going catless is good for car?
 

I'm no car mechanic but from what I've read in this forum, carbon build up in the catalytic converter is what floods engines, correct?? so does this mean that gutting the catalytic will help my car last longer? I am by the way out of warranty, so if I'm correct this is something I'm looking to do ASAP...like my next day off.

My catalytic converter has 123,000 miles on it and I have never flooded. So I would say going catless has no impact on this. If your state doesn't have any emission testing and you can stand the noise & stink go for it, it ads a few extra HP.

Im catless, I like it but my passengers always complain with my windows down. Im so used to it that it doesnt affect me whatsoever. Flames are sweet too.

dont think it'd make your car last longer. that depends of if you're on top of your maintenence. catless is not good for your heatlh though. lol

From what I know, flooding is caused by turning the car off when the engine isn't warm. The extra fuel that is injected during the warm up process doesn't burn off. This extra fuel has no where to go and it deteriorates the oil film on the rotor housings which you need to get full compression causing you to not be abe to start the car.

On the other hand, flooding your car can cause the catalytic converter to clog up once you get the car started because of all the excess fuel in the housings that gets dumped into the exhaust. A clogged cat can lower the cars performace and even cause the car to stall which COULD lead to flooding if the engine isn't warm.

So in short, catless midpipes have little to do with actually PREVENTING flooding. They do help reduce the risk of other problems caused by starting a flooded car and they give you a few horsepower too. The only way to PREVENT flooding is to make sure the car is warm enough to be shut down.

Cat does not cause the flood

Wow, I have hope for my cat yet :)

My mazport midpipe should be here shortly. I went catless after getting an AP since I'll be able to lean it out to lower the "stink factor"

Carbon build up usually refers to carbon that builds up inside the rotor housing and on the rotors themselves.

When a cat dies, It's usually because the catalyst itself melts, from high exhaust temperatures. Since the catalyst is made up of a fine grid of material, when it melts air cant flow through it and the engine can no longer breath properly. If your car runs rich, unburnt fuel can cause the cat to melt and clog. Flooding your engine is also a good way to burn a bunch of gas inside your cat and melt it.

It's possible to pick up a bit of horsepower by removing your cat, but it's not going to be a lot. No dramatic gains there, and there are some downsides.

Gutting your cat is illegal. It's illegal because running an engine without one releases a lot of toxins into the air, that cause smog and acid rain. These toxins also smell awful, and thats going to tip off for any cop who pulls you over for a broken tail light, that he might be able to give you a much more expensive ticket for running without a cat, and they might even be able to impound your car.

If your cat is not clogged in the first place, removing it wont give you dramatic power gains. Leave it alone. If you MUST remove the thing, get a test pipe, don't gut the cat. Those things are expensive because they're full of precious metals. Gutting it is like throwing all your girlfriends/wifes jewelry into a garbage disposal. Sell it, or keep it for when you get pulled over and need to put it back on.

just get a high flow cat. gg.

I'm usually all for any mod's someone wants to do. A man's car is his castle as it were. But going without a catalytic converter is totally irresponsible to the environment.

As alternatively suggested, get a high-flow cat instead.

+1

QFT

NASCAR burns about 200,000 pounds of fuel per year. What I do with my car matters pretty much zero, even if you subscribe to the idea of co2 causing global warming (never mind that co2 trails temperature).

Catless=CEL on ?
 

How about the CEL ? If you remove the cat it will stay on ?

We all know the world would be a better place without NASCAR though.

This statement is false. I don't need to go into why. There are enough drones spouting lies about what's "really" causing the effects we're attributing to global warming on this forum. Take a basic science course that covers the earth's atmosphere and you will understand why.

most people who go catless get a cel, unless you have a MM AP which will mask it :)

Hm, then I should consider a high flow cat, only it's kinda difficult to choose one, as in many cases the OEM seems to do better than aftermarket...

Flames are good :lol2: but yea you can tell the car runs less hot and has way more power also is not as sluggish or as hesitate when in the low RPM rage.

Theres also that guy who welded in a spark plug spacer into the bung, drilled it out a bit and had it work perfectly...

i'm catless, but i'm really not going to feel too guilty about it since the car sees about 50-75 miles a week.

the rest of the time i drive my accord.

We all have the ability to justify most anything to ourselves, but wrong is still wrong. Just sayin'.

justifying and not really giving a shit are two different things. just sayin'.

True, although I believe they run E85, so at least they're trying.

What we do with our personal cars also matters little compared with some emerging nations that have no emission safeguards. But we have to do what we can, don't we?

In your cited case they would seem to be the same thing. And so we move on ....

you are clearly doing what you have to do by choosing to drive a car that gets 18mpg on a good day.

i don't really think anyone who drives an RX-8 or any rotary can get up on a high horse about environmental issues, what with it being one of the most terrible sports cars for the environment aside from V8's.

Yep, no argument there. If I were really a tree hugger I would drive a hybrid and car pool. But purposely removing a cat converter is over the line as far as I'm concerned. jmho

Who says its wrong? Cus its the LAW? When was the last time you did the speed limit or looked over your sholder before changing lanes?

Like I said, we all justify things. I'm an excellent driver so I should be able to go over the speed limit. ;) (I do look over my shoulder though).

Not meaning to come across as holier than thou. I just like to breath clean air. We all have our hot buttons.

<yawn> I like my flames.

I say it's wrong because I want my children to be able to SEE a glacier, not just read about them in books. :squint:

Cats are '70s technology - they have ZERO to do with carbon use or global warming.

Every gram of carbon that enters a cat exits at the other end, and the mixture has to be richer to even run the cat, ergo they make the situation worse, not better.

S

StealthTL is correct about a cat not helping to reduce CO2 emissions. It actually promotes same as it breaks down unburnt hydrocarbons.

