gutting cat questions

[yu-knique_style]

what do you remove from the cat or do you just remove everything out of the cat? is there any good tools to use? How long does it take?

[PriMaTe15]

Just save yourself the trouble and buy a racing cat, it'll keep you legal and is better for envrionment. Or, just buy a test pipe, or racing header with no cat instead, carsound makes some racing cats you can look into them.

[AZhitman]

Gutting a cat is never a good idea, for several reasons.

I can make you a bolt-in flanged high-flow cat for a reasonable price, or a test pipe (straight tube).

Better to have a high-flow cat though.

[yu-knique_style]

well, how much would that hi flo cat be? not really looking to spend $300 plus on a cat right now or i would have already. Gutting the cat is just a temporary fix and i will probably upgrade to a hi flo cat or test pipe later.

[7anshin]

Gutting a cat is never a good idea, for several reasons.

I'm new to this, and have considered gutting my cat also. Can you help me understand why this is a bad idea? You say there are several reasons, what are they? Thanks

[BadMojo]

well, how much would that hi flo cat be? not really looking to spend $300 plus on a cat right now or i would have already. Gutting the cat is just a temporary fix and i will probably upgrade to a hi flo cat or test pipe later.

You won't end up spending that much on a high flow cat. I bet Greg can hook you up with something nice for less than that. At worst, you can get a Catco "universal" and have a local muffler joint weld on some flanges.

You won't pollute the air AND your car won't sound like poop! It's a win/win situation!

[Fenvy]

i got a 3 inch catco for 45$ shipped on ebay

I went to the local muffler shop and they welded flanges and installed it for 50$

[Ligouri Rd]

Quote » You say there are several reasons, what are they? Thanks[/quote]-No body answered my questions last time I asked this (after performing a search first), so I will give it my best shot since I have already tried it.

1) At least with the factory header I don't think that you gain anything. I ran 15.9 at the track with the cats, and 16.1 the next time without em. Conditions were roughly the same, ~50degF the first time, ~60degF the second. It felt like I lost quite a bit of torque off the line. Used to rev to 1k to start moving during daily driving, no cat needed 1.5k. I remember reading something elsewhere about improper exhaust scavenging without the cats=slight loss of power?2) Sounds crappy. There is a marginal increase in exhaust noise (w/ Apex n1), but you can actually hear the valves. It reminds me too much of the sound of my Suburban with a cracked header. 3) If your car is OBD2 ('96 & up), you will need something to simulate the signal and the load of the secondary o2 sensor. The car will run pig rich (as checked by wideband) if the sensor is disconnected and throw a code if it is still in place. I used an oxygen sensor simulator http://www.o2simulator.com which fixed the problem.

Those are my reasons. If you are going to do it with factory components, all you need to do is smash the ceramic shiz out of the catalytic coverter. Get a bar and a hammer and start working from the inside out. It is a 2hr pain in the arse, and a waste of a good cat, unless you have an extra like I did. Once all off the ceramic shiz is out, use a pliers to pull the fabic like stuff that was around the ceramic out. Done.

[BadMojo]

I believe Greg mentioned something (in another thread) about running w/o a cat resulting in no power gains. As I mentioned above, and you confirmed...the car will probably sound like crap without one. Besides that, in most states you can get in *serious* trouble if you remove or alter the catalytic converter.

I didn't think the 2nd O2 sensor in OBDII cars did anything other than tell the ECU that your cat was working or not. I didn't think it would actually cause you to run rich. But, hey, I've got a '93 so I have no first hand experience with OBDII cars.

[Silvia007]

High flow cats... I bought one from heavy throttle for my KA. I did about 100 shots and after a while, my car bogs like a mofo, couldn't figure out what the heck it could be, checked everything. Got to the point where I was gonna ditch the engine. Turns out the ceramic inside the cat has "MELTED" yeah, hard to believe that it melted forming a wall so I had to drill it out and that's what I'm using right now, a drilled out high flow cat. Anyone know if there's a break in period for cats???

