can gather the ROW tune will set the rear O2 sensors to inactive, so they won't effect the emissions ready state at all. And as far as I can tell in Utah, emissions are just a OBD2 check, as in no sniffer.

My Crown Victoria passed emissions here no problem (stock except for the dual P71 H pipe + thrush mufflers) and that was only a OBD2 test if I remember right.
Am I right in thinking the ROW tune will remove the rear O2 sensors from the emissions equation?

In talking with a local Euro shop owner (Garage88 in Orem, Utah, highly recommend him) he was saying the car would need to pass Cali standards in Utah, meaning a CARB certified cat vs a 48 state legal cat.

So my thought was just buy a set of legit cats from Summit or somewhere similar, have them welded into the midpipes, run the rear O2 sensors to a bung behind them and call it a day.

Buuuut, supposedly an aftermarket cat cannot be welded in, I would have to buy a CARB certified assembly. Not sure how true this is or if I was misunderstanding him, but the shop owner didn't had an incentive to lie to me at that point.

Any experience with the ROW tune and Utah emissions (or any state really) is appreciated.

I did all this silly exhaust work while living in a county that didn't require emissions, thinking I wouldn't be moving. But here we are..

[Starter986]

Here's my experience...

Never have I had an undercar inspection... on any car ever I've owned. In Washington or California.

In California the cat on my 86 e30 failed... completely... a rattle can. This was around 2001. BMW wanted two arms and a leg. I went to som rando hold-in-the-wall muffler shop... they welded in some aftermarket cat. CARB certified? No one seemed to GAF. My regular smog guy said it ran the cleanest numbers he'd seen... and I passefd with flying colors.

When I trensferred title on the 986 the DMV seemed disinterested in looking at anything. Mind you... I did the transfer at the 29 Palms DMV. Lady just walked out to the parking lot... looked... noted... transferred.

My point? If I were in your shoes I would just find the least expensive cat... have it welded in... and go about your day. It's unlikely that anyone is going to climb under your car and inspect.

Don't ask. Don't tell. Best wishes.

[FoFoJoe]

I appreciate the insight. I came to a similar conclusion before talking with the shop owner. I figured he's just doing his job and giving the "clean and 100% correct" answer, where in reality I could just have a cat (well, 2 cats) welded in to remedy the issue.

I'll take the car to a reputable exhaust shop and play dumb about the current exhaust mods. I'm thinking I go in for a quote on what it takes to pass emissions, and see what they throw at me.

Thanks, and I hope that E30 is treating you right. I had a short and aggressive BMW phase where I was dying for a 325ix. Ended up with a Miata lol.

[ike84]

Hey Joe. I sent you a pm.

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