Switching CARB cats to non-CARB cats (California)
 

Hello again..... I have an 03 3.0 X-type and I need a new rear catalytic converter. In the process of ordering a new one I found out my car is California emissions rated (CARB). First I will say I live in Florida and never plan on moving to California, so their is no legal issue. California legal cats are generally twice the price of Federal legal ones so I was wondering if I could make the switch without hurting my car? I have to make the decision pretty soon so I am hoping someone here has had experience and/or can lead me in the right direction. Thank you for the help!!!!

I had to help a lady replace her cat on her 3.0 saturn vue and I too ran into this problem. What I found is that the california ones aren't all that much different, and it is mainly overpriced for political reasons. For instance, if you fail a emissions test in california due to a failed cat, they will need to make sure that the cat that was installed has a special code on it or something like that. So, for you, you shouldn't care and should buy the cheap one because they will function 98% the same.

A link to this discussion on a different forum
Why does CA have its own catalytic converters - Pirate4x4.Com