I just bought a '91 CRX Si and my cat isn't working properly...... I would like to replace it with a test pipe.... can anyone tell me where can I get one?
thanks

 

http://www.testpipe.com or take an electric jack hammer and hammer out the insides of the cat.. i just did that an hour ago. it worked great.

 

what do test pipes do?

 

Thanks for the info....... I would like to know what size test pipe should I get????
My engine is completely stock and I have no plans to do a swap in the near future nor a turbo....... but of course I would like to know what size (2, 2.25 or 2.50) will give me more horsepower......

Thanks

 

Please don't gut your cat or buy a test pipe. My cat was gutted before I bought my car. It sucks, it sounds horrible and the smell is aweful. Even if you don't mind the smell other people do and so does the environment. You're only gaining a couple of hp so I say it's not worth it.

 

the environment likes that i get 30mpg.. the government should thank me. test pipe or not

 

I got the 2.25" from testpipe.com, works fine, does stink though (probably doesn't help that I'm running rich from the MPFI swap and burning oil at high rpm's)

 

I'll stop using a test pipe when SUV's are outlawed and all cars are electric and humans don't refine oil or coal to produce electricity and power.

Basically what I'm saying is the way we "live" the american lifestyle that we so much enjoy we destroy the planet FAR more than our little test pipe ever will.

I've seen crx's and other honda's pass emissions (barely) with a testpipe!

Edit: Mine makes no smell and with my greddy exhaust it sounds very good and still very quiet. http://www.testpipes.com is where I got mine.. they'll even do a resonated one so that it decreases the sound.

If you live in cali or a state that allows cops to do sniffer tests or mirrors beneath the car than I highly recommend against it!


[Modified by rice_classic, 12:56 AM 10/9/2002]

 

In all honesty, by putting a catalyst on your exhaust all you are doing is changing the hazardous chemicals coming out of your engine into other hazardous chemicals, the biggest reason why we use cats is to keep smog down. that is why cali has the highest emmisions standards, if you have ever been to LA then you will know what i am talking about, the smog ring going around the city is crazy you can see it from miles away.
the ultimate goal is to get our emmisions to be hydrogen and oxygen only,and when that time comes that our catalysts do such, then i will put one back on my car.
I agree with the SUV comment, those things put out way more emmissions than my little 1.6 litre, damn brickwalls, not to mention they are just instant death if a pedestrian is struck by one.

 

have you seen the junk that comes out of tractor trailers/big rigs pipes???

 

Take a piece of same diamter pipe and two flanges to a muffler shop and have them weld the flanges onto the pipe.

Take cat off and replace.

 

We made mine in my friend's garage...

the braided thing is a flexpipe, to same my Downpipe from stresses of launching and engine bucking. You won;t need one with a full header.

 

I made mine for a few bucks at AutoZone....

If you go to autozone, you can buy premade flanges for exhausts. I haven't found them anywhere else, but others may sell them. PepBoys and Advance didn't have them here in Central Ohio. I used one 2 bolt flare on the header side, one straight piece in the middle, and a 2 bolt non-flare on the B-pipe end, only I cut the 2 bolt flange off of that end, and slipped a 3 bolt flange over it. If you see the pieces it will make a lot more sense as to how and why I did it that way.

I wouldn't recommend using one on a non-turbo'd car. I've found on a few different cars that it only increased the sound and lost low end power. I also STRONGLY recommend not punching a stock cat out. If you feel any power gain from that, its either in your head or because your old cat was severely clogged. It isn't good to have a pipe that is 1.5" + larger than the rest of the exhaust right after the header (when the exhaust is still really hot and expanding) then to neck it back down in to your exhaust. I honestly don't know enough about turbulance and expansion, but I can tell you that it's never performed well in my opinion.

As for the best size, make it the same as your exhaust pipe for the best results.

 

thank you for your advice...... I just called the testpipe.com people and they told me that they have dino tested it and it gives a 5-15 hp increase, then again they want to sell their product...... I would like to have some kind of neutral info on if its true or not...... remember my car is completely stock.....(the cold air is in its way)

THanks

 

you can make one as long as you can get hold of a welding machine

 

yes a test pipe does give you added hp but it makes the car run rich and you might burn some oil.