to cat or not to cat
 

Hey guys,

Within the next month or two, i'm going to have to replace my catalytic - SHOT! but I'm debating now if i should just go with a cat-less mid-pipe.

Any one out there who has done it have anything to say? advantages? disadvantages?

Emissions will be an issue, but ha i just had them done a month ago so i got some time before i have to worry about a re-test :P

any feedback would be much appreciated.

Well.....looks like you answered the one major question - emissions.

If you have a lot of time before you have to re-test, I would get it. What are the advantages? You'll get more power - 8-10 hp gain. What are the disadvantages? Smell and the fact that your car will not be legal to drive on the street. You would possibly get tickets from police - I know in California you will for sure.

Two more advantages/ disadvantages, depending how you look at them, is that you will now be able to throw flames and your car will be much louder.

yeah i thought about the cops - unless they pull me over for noise, i don't know how they would know. Here in CT its not as bad as it is in CA im sure. I'm thinking it would kind of be dumb to have to redo the cat in two years on top of the cost to do the catless initially.

that being said I am worrying about noise laws. My roommate has a glass pack on his liberty, flow master exhaust, and he's been pulled over, despite being under the decibel limit.

I do like the additional horsepower though...I think i hae some more research to do - anyone have any idea on cost for the catless? Is it a big enough savings for now?

and also - if i do the catless and then need to pass emisisons can i go with a cheap weld in cat down the road?

midpipes can run from 125(OBX non resonated....LOUD) to like 400 dollars...all depends on HOW loud you are willing to stand.....the more resonated the quieter it is.....but if you have to have emissions checked you WILL NOT pass without a cat....and I know a cat for the 8 is a shitton of money...(not sure exactly but I think over 1k bucks...dont' quote me on that though).....

i got my TURBOXS midpipe with 2 resonators for 50 bucks used :)...and that things is quiet at start up, at 4k it kicks in and you can here the rasp, but its sooo sexy, i like it :)

You'll probably have to deal with a check engine light also...

^def a CEL unless you have black tape/ap/ or AWESOME luck......I'd go with the AP midpipe(yes that's the one I want when I stop being cheap and order the thing) for 216 shipped on Ebay...NEW!...

yeah you're right about the cat - its some where around 1k to 1200. :crying: I'd definitely have to get some quieter ones, but then at that price, its probably worth just doing the cat, since i'll eventually have to do it anyway.

also true since with the shot cat i'm getting code thrown cuz of my O2 sensor, which will also need to be replaced :wallbash:

ohwell - its only money right?

De-cat also has the advantage that it won't break down on you. Though i'm not too sure what the reliability numbers are of cats.

Your cat still has the emissions warranty. Go to mazda and they will replace it.

^yes warranty....but if not....rx7store has a hi flow cat(which will pass emissions for I belive 395 bucks whis is like 3 times cheaper than the mazda replacement..

http://www.rx7store.net/category_s/300.htm

oh your lucky day....$345 plus shipping...that's the link to it above...

go get a replacement from Mazda. 80K miles or 8 yrs, whichever comes first.

^yes.....but if not do what I recommended..ALOT cheaper

im pretty sure it won't - its an '04 with close to 85k miles on it I got the car at 83k and i wish the guy who had it before had bothered to fix the cat. trouble is it wasn't showing any problems (no sound or anything) when i checked it out; nasty little surprise, that was.

anyway, went to the dealer- dealer wanted 1700 to fix it.:( only warranty left i believe is the engine warranty up to 100k

i will definitely check out the one 04rx8man said though. thanks guys

04rx8man - you are the best - it looks like i'm gonna get away for alot less then i had anticipated, which means more mods! :P though i suppose i could just go with a weld in for even less but...

what do you think of this:

http://www.rx7store.net/RX_8_Resonat...rb%2016221.htm

stock cat cost like 1600 or 1700.

not worth it IMO. :)

I rather buy 5 high flow cats and change them every 2-3 years ... yes I support cleaner air :)

not meaning to thread jack but i wanna keep the sound as close to stock as possible so what would youll recommend? i dont want to make my sp2 sound quieter but i dont want it much louder either a little louder is fine ..

question???

alot of people on other boards for other cars ( YES, there are other cars out there) are hollowing out their cats to be used as a race pipe after the factory cat craps out. pro's - con's? is the factory pipe restrictive, smaller ID?

There's a DIY here on how to smash out half the catalytic material on the stock cat. That leaves it still functioning, but removes some of the restriction. DIY is pretty interesting because the material is pretty tough. IMHO, removing the cat for the sake of a few HP is irresponsible.

Schiraldi - glad you decided to stick with a cat. You live in Connecticut, whose civil servants are not above browsing fora like this to catch people who publicly confess to crimes.

The dealer offering up only an OEM replacement brings back a memory of when the cat in my daughter's Honda went. The dealer told me what the OEM cat would have cost, then said that was ridiculous and recommended an aftermarket one for less than half the price.

Ken

as lame as it sounds, part of the reason i was hesitant to go cat-less (as a friend suggested) was the whole pollution issue - I used to be some what of an environmentalist; though i have toned down a tad stupid things that are easy to avoid (like plastic bags) still bug me a bit.

plus, i don't want to have to replace it again in a couple years for emissions. I'm a lot happier now that I don't have to spend 1700 at the damn thieving dealer. I rarely let them do anything on any car for that reason.

thanks for your help guys.

RODJONATHAN- the best for you would be a high flow...will be louder but not quite as loud as catless