So my cat converter busted up on the inside when i ran over a sleeping bag on the freeway... and two weeks later my CEL came on for a cat converter deficiency, or some nonsense like that. A shop told me it was 600 for one, but I am at a complete loss here... the ones on ebay are going for 50. Are these just REALLY cheap crap or what??

All I want is to pass safety/emissions and get my CEL light to go back off. I can do the instal myself obviously.. but will I pass emissions with the "high flow" ones I am seeing on ebay? And also, If it doesn't pass safety, will my CEL still go off?

If not, how much are OEM ones goin for a good deal?

 

wth $600 ? got damn...

iono about those cats on ebay... they look nice but some people say that ebay stuff is crap ... but my brother bought one of those high flow cats on ebay for his ek and it works fine.

edit: go to a junk yard and get it there

 

time to upgrade....dont get a used cat, its prob all clogged....ebay cats arent bad..

 

Ok so why the huge price difference?

And will I pass safety, and will my CEL light turn off with an ebay one?

Any brands that anyone knows... so im not just shootin in the dark and come up with a bad one.

 

why not get a carsound (magnaflow) one or catco for about $100. or go to a local shop that does performance parts or even off-road parts (a lot of truck places do custom exhaust systems) and get a hi-flow cat. they should be able to get a new cat welded on for not too much more than $150 or so.

A properly installed hi-flow cat should not throw a CEL. But if it does, its only $25 to get a simulator at http://www.02simulator.com.

Nobody buys a converter straight from Honda for $600. You'd just be throwing your money away.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HxClude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Nobody buys a converter straight from Honda for $600. You'd just be throwing your money away.</TD></TR></TABLE>

damn straight...you can just buy a high flow and some cams for 600

 

why not go old school like me and aknock everything outta it???? free mod

 

he doesnt want the cel....a hollow cat wont help that at all..

 

i run a test pipe..i like to smell gas all day and i dont get any CEL's. you can also look at Kteller.com you can buy a whole new exhaust system for less than 500 dollars

 

you wont even be able to tell the differance with a hollow cat, give me a break.

 

yeh it will the point of having the sensor after the cat is to see if the cat is working or not....and if it sees that gases before the car, and gases after te cat are unchanged it will throw a code....on a odbI car, you will not have this problem.

 

hOndafienD 04, Thanks for the info. So just so i have this straight... a high flow cat converter will not throw a CEL?

What about emissions? Will a high flow pass? or does that jsut depend on the state.

Really, I dont care about improved performance, I just want the CEL light off and not tripping on the cat converter all the time, and I want it to be able to pass emissions. Is the high flow ones the cheapest option for that criteria?


Modified by FadedEpic at 12:21 AM 11/26/2004

 

i know a high flow wont throw a cel, and it should pass emissions with it, as long as everything else is good like o2's, good tune up, egr, etc....i've done multiple inspections on vehicles with high flows in nj and they have passed!

 

what are the standard pipe sizes on my 5th gen lude? a converter i was going to buy online said it had a 2.25 inlet and a 2.5 out. would i have to do any welding to custom fit these sizes or would it bolt on to the pipes that are there?

 

Just get a high flow cat for like $100

 

well thats the plan, i just wanna know if i have a night of welding in my future.

 

i recommend buying a carsound, random tech, or magnaflow OBD II compliant high flow cat. and unless you buy one with flanges pre-welded, you'll have to do some welding to get the cat in.

EBAY cats are known to be nothing more than resonated test pipes.

go to a muffler shop, they should have high flow cats and all the necessary tools to get one in.

and just to let you all know, stock cats cost 400+. and it's illegal to use a used cat.

 

ok so do 'resonated test pipes' pass emissions and keep the CEL light off?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HxClude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why not get a carsound (magnaflow) one or catco for about $100. or go to a local shop that does performance parts or even off-road parts (a lot of truck places do custom exhaust systems) and get a hi-flow cat. they should be able to get a new cat welded on for not too much more than $150 or so.

A properly installed hi-flow cat should not throw a CEL. But if it does, its only $25 to get a simulator at http://www.02simulator.com.

Nobody buys a converter straight from Honda for $600. You'd just be throwing your money away.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would also recommend a carsound cat, I paid roughly around $120 with shipping.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FadedEpic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok so do 'resonated test pipes' pass emissions and keep the CEL light off?</TD></TR></TABLE>

nope they prob won't pass emissions. the CEL will prob come on too.

 

not that i dont appreciate your help, but im not really looking for a "they will probably do this" I need to know what they will do. If you dont know please dont say you do.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FadedEpic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not that i dont appreciate your help, but im not really looking for a "they will probably do this" I need to know what they will do. If you dont know please dont say you do. </TD></TR></TABLE>

it's not a question of my knowing or not knowing, but the answer is dependent on the Secondary O2 sensor that is placed in the catalytic converter. Being that these ebay "hi flow cats" are hardly standardized or made to any sort of spec, it's hard to give a definite answer as to whether they'll trigger a CEL or not. Given what i've seen happen with test pipes, if it's one of those fake hi flows from EBAY, the CEL will probably go off. If it's some random higher than usual quality cat that actually has some catalytic element in there it may or may not trigger the CEL.

If you want a definite answer, then i'll tell you that if you get an OBD II compliant random tech, carsound, or magnaflow, & the chances are greatly reduced that the CEL will come on. Even with this it's hard to say 100% if the CEL will stay off since everyone's car is different. But it's the closest thing to a sure thing that you've got when it comes to hi flow cats.

don't get me wrong, it's not like the secondary o2 is impossible to please, but strange things have been known to happen, even when you do things the right way.

 

just put in a 02 sim and call it a day, it will get rid of the check light, and restore you gas mileage

 

Alright that makes tons of sense, thanks bad-monkey.

But hey Prettylude, if i just replace the O2 sim, im not going to pass emissions right? Or highly unlikely anways

 

I recently ordered a Random Tech cat. Hopefully I won't throw a cel, however what's an "02 sim" just in case I do get one and where do I get one of these?

Thanks.