The main purpose of a cat is to lessen the toxicity of exhaust gases and thereby promote to some degree cleaner air. Of course with so many more cars on the highway these days it's not as much of an aid as when introduced in the mid-70's. But again, they're better than nothing until we finally stick a fork into internal fossil fuel combustion.

Theres more to climate change then CO2. Oxides of nitrogen is one of those things. A giant blanket of smog covering the earth isn't going to be helping matters any. Acid rain will also kill off plant life that would otherwise sequester carbon, if you want to start being a pedant.

Cats are good for the planet, they're good for your children's future. Don't gut them. (they're also warm and fuzzy and very independent)

I would go with a highflow cat and without a cat you will get a CEL unless you mask it with the MM AP

yea, but cats melt and cost a lot of money outside of warranty. So my brand new cat I recieved is sitting in my garage while I rock a midpipe. Besides, I hardly drive my 8 anymore anyways, so I need to make up for all the times I dont drive it that way the polution evens out :lol2: jk jk.

I see valid arguements here, I guess I'm just stubborn and enjoy being loud, throwing flames, and having a couple extra hp for under $150 bucks. That's just me though.

Cats aren't good for the planet. We should have dogs only (and pie over cake). Sorry, couldn't resist. ;)

:iwstupid: This kinda reminds me of smoking with a filter or with out lol you still going to die

:lol:
And dont you guys know that Cows make more pollution than a Hummer.

Sheesh........running without a cat is polluting, no matter how you 'splain it away or justify it.

Just own up to it, say you don't give a damn if you dump a few toxins in the air, just do it without all the cheezy support excuses you use to make yourself feel okay about it.

lol, nothing cheesy about saying I enjoy being louder, throwing flames, and having a couple extra horsepower, that's a legit reason.

Those are all support excuses. Maybe not as cheesey as Nascar references or comparisons to V8's etc., but loudness, HP, Flames........those are all support excuses. Justification to continue polluting thru an illegal means.

I'm not trying to be preachy.....if you want to go cat-less, fine.

Seems like many are saying "Wow, I like the effects!" instead of recognizing that the cause is harmful to begin with.

I don't live in San Francisco or I would probably not be catless, I'd want to keep the fog breathable. (and eat granola and hug trees, but that's a different rant.)

I live in the middle of nowhere, and my RX-8 - 'catfree' or otherwise, doesn't matter one iota.

I'm forty miles from the nearest traffic light.......

....and being cat free here is NOT illegal.


S

Hippies make me laugh.

I know and can see why they're mad. But they focus on a single item and make it the biggest issue on earth when it's usually one of the least of our concerns when it comes to the grand scheme of things.

Cats are warrantied under the emissions warranty. For my 1995 truck that was 80,000 miles. The 8 has the same. Look for Federal Emissions Warranty, under major components.

They have to replace your cat if it fails emissions and the reason is the cat. Generally done without complaint.

But I agree, your car is more efficient without a cat. Just one of many compromises in your vehicle.

Hippies make me laugh, too.

So I guess that you subscribe to the notion that since some countries send out trillions of lb's of pollutants every year, and since some industries send out billions of tons of pollutants every year, and since some companies and cities send out millions of pounds of pollutants each year, and since such and such send out 1,000's of tons each year.......what harm is there in the grand scheme of things if one person adds a small share?

Well, while it is small in the grand scheme of things, again, it doesn't make it right, but it is a good way to justify it.

Hell....if I was to investigate Texas law and found I could do it and it might improve performance or MPG, I might consider it, so I'm no tree hugger, I just have an issue with the route used to justify and excuse it.

You keep talking about us using 'support excuses'. But you're making up 'support excuses' about why to leave a cat on :eyetwitch . Opinions are opinions and if you're going to call everyones reasoning 'excuses' well then this debate is pretty much pointless. You shouldnt approach an issue with the 'I'm right no matter what' mentality. My .02.

I laugh at anyone who thinks the climate shouldn't change, or ignores that the sun is what generates our heat. Neither is static.

A "ton" of something sounds like a lot, but in the vast scale of the planet, it really doesn't mean squat. I know the reaction is that I don't care, or that I'm an asshole, but that's how it is, and I'm OK if your opinion clashes with mine.

I also know the argument of "If everyone else is doing it, my little car won't matter" I full well comprehend that things could change if everyone's attitudes changed. But look at our population. We can't even get 50% of us to vote for our own leaders. I don't worry about it because my car is irrelevant. I also don't subscribe to the Al Gore global warming school of thought. He's full of crap.

And on top of that, I enjoy being loud, throwing flames, and having a few extra horsepower. :eyetwitch

But our reasons are all a bunch of mindless excuses and are irrelevant. :jerkit:

the stock cat is hard pressed to make it on a normal car. With mine running up in the 16 AFR range at cruise, it would not last very long. My choice is between lower fuel economy and using up more fossil fuels or making more power and using up less gas.

Hardly an irrelevant choice.

I agree with you on the latter mysql. I appreciate the line "Mother Nature is busy doing her thing and occasionally we humans get in the way." Global warming (or cooling) has much more to do with periodic cycles than our impact.

I sure wish we could more quickly transition to a motive technology that would rapidly clean our air. Then again, China's current manufacturing expansion, fueled by a new coal fired electric plant coming online almost weekly, pretty much negates any action we can take. That manufacturing is in large part to satiate our consumerism. It's a complex issue.

What "support excuse" am I making up?
Is not Leaving Cat On > Taking Cat Off.......when it comes to pollution and toxins?


I agree.

I don't know if you were actually making this generalization or not, but if someone has issues with going cat-less, that doesn't mean they are an Al Gore loving Global Warming zealot.