Moving to DFW - Inspection/Emissions questions

[CrashOverride]

I'm going to be moving to the DFW area within the next few months and being a car enthusiast like y'all, this is something that has a decent bearing on where I move in the DFW area. I looked at the TxDPS page about inspections and I didn't see anything that looked unreasonable, but I wanted to dig a little further if I may.

I'm asking because as far as I can tell, if I am willing to drive a bit, and move to Wise county, then I don't have to deal with emissions testing (Am I correct?).

That being said, perhaps I am overly concerned about the emissions testing in the first place. Right now I live in California, so I am used to the strictest emissions testing in the US. (Don't worry, I'm happy to leave California, I can't stand the politics and everything else here).

From what I've read, the emissions testing includes a visual, and an OBD2 read. This prompts a few questions - forgive me if these seem stupid to you, but these are real as far as limitations in California.

- Are long tube headers legal? (In CA, automatic no because it moves cats)
- Are universal or high performance cats legal (In CA, no, must be OEM and have CARB EO#)
- Is the exhaust "sniffed"? (In CA, not any more for OBD2 equipped cars, but yes for pre-OBD2)
- Are tunes allowed? (In CA, they get the CRC from the ECU, and if it doesn't match an established one, then automatic fail. So, if you custom tune yourself, or even get one from a tuner, the CRC will be different, and even if you are running completely stock equipment, you will still fail)

I realize that no cats won't pass, and I'm fine with that. I realize that a loud exhaust pretty much anywhere isn't legal, and I'm fine with that also.

Thanks in advance, I know this is a lot of questions, but I'm so used to our rules here where people are getting sent to the state ref for completely stock exhaust systems (https://www.thedrive.com/news/stock...-test-leaves-owner-stuck-without-registration)...

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[bobsled]

In the DFW area, they only check electronically to see if all emissions equipment is in the READY state and not throwing an O2 sensor code. Go to a Jiffy Lube or something similar to get it done, where they don't bother to look under the car (or will want to offer to sell you new cats). Theoretically, my sons 2010 GT did not have cats and I might have used spark plug spacers on the rear O2 sensors to keep from throwing a code. It passed with no problem on the stock tune. It ran really rich on the stock tune, so it was no secret the cats were removed. Not sure about outside the city, but you'll need to get it done in the county you live.

 

[Crew4991]

Go to a Jiffy Lube or something similar to get it done, where they don't bother to look under the car (or will want to offer to sell you new cats).

Sorry, can't add value to this thread but I couldn't resist...

 

[junits15]

In the DFW area, they only check electronically to see if all emissions equipment is in the READY state and not throwing an O2 sensor code. Go to a Jiffy Lube or something similar to get it done, where they don't bother to look under the car (or will want to offer to sell you new cats). Theoretically, my sons 2010 GT did not have cats and I might have used spark plug spacers on the rear O2 sensors to keep from throwing a code. It passed with no problem on the stock tune. It ran really rich on the stock tune, so it was no secret the cats were removed. Not sure about outside the city, but you'll need to get it done in the county you live.

Did you put the spacers on the wrong o2 sensors? it shouldn't run rich with spacers only on the downstream

 

[jon.smith76063]

I'm going to be moving to the DFW area within the next few months and being a car enthusiast like y'all, this is something that has a decent bearing on where I move in the DFW area. I looked at the TxDPS page about inspections and I didn't see anything that looked unreasonable, but I wanted to dig a little further if I may.

I'm asking because as far as I can tell, if I am willing to drive a bit, and move to Wise county, then I don't have to deal with emissions testing (Am I correct?).

That being said, perhaps I am overly concerned about the emissions testing in the first place. Right now I live in California, so I am used to the strictest emissions testing in the US. (Don't worry, I'm happy to leave California, I can't stand the politics and everything else here).

From what I've read, the emissions testing includes a visual, and an OBD2 read. This prompts a few questions - forgive me if these seem stupid to you, but these are real as far as limitations in California.

