Vehicle inspections in NC

[Bnewell101]

Recently moved to Winston-Salem NC from Oklahoma, and currently time to get my car inspected. I definitely am not going to pass emissions or window tint. Oklahoma has no such inspections.
Anyone have a work around or a place they go to that gets them by?
DM me if you can help out.

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[Howitzer]

Not sure there's much bypassing any kind of emissions inspections these days. Like me, you are also in one of the counties that has additional emissions inspections.

Are you not running cats? Why would you fail?
I can't help you bypass anything, but I can tell you what you'll need to pass.

 

[Bnewell101]

Yea LT headers with no cats here. 02s turned off so I don't have a CEL.

 

[Howitzer]

Yea LT headers with no cats here. 02s turned off so I don't have a CEL.

Gotcha...so...a couple things to note.

• You'll have to go through a visual inspection which they will fail for no cats.
  • They will also fail if they see a spacer/defouler at the O2 sensors to make the O2 sensors read normal.
• Even though you don't have a CEL, with your O2s turned off, both sensors will show as "not ready" from your OBD readout. This will also cause you to fail. If you're in one of these counties (Which Winston Salem is in Forsyth county), they will check your OBD emissions sensors: https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/title-registration/emissions-safety/Pages/emissions-inspections.aspx
• Any CEL is also a fail.

You may unfortunately have to spend some money to get decent cats (200 cell cats are not good enough to not trip the CEL) if you want to keep the headers. I had to do the same thing with my headers.

 

[Cobra Jet]

And that's what sucks about removing cats for a vehicle that is street driven... It's a major hassle for when it's time for inspection in States/Counties where there is emissions requirements.

I used to do the same with prior Mustangs - swap out the pipes back to catted etc, pass, remove, enjoy - oh shit, time to swap again... blah blah blah...

With newer Mustangs, haven't even thought of going catless - it's not worth it these days and there is absolutely no gain for a vehicle that is daily driven and doesn't see any type of track events, ever. Plus many shops will not even touch cats today unless it's a required replacement - and there's no shops that will do the "buddy pass" any more due to the extreme fines and possible loss of business (yes, they will shut down the shop if word gets out).

---

Only option in an area where emissions is mandated, is to fix it back to legal - or move again... LOL... teasing on the move part...

 

[RagmopInKona]

Check the classifeds here, maybe someone is selling the oem pipes they took off to go long tube. If you have a buddy in the other state you moved from that allow you to use his address to keep the cars reg/tag in OK. Not exactly on the up and up. but. neither was pulling the cats.

 

[skinnyb]

I moved from NC a couple years ago to TN. Definitely one thing I don't miss about NC. They don't emission test in all counties but mostly in major metro areas (I lived in the same county as Asheville). I never had problems with emissions as I always left my cats and such intact and only did cat back on all my vehicles. Now window tint is a different story. They are just as strict on that too if you go to a legit shop. Best to get legal and stay that way if you want to daily drive with no issues.

Now that I live in TN, no issues at all. Can run catless if I want ( I don't but I could) and no inspection for tint.

 

[XFactor7889]

How recently did you move to NC btw? I just moved here in August (Raleigh) and learned if you're registering your car for the first time from out-of-state you don't need an inspection until you renew your plates the following year. So in case you were unaware and are only now registering your car in NC, you will have a year to get it all sorted out to pass an inspection.

 

[pt's21]

Wish I could help. I live in Stanly County (1 hour east of Charlotte) - no emission test. I walk into my usual test site with registration card and odometer reading, and walk out with the "passed" checklist and my wallet $13 lighter. The guy never leaves the office.

 

[K4fxd]

Wish I could help. I live in Stanly County (1 hour east of Charlotte) - no emission test.

Could you get a PO box in this county and register it there?

 

[pt's21]

If a PO box would suffice, here's a list of counties that do not emission test. Then you just need to find a lazy tester, like I have.

 

[Nickel]

I have 20% tint and no mufflers, and live in NC. Lol

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