Questions about the catalytic converter
 

Hey, I'm pretty new to performance modifications, but I have a few questions concerning the catalytic converter. I recently replaced the stock exhaust and when we removed it, a few chunks of the cat came out. They had been rolling around in the old exhaust. I was wondering why this would happen. I've had the car for about 4 months and it has about 42k miles. Second, I am looking at getting a high flow cat. My budget for my car is pretty low, so what would you guys suggest for me for a high flow cat? Remember, I am pretty much the definition of a newbie.

hi-flow cats:

http://www.rx7store.net/product_p/rx...flow%20cat.htm
http://blackhaloracing.com/?page_id=60&category=10

as far as the chunks falling out, I don't know. someone more knowledgeable shall soon chime in

Perhaps your cat was failing?

Check out BHR's midpipe.

take the cat off and examin the honey comb to see how bad it is. post pics

The US goverment has mandated that the catalytic converter is warranted for 80,000 miles/8 yrs. You state that you have 42K miles on the car. Me thinks it is still under warranty if it has to be replaced. Mazda will not replace it until it throws an engine code that turns on the CEL.

Best to do some reading, or search as TEAM attempted to point out.
There is info in each link below related to the CAT, plus many, many more things you should read.

New and Potential Owner’s, Start Here:
https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/new-potential-owners-start-here-202454/

Congratulations, you got an 8:
https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/congratulations-you-got-8-a-202548/

New Owner FAQ’s:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.ph...&highlight=FAQ

FAQ’s:
https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/rx-8-faq-please-read-before-posting-959/

Above all, please don’t make threads on subjects that have been covered a thousand times, use the search function on this site, or click this link that might work better for you -----> Search rx8club via Google

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Arx8club.com+CAT+Failure

This would work even better than the last linke maz posted

^...............paimon.soror.........oh contrarie(sp?) my good friend, click on my link!

The google search. :)

I did fancy pants, i just added the "site:" to the start to narrow it down even more <3

Don't mean to resurrect a super old post but the title seemed appropriate for this question.

Does anyone know what the warranty is on a replacement OEM cat from Mazda. Basically my original one went out. Now the replacement has gone out. The guy at the dealership said that the replacement only carries a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty. The 8 year 80k warranty is ONLY for the original cat.

Which that makes zero since to me since the replacement cat is the same thing as the original cat. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

The federal 8yr/80k warranty specifically states that it covers failure on the vehicle, it says nothing about only covering factory installed parts.

http://www.epa.gov/obd/pubs/420f09048.pdf

The dealer is fully aware of this by the way, they are just trying to stick you with the bill. Fight it, print out that document and bring it to them to show them that you know what the law is and won't be conned.

So I called the dealership back and again was told P and P was 12 month 12,000 mile warranty on cat. I told the guy at the dealership that he needs to contact his manager to have it looked at.

This is supposed to be happening. I will give them until tomorrow and will then contact Mazda regional if I don't hear anything back.

I'm not sure why these guys think and show in "their" manuals that the warranty is only 12 and 12.

This is the exact inverse of the engine warranty problem when it's replaced under warranty near the end of warranty, and then it fails just outside warranty. Dealers refuse it because when the warranty covered the replacement, it got the original warranty, and didn't get the parts and service warranty. That difference has boned several members here badly.

If they want to cover it under the 12/12, fine, but it doesn't absolve them of their legal requirement to cover the car's major emissions equipment until 8yr/80k

Well the car is outside of the 8 year 80 K itself. But the actual part itself is only 2 years old. I did find this on the document you posted:

According to federal law, an emission control or emission related part, or a specified major emission control component, that fails because of a defect in materials or workmanship, must be repaired or replaced by the vehicle manufacturer free of charge as long as the vehicle has not exceeded the warranty time or mileage limitations for the failed part.

Does that mean that as long as the car itself is over the 8/80 then the part no longer needs the 8/80?

Oh, then yes, the dealer is right. They only have to cover it up to the car being 8yr 80k, and can deny you coverage if you are even 1 day or 1 mile past that. As noted before, the coverage is on the car, not on the part. You don't get a reset on the time when they replace it under warranty.

You don't have any ground to stand on here.

I recommend looking for a midpipe, a used cat on here, or an aftermarket cat that you can have welded in.

yup, if the vehicle is out of 8/80k, you're SOL
aftermarket cat or used is the way to go at this point.

Well crap. I think I will just take mine off and gut it. People seem to have decent results with that on the boards.

Also determine what is killing your cats and fix that.

It was the coils. They were pretty bad off.

I just installed the BHR ignition this morning.
Cleaned MAF and ESS. Performed NVRAM reset.

(Also spent probably 2 hours a day detailing the engine bay while I waited for BHR to arriv...I was bored)

So now just need to gut that cat and all should be right in the world.

Get a high-flow cat. The stock piece traps far too much heat in the engine bay.

Re. High-flow cats
 

Sorry to dredge up an old post, but I don't have a high enough post count to start my own...

I'm going to replace my cat. It is throwing the P0420 code and I just replaced the O2 sensor. It had bad coils a while back and I think that did it in.

I thought about the BHR mid-pipe, but I would rather just put a new cat in. I don't race the car and I rarely push it past 6K. I'm pretty pleased with stock performance. I also don't want to spring for a cat that may fail in the next year or two, if I can at all avoid it. I would also like to keep the cost under $500.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a Davesport cat online. I looked through many pages of Google results. I did find one on eBay, though. The Davesport.com URL now belongs to an off-road outfit in Washington state. So...

Do y'all think one of these cats could do the trick? I'm particularly leaning toward the first one. In either case I could have a muffler shop weld it into my stock pipe.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=271563016304
http://http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=400197738051

OEM cat or none, there is exactly one exception but it costs a good amount more than an OEM. They will all burn out with time, and the OEM is the only one that can handle it for a reasonable amount of time. It's really not worth it. The cheapest (and one of the best) options is to gut your current cat, or sell it to a catalyst recycler and use the money to buy a BHR midpipe or OEM cat.

You should push your car past 6k more often.

You are killing your car and your cat by not reving it higher in the power band. Your best bet is to go BHR as a stock cat is even more costly.

A healthy car should not kill the cat. If you're having cat problems, look at your ignition to prevent the new cat from dying.