Is it the cost?

That's the only thing I can think of. It seems that were the price within reason people would buy them.

I don't see how they'd be any more difficult to get ahold of than the JDM header, and emissions legality seems moot considering that the popular Carsound cats are not technically legal either.

Any thoughts on this?

 

I think there not carb legal to enter the states.... correct me if I am wrong.

 

An OEM Type R cat (USDM) retails for around $800 brand new. I can't see the JDM cat being any more reasonable in price.

 

I'm guessing cost. List cost on a US OEM cat is over $800.00. Wouldn't a JDM cat be similarly priced? Even at http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.net/ the cost is over $600.00, you can buy 3 Carsound cats for less.

 

True.

However, it may be that the US-spec cats cost more because in order to be street legal here the manufacturers must warrantee all emissions equipