The OP is from NJ, so he should be fine with replacing the pipe with a non-CARB part.

​​​​​​​I've learned a lot of interesting information from this thread, so thank you guys.

 

im trying to buy the Y precat for mi xj, but in all stores they say ots ilegal in CA and NY, do you know why?

 

NY doesn't use a tailpipe emissions test. As long as you have a pair of certified CA cats and no CEL on, it'll pass. On my 2000 XJ with CA emissions, my downstream cat fell off and because it's not monitored, my mechanic just installed a regular muffler and pipe and passed it. If you need an 02 sensor, you need to buy CA certified ones which cost twice what other ones do or you'll get a CEL code set. Without that downstream cat, it sounds pretty good!

After 96, any new car sold in NY had to be CARB equipped.

Funny story. My 2000 WJ was originally delivered to NY, but was transported by a dealer and sold in PA. It has CA emissions on it. It was bought at auction and transported back to NY in 2012 when I bought it from a used car dealer. Being a used car from another state, does it have to have CA emissions? The state says yes, but I question that. They say if it was converted to Federal emissions while out of state, then it doesn't have to have CA emissions. That's not as easy as it sounds because the PCM would need to be reprogrammed as well.

 

Read the previous posts in the thread regarding the CARB vs. Non-CARB stuff. It's a long and detailed discussion but will answer your question.

If you live in CA or NY (which I guess we can infer that you do), then you need to find a 50 state part (and pay the over-inflated cost) if the inspection station you use will be checking for that stuff. In theory, you may be able to get away with a non-carb part if you can legitimately claim the vehicle is exempt and/or the repair was done out of state by a previous owner. Of course, I'd never advocate for breaking any law, so I'm purely speculating.