boizart1

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.

expo1

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.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

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.

NgoRX8

iTrader: (1)

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

Juice

iTrader: (1)

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.

Razz1

Cat does not cause the flood

fahrfegneugen

Wow, I have hope for my cat yet

laythor

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"

Socket7

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.

PBlue

iTrader: (1)

just get a high flow cat. gg.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

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.

Telexen

+1

QFT

mysql

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).

Minotavr

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

Telexen

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.

laythor

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

Minotavr

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...

DOMINION

Flames are good 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.

Socket7

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

Big Money Pit

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.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

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

Big Money Pit

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

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

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?

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

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

Big Money Pit

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.