[AZhitman]

Not sure, but we gutted mine in 2 minutes with a jack handle and a 15-lb sledgehammer.

Sounds like crap, pollutes the air, rattles, and adds NO power.

I'll be building myself a bolt-in high-flow now

[Silvia007]

Damn, after my S14 swap, I'm completely broke to the bone, I want to buy a high flow cat bad. Greg, can you put one on lay away?? hahaha...

[AZhitman]

LOL - We'll get you taken care of.

Email me when you're halfway there and we'll make it happen.

[Master_Tao]

AZhitman, how much for the high flow cat?

[AZhitman]

A ready-to-install flanged high-flow cat is $155.

[Blade7764]

Im either going with that or a straight pipe, I would rather go with the straight pipe tho, but I need to know the price of a straight pipe from AZHitman.

[MainEvent212]

not to be a jerk but heavy throttle sells a catco w/ some flanges for i think 100 or 150...i dont remember. I bought one and used it for emissions...put my test pipe back on and called it a day

[BadMojo]

not to be a jerk but heavy throttle sells a catco w/ some flanges for i think 100 or 150...i dont remember. I bought one and used it for emissions...put my test pipe back on and called it a day

I know Catco cats are dirt cheap, but just out of curiousity what are they made of? If the original poster is in Detroit, something in aluminized steel will probably start to corrode pretty quickly. Stuff that isn't stainless steel goes pretty quick up here in PA.

Also, AZHitman...you sell Magnaflow cats, right?

[gogg]

Make sure to hold it down by the neck, those suckers hurt if they bite or claw ya.

[BadMojo]

Make sure to hold it down by the neck, those suckers hurt if they bite or claw ya.

I've been asking my fiance for years if I could gut our cat. She has thus far refused. He's old and stringy, but I figure killin' him would be OK as long as I eat him afterward.

Edit: There are so many ways to skin them, I'm not even going to try to list 'em all.

[whiterps13]

everyone has said that there is no gain without a cat, but will you get a gain with a high flow cat? will it sound better, worse, or the same?

[Toahk]

pdm sells magnaflow SS cats w/ flanges already welded on for 107.

[BadMojo]

pdm sells magnaflow SS cats w/ flanges already welded on for 107.

The only downside to that is the shipping costs from Canada. I'm not sure how much it would be to ship from Canada to Hawaii (where the original poster is from) but I bet it's a lot.

[Toahk]

I bought TC rods and bushings from them and the bosch headlight conversion, I think they actually ship from the US. It's not any more expensive than from other companies.

[Luke]

CATCO Cats are stainless I believe. Can be bought from heavythrottle at like 100-130 something. Sometimes the welds on the flanges are not stainless and will show some rust.

High flow cats... I bought one from heavy throttle for my KA. I did about 100 shots and after a while, my car bogs like a mofo, couldn't figure out what the heck it could be, checked everything. Got to the point where I was gonna ditch the engine. Turns out the ceramic inside the cat has "MELTED" yeah, hard to believe that it melted forming a wall so I had to drill it out and that's what I'm using right now, a drilled out high flow cat. Anyone know if there's a break in period for cats???

Are you running a blow off valve that isn't recirculated? If you aren't recirculating, then this is what they call a clogged cat. It's a result of running very rich from the bov between shifts, and the fuel ignites in the exhaust (backfire). You know what this does to the CAT as you've seen, it literally melts and clogs it up.

[w1ngzer0]

thx guy for convincing him to buy a high flow cat. It's rediculous how much crap a car puts out without one X_X

[AZhitman]

That deal Toahk posted is a good one.

Nice find!

[BadMojo]

I bought TC rods and bushings from them and the bosch headlight conversion, I think they actually ship from the US. It's not any more expensive than from other companies.

Cool. I didn't know that. They have a few things I can't find anywhere else. Gonna have to check out the shipping charges. Thanks!