cat or no-cat

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

A

aphex301

Member
ok, here goes... ive been confused for a long time about how much HP cats steal...my mechanic says i can get about 20% more HP with no cat on my 1997 Civic EX(or any NA 4cylinder,). The mechanic has a friend with a WRX with no cat(mechanic also said the faster the car, the less of a difference in HP gains when cat is taken out)... and he said that the person could most definitely tell the gain in power(about 20 more HP)....but my confusion lies in what other people write in civic forums. people say its a waste of time because its only a small gain in HP (3-5) and when emissions come, its a bitch (ya know)...heres my Q.


HOW MUCH OF A HP GAIN DOES A (stock) CIVIC GET WHEN THE CAT IS TAKEN OFF and DOES GUTTING THE CAT DO THE SAME AS JUST PUTTING IN A STRIAGHT PIPE ?
(the only mods done to my car is an intake and 2.25 inch catback with a magaflow muffler)

and with the o2 sensor simulators...do they still keep all the shit working in your car! im thinking that the rear 02 simulator(OBD 2 is GAY) only checks if the catylst is fuctioning properly..and that the front 02 sensor is the one that checks on rich or lean exhausts, correct backpressure, and output voltage...and now my second Q..

do the 02 sensor sims keep everything cool in the car, or does it just always tell the computer that everything is good when something might be going bad?


i hope i didnt confuse ne one with my questions, i was never good at grammar.

---ill get a good signature later.
 
I would not bother with taking it off especially since you are obdII and have the 2nd O2 sensor to deal with.
I have a 92 and for reasons other than trying to gain HP I don't have a cat on my car and there was honestly do detectable power increase. the car sounds a little different and for the most part people associate fast cars with being loud so if you did feel any increase in power it would probably be psychological.

I was just talking about the difference between removing the cat on a civic and on a 5.0 mustang. IMO it would be more helpful on the stang because it flows alot more air than a 4cyl, this goes for the wrx as well because it's a turbo and you can gain alot more by changing the exhaust on a turbo than on a NA

:in short:

it's not worth it, plus it's not cheap to have a muffler shop make you a straight pipe to replace the cat
 
You might get a tenth of what your mechanic is telling you by removing your cat...not 20 horsepower, but 2. That's a load of shit.

And a higher-horsepower car will benefit more from removing a cat, or cats as it is on the newer cars. WRX's have three catalytic converters.

I think you may wanna think about a new mechanic....yours sounds like a 3rd-grader.
 
dohcvtec_accord Posted on Aug 29 2003, 08:41 AM

I think you may wanna think about a new mechanic....yours sounds like a 3rd-grader.
Click to expand...


:withstupid:

Your mechanic= Fuctard Ricer
 
Get a high flow unit like a Carsound or something.... it's not too expensive, and it saves all of us some breathing problems.
 
:werd:
and it keeps you legal

(regardless of if your area does emissions testing it is still illegal to run without a cat... and the fines are pretty fucking huge)
 
Exactly. I just had my exhaust redone... replaced the clogged up Random Tech with a larger Carsound cat- and I like it a lot better than my straight pipe.
 
just doesn't make any sense to go to all the extra trouble of getting a new piece for your car and then having to worry about the sensors not working and having the added noise below your feet just for 1 hp..... IMO

I'm getting a new exhaust in a week or so and I'll be putting a cat back on my car
 
its illegal
its a $2500 fine

now lets talk about a dollar per HP ratio on that shit
 
yes your mechanic is pretty dumb, but most are anyways. I say get the carsound cat and don't expect turbo tq power and also while your at it find a new mechanic.



Milan
 
Originally posted by dohcvtec_accord@Aug 29 2003, 01:41 PM
I think you may wanna think about a new mechanic....yours sounds like a 3rd-grader
Click to expand...

my mechanic does know his stuff...hes just not one into performance mods and stuff like that...he doesnt know to much about import racing ...

...i wouldnt call him a moron...but i wouldnt call him a performance guru either.


...and with the no cat fines...im pretty sure if your caught by a cop DRIVING a car with no cat you will only get a fix it ticket...the big fines come in if your caught TAKING THE CAT OUT yourself.... theres huge fines for dumping crude oil in the street sewers, but what are the chances getting caught. what are the chances that a cop will actually look underneath a car to see if you have a cat or not!

i live in the city of chicago and the cops are pretty lazy.

thanks for the imput guys...
 
Originally posted by E_SolSi@Aug 29 2003, 02:54 PM
its illegal
its a $2500 fine

now lets talk about a dollar per HP ratio on that shit
Click to expand...

$2500? what? you must live in california? - sucks for you! do cops pull you over and actually look under your car if its running rich or something? my cars dusting bad (gutted cat, bad o2 sensor) and all a cop can do is do a visual inspection to see if a cat is there or not. ive never heard of that happenning to any of my friends with gutted cats though. i had a friend get a $125 ticket for no muffler but that is the worst ive heard emissions wise...
 
fuck no i dont live in CA

most states have anti-tampering laws applying to catalytic converters ..... pretty much all that i have found have a maximum fine for individuals of $2500 some were $5000... buisnesses were $25000+

so yes its not an automatic $2500 but if they want to they can hit you with it
 
theb17guy= soon to be banned for being retarded

its a federal law that says you cannot tamper with or remove a catalytic converter from a car with a functioning one. so that applys to every state, even me and i live in wyoming.

besides i'd rather breathe than get a 1hp increase.
 
Maryland can fine you up to $5000


if you have a stock engine don't even think about removing it
if you have a fully built turbo motor or a fully built N/A motor then maybe you can start to think about it since you will see some gains then but other wise its just a waste of time and money

Jeff
 
Originally posted by saturn_boy96@Aug 29 2003, 05:02 PM
theb17guy= soon to be banned for being retarded

its a federal law that says you cannot tamper with or remove a catalytic converter from a car with a functioning one. so that applys to every state, even me and i live in wyoming.

besides i'd rather breathe than get a 1hp increase.
Click to expand...

banned by you? :D

sorry if i dont everything. emissions testing doesnt go on everywhere, you know
 
yeah thats true but there is also something called social responsibility.



Milan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top