hi all once again i have another weird yet good question many people probably think about when building a motor. this time it is about exhaust and emissions. the particular part of emissions i am inquiring about is the catalytic converter. i have came across one and would like to know if this is worth the effort to purchase. as you know(and if you dont) we have emissions testing here in texas and they are very strict on the requirements as well.


what do you think about this particular converter i came across? will it hold back the ammount of hp or the flow of air from the turbo? heres the picture(s), and the link



link:http://performance-curve.com/410300-...converter.aspx

the only real down side to this particular unit is there is no 02 bung for the sensor if i wanted to install one.

 

high flow cats barely flow more than a regular one, if you HAVE to run one in your state then be sure to spend money and get a metalic unit not a cheapo unit cause it will just fall apart and clog, also do not run any oil with zinc addatives as that will clog the cat and no race fuel (leaded fuels) will work either

i personally use the exact one you show above on my car to pass emissions then take it right back off my car

 

thinking i should just weld the cover on and add a fake o2 sensor and call it a day

 

I know Reese Tuning used a 100 cell cat for their time attack car and made over 700whp with it...

 

really? how consistently was the car ran after each time attack session?

 

Usually the cats work for the first year, and eventually, it loses its ability to do its job anyway. This happens especially quick on a turbo car, when a few hard pulls will literally burn off all the exotic metal/coating and renders the cat completely useless afterwards because of how rich our engines run under boost.

Often times, anything on a Honda with big overlap, cams, high redlines, etc... puts huge stress on the cat. A few big backfires is enough to blow the cat apart. In fact, bigger and lower revving motors with stock'ish cams can get away with a cat blocking the exhaust stream versus a high revving NA-like Honda motor on boost. Evo's for example, or factory turbo cars can still pump out decent power with a cat, but at the same time, they aren't making power up to 9000+ RPM either.

There is almost no future in trying to run a cat in a decently powerful turbo Honda. Rather build a V-banded section in your exhaust so that you can swap it back and forth during emissions testing, long road trips or regular daily driving (if you don't race it).

 

this is ALMOST EXACTLY what i am going to do with the car! i am running stock gsr cams and this will be a mess around car. but mainly for dd'ing. i am building this car to be relied upon. not beat on, even though its a pretty big setup. this will be a car for fun/work commute/college commute, so even though i know what its capabilities are, i still will not push it to that limit every day.

i am, however, ok with swapping cats out every year or so if thats what is needed, thats like what, a hundred bucks a year for maint. given the fact the exhaust dont crack? im fine with that.

 

Honestly just do like Tony said about the vband to swap it back and fourth for you emissions. I know central houston requires emissions and safety inspection but more rural areas dont, check with your local laws and if your not required to do emissions testing then just leave the cat off. I personally cant wait to move to texas in three weeks so i never have to bother with emissions again down in Corpus

 

oh god you will not be a fan of the weather here lol. i used to be a state inspector here and i still have my license but i know that who ever else will be inspecting my car might not be as nice as i am.

 

LOL, I love texas. Houston is really sticky humid, corpus is too but being in port A there is always a ncie breeze and the weather is tolerable to me

 

true, i really love the san antonio area as well as the kirville area off of i-10. very hilly area, reminds me of cali(la)

 

Yeah San Antonio is nice, Austin is real nice, Dalls is nice but a bit crowded like Ne England. My mothe used to live in Lampasas which is up near Austin and Killeen. I've been all over Texas my whole life during the summers gorwing up. Can't wait to be a resident

 

I have a 3" high flow cat that I swap in for NYS inspections every year and I can confirm it kills my spool. Its a big drop in performance.