- Are long tube headers legal? (In CA, automatic no because it moves cats)
- Are universal or high performance cats legal (In CA, no, must be OEM and have CARB EO#)
- Is the exhaust "sniffed"? (In CA, not any more for OBD2 equipped cars, but yes for pre-OBD2)
- Are tunes allowed? (In CA, they get the CRC from the ECU, and if it doesn't match an established one, then automatic fail. So, if you custom tune yourself, or even get one from a tuner, the CRC will be different, and even if you are running completely stock equipment, you will still fail)

I realize that no cats won't pass, and I'm fine with that. I realize that a loud exhaust pretty much anywhere isn't legal, and I'm fine with that also.

Thanks in advance, I know this is a lot of questions, but I'm so used to our rules here where people are getting sent to the state ref for completely stock exhaust systems (https://www.thedrive.com/news/stock...-test-leaves-owner-stuck-without-registration)...

The most heavily populated counties require emissions testing and any country around them that shares a border. Wise county is a good one to be in that's close to DFW. Long tubes are fine and there are ways around having them without cats. The easiest thing to do is just run a spacer on the sensor or run green cats.
Tunes are allowed as long as they don't disable any of the 02 sensors. If they do the computer will throw a code and it'll fail. I have a tune on my truck so I just take it off and drive a few runs cycles and it passes. If you fail they are not going to impound your car or any stupid shit like they do in CA. They will tell you to just get it fixed and come back.
The car scene is great, especially the closer you get to DFW. I live in Parker county and we have some great meets. Dallas area has a ton. Hit me up when you get here and we can hit up a few meets if you want.

 

[Simplejack]

I just got my jeep gladiator inspected in Dallas County, I live in Erath county for what it's worth. U can get it inspected any where then u log onto http://twostepsonesticker.com/
Enter vehicle info and pay it online. Your sticker will be mailed to you. I have failed due to o2 sensor before but that's about it. We don't care how loud your car is ihere in Texas.

 

[bobsled]

Did you put the spacers on the wrong o2 sensors? it shouldn't run rich with spacers only on the downstream

Thanks for pointing that out. It was only on the downstream. The car ran fine on the stock tune - it wasn't "really rich" as I misstated, just a little. The tune just leaned it out a little and improved fuel economy - not that mpg matters. Sorry for any confusion. Thanks!

 

[CrashOverride]

Thank you all very much, sounds like I might be fine even if I move to an emission-controlled area.

I want land to build my shop, so I've been lookin a lot at Decatur and Boyd, but it seems like if I cross the county into Weatherford, the costs go down. I will work in downtown Dallas proper, but I will have to come into the office at most 3x per week, usually lower than that. So I know the drive won't be terrible, but I'm used to it here. I currently have a 6-mile section that at times takes 45 minutes to get through. Yeah, even with 3.73 gears, idling in 1st gear is too fast, so my left leg is on clutch duty.

The weather here is what drew me (And the only thing, might I add), but after being evacuated from forest fires less than 100 feet from my house, even that is no longer a plus. So definitely time to close the book on CA.

 

[jon.smith76063]

Be sure to look af the taxes if you go to weatherford. Parker county has some of the highest taxes in the state.

 

[CrashOverride]

Be sure to look af the taxes if you go to weatherford. Parker county has some of the highest taxes in the state.

Thank you, yeah that is something I need to keep in mind. We have a huge range of taxes here, new developments are fairly high, and we have what are called "Mello Roos" which I think are equivalent to your "MUD" taxes if I understand correctly. Some of our HOA fees here are insane, over $450 a month, and while these are easily 1 million dollar homes, they are really just cookie-cutter homes on 1/8 acre or 1/12 acre lots (We go by sq feet here because lots are so small).

I'm in an older established neighborhood so my taxes right now are low, but that being said I know I'm in for a surprise when I start paying the property taxes there.

That being said, 91 octane is about $6.69 a gallon right now. Thankfully I can run e85 and I get it for $3.29 a gallon and it tests at e88 even in January. How are your registration fees? I spend about $350 a year on my Mustang, but pickup trucks here are titled as "commercial vehicles" and therefore my '17 F150 runs me about $550 a year. I can't even imagine how much the F450 I see time to time runs.

 

[Simplejack]

Hope this helps, sorry mustang isn't up for inspection till May but it's the same price, 2020 jeep gladiator. Alot cheaper than California!

 

[CrashOverride]

Wow that is absolutely amazing. Thank you!

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