Random Technology catalytic converters actually have a higher flow capacity than many mufflers. As an example, a 3" diameter Super High Flow converter flows 502 cfm. Most 3" diameter high performance mufflers flow less than 475 cfm at the same test pressure. Random Technology direct fit Super High Flow catalytic converters are now available for most domestic and imported vehicles. Custom catalytic converters with inlets and outlets up to 4" in diameter are available.

http://www.randomtechnology.com

Sports Compact Car
"Project RX-7, in stock form, our Project RX-7 made 95.2hp. With the new exhaust system in place, (including the Random Technology catalytic converter) the car pulled 101.9hp, a 6.7hp gain...the HC limit for 1983 model cars is 150ppm and ours was putting out 1800ppm with the old, dead catalytic converter. With the new exhaust and cat in place, the same test equipment read 7ppm. "

 

I agree that a high flow cat can be a good thing.
One caution, though:
I installed a Random cat on my Nissan Spec V when I did the exhaust ( headers, bigger pipe, Magnaflow).
After 6 months I noticed my exhaust got louder and was rattling.
When we took it in for inspection, we found the cat was rattling.
Took it out and found the 2 "bricks" had become detached, and we bouncing aorund inside the cat.
Random sent me q new one ( charged it to my card, and charged me freight as well) and I am now waiting for my refund on the original one that I sent in about a month ago.

While their performance is good, and the finish looks nice, I am now a bit dubious about their quality.

 

Random tech. is actually a very high quality cat. I had one on my focus and the performance was great!!! I only heard of a few cats blowing out for the year that I was on the focus message boards but heard tons of praise. The only bad thing about random is they are a bit pricey

 

the random tech cat isn't very highly regarded on the maxima board - numerous reports of early failure from the substrate falling apart inside.

I'm not trying to hate on RT, just spreading the general opinion from maxima.org. Carsound cats are generally what people opt for there, or warpspeed's new cats.

 

Just get a straight pipe. :D

 

Canzoomer ... assuming RandomTech didn't flade out like that, would you think that their highflow cat can replace the midpipe requirement on your stage 2's heat requirement?

 

rotaries are notorious for destroying cats due to their high heat...aftermarket cats usually don't last too long with a rotary. with my FD, it only took about 2 years for it to render the hi-flow cat useless. it is probably due to the turbos. hopefully the RX8's NA form will be kinder and gentler to the cat or an aftermarket one.

santino

 

Not likely. The impellers ina turbo help soak up both heat and pressure pulses. N/A exhaust will be hotter than stock turbo exhaust.

 

yeah i fully expect my Catco high-flow cat on my FC to be toast in 2 years :D

just in time for the next emissions test :D

 

It's amazing how much better a cat works when it's only used once every 2 years. =)

 

On my '88 n/a RX-7 when the cat went out I replaced it with a catco unit. It lasted a whole 9 months before the insides crumbled. I then replaced it with a Bonez cat which held up much better. I too now also only use the cat once a year and it holds up very well that way. I'll robably never buy another one ever again.

 

How loud is the NA FC with a straight pipe? I imagine it would be similar to what the RX8 would be like, right?

 

With full mufflers it isn't loud at all. I just don't see how removing the cat on the RX-8 could ever be what I personally would consider loud. That is one big muffler on that car! An aftermarket muffler may get loud though and any straight through muffler almost certainly will be loud. I doubt anything from Racing Beat would be very loud at all.

 

Rotarygod,

Do you have Bonez's contact information?

 

Rotary Performance sells their products.

http://www.rx7.com

 

I have been testing protoype mid pipes for this use for a while now, and have production level prototype installed now for testing.

We expect to have our mid pipes, using the Random high temp/high flow cat available for shipping next week.

 

Here is a pic of the Random cat assembly we are selling. It has the bungs in it for a wideband sensor and a pyrometer probe.
The rest of the midpipe is shown on the next posting.

 

pic2 of the cat.
Note that it uses a spiral wound metal substrate rather than ceramic bricks.
This yields much more surface area, allowing the cat to be very small. It is also much more temperature resistant.

 

Pic3.
Other side, showing the sensor bungs.

 

The whole midpipe assembly. The rear section has bungs for the stock rear O2 sensor, and a rear pyrometer probe, useful for monitoring temperature differences before and after the cat.
We supply the kit with plugs for the 2 pyro and one wideband O2 sensor holes so that when you are notusing test instruments you may close the holes.
Pipe assembly is 2.75" polished stainless steel.
It is more compact than the stock cat, and the sensors are betterplaced so they do not hang down. this gives about an inch more ground clearance. I find that important as the cat and rear O2 sensor are thelowest pices under an RX-8, and are damned expensive to replace if damaged.
The whole midpipe assembly costs much less than the Mazda one, less than half!
We also have this assembly with a resonator muffler to cut down on the noise levels.

 

Here it is installed, with a Greddy SP-2 cat-back system.

 

Here it is from the other end.

 

Here is a shot of the rear section, showing the Greddy SP2 cat-back system.

 

Thanks for the pics Maurice. Do you know offhand how much less the Random cat weighs than the stock cat? It appears tiny!

 

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...threadid=23831