[Spaceship]

I've spent about an hour searching through the forum posts here and have not found anything regarding Aftermarket catalytic converters for a 2006 V6 Touareg in California. My cats need to be replaced and the approx. $3,000 cost is unfortunately prohibitive for me right now. I was told by a smog tech, a muffler mechanic, and a Non-dealer import repair tech that they can not install the much cheaper aftermarket cats that are available for all the other states to install on their 2006 V6. What I want to know is how would the smog technician know that I have aftermarket cats? Are they wired into the car's computer and reveal their origin when the smog tech connects their computer to the car computer? I have seen aftermarket cats available on eBay for my 2006 V6 and have confirmed that the seller will ship to me. Since they are 'bolt-on' kits, I could just do them myself as long as I know that the smog inspector would not be able to tell that I'm running aftermarket cats. I've also seen used cats for sale at local pick-a-part type yards. I read somewhere on the internet that California won't allow used cats to be installed as replacements on my car. I'm hoping someone here can help clear up all this cat BS for me. Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to offer. Feel free to PM me if that makes you more comfortable.

 

[73Will]

There's a place that rebuilds cats caller Miller Catalyzer. They used to be in San Diego, but after looking it seems they moved to Fresno, Ca.

 

[Perry01]

I have two secondary cats with less than 10k miles on them sitting in my shed if you are interested.

 

[Spaceship]

Thanks for the input guys. If my Treg was a V8 I would have taken you up on the offer to buy your used ones. I contacted Miller Cat and they said they can't legally rebuild Treg V6 cats for my 2006. If it was a V8, they could have though. This goes for all V6 Tregs in CA. No after market or re-built cats allowed. Probably some lobbyist shenanigans behind this scenerio which should not be surprising in this rotten state. So I spent $2,850 to get the cats replaced and 35 miles later my check engine light comes back on!! The guy that installed the new Cats checked the code which says the culprits this time are Air Injection Cylinders 1 & 2. No wonder so many people in this state get their stickers stolen.

 

[73Will]

Sucks

 

[BlazinPond]

I'm not sure about the specific Touareg models/years but....
Some Touareg and Cayenne's have 4 cats, 2 primary and 2 secondary.

Are you aware if your 2006 Touareg has both primary and secondary cats?

And secondly, if secondary cats are your issue, consider installing secondary cat bypass pipes.

A little more horsepower/torque/sound and certainly less weight with bypassing the secondary cats. If i understand correctly, the secondary cats quiet (and choke) the vehicle a bit. The bypass appears to be a simple install and not result in any O2 sensor issues since the sensors are located near the primary cats. The cost is likely to be around $600 for parts.

I've seen FABSPEED video clips discuss the secondary cat bypass for Touaregs. However, i don't believe FABSPEED website has a VW section....just Porsche and Audi.

 

[Perry01]

I'm not sure about the specific Touareg models/years but.... Some Touareg and Cayenne's have 4 cats, 2 primary and 2 secondary. Are you aware if your 2006 Touareg has both primary and secondary cats? And secondly, if secondary cats are your issue, consider installing secondary cat bypass pipes. A little more horsepower/torque/sound and certainly less weight with bypassing the secondary cats. If i understand correctly, the secondary cats quiet (and choke) the vehicle a bit. The bypass appears to be a simple install and not result in any O2 sensor issues since the sensors are located near the primary cats. The cost is likely to be around $600 for parts. I've seen FABSPEED video clips discuss the secondary cat bypass for Touaregs. However, i don't believe FABSPEED website has a VW section....just Porsche and Audi.

It must be the primary cats he had replaced because the secondary cats are basically there to muffle (and choke) the exhaust. I've heard of people passing emissions tests with the secondary cats removed.

I had resonated bypass pipes fabricated for my T2 V8 and the old secondary cats were so restrictive; they were filled with holes and baffles and were very heavy. Leistung Exhaust claims a 15 HP increase with the bypass pipes. I don't believe that I got 15 more HP but I definitely noticed an improvement in performance and exhaust sound.
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