Failed NJ inspection then went back and passed it

[SAMUEL T]

Ok, so as the title says, I failed NJ emissions earlier this month with my wife’s Prizm, the allowable HC (PPM) was 220 and mine was 373 (high right). I wasn’t very happy about failing especially since while waiting I remembered that I had heard what sounded like a slight leak coming from her exhaust one morning as she left the house but never followed up on it. I jumped on the computer as soon as I got home and checked possible reasons. Whereas I was convinced that my leaky exhaust was the culprit, the jury was out on the some of the other forums, except for one Camry owner whose post suggested a leaky exhaust could cause emission results similar to what I got.
The Prizm has CA emissions and the leak was just B4 the flex pipe so I got a Basal front pipe on EBay and it installed. I did the Carburetor cleaner thing to check for vacuum leaks and didn’t find any I also checked the PCV valve and hose. The plugs and wires only have about 4000 miles so I knew they were good.
Next it was off to reinsertion, rather than going to my usual spot which is 15mins away I took the looong way to the one that was 30mins away making sure to use the fastest highways and keeping her above 70mph all the way. Also as I stood in line I kept my foot on throttle at about 2200 RPM, with a stock exhaust no one took notice and this I’m sure kept the Cat hot which was the reason for taking the highway to the inspection station. And the rest as they say is history. She’s good till 2013 and I’ll be using the same spot when time comes to take in my car. Maybe this info will help someone else in the future.