Cheap Cats / Catalytic Converters for NC inspection
 

Hey guys, my cat finally died on me but I am overdue for an inspection. In my county in NC, it is a plug and play emissions inspection. So long as the Readiness is there, the car will pass (one may fail on 2004 models but Evap never completes before Catalyst). I keep getting a P0420. I replaced the up and downstream 02 sensors as part of maintenance last year but the cat has 140K on it now so I am pretty sure she is tired. I just bought a midpipe to replace the cat pipe (FLAMES YO!) but I need to pass inspection before I swap it in. I have found some super cheap Ebay cats for around $150. I doubt they would last very long but I only need about 60 - 100 miles or so to click by so the catalyst check completes. Sometimes less.

Has anyone else tried them? Even the Magnaflow model isn't a bad deal but I know they don't last so well either. The main thing is to get the car to pass then slip the catless pipe in and I am good for another year.

I have considered the RP supercat but have heard mixed things about it. And an OEM cat is a minimum $1,000 and it climbs from there. The car is barely worth $4,000 now. I searched around for cat info but couldn't find anything where people had used cheap cats as temporary passing parts. Anyone have any thoughts?

Ironic, if I lived in the next county, it would only need basic safety inspection. -__-

Also, an example.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-2005-20...880617&vxp=mtr

I think I am going to take the plunge here, peeps. If it doesn't work then I am only out $150 and I can always gut it and give it to somebody local as a mid pipe if they want a bit more noise. I will be sure to post the results up.

I bought a Walker direct fit from Amazon for $185 & did the same thing.
Put it on about a week in advance, passed inspection, & put my midpipe back on, no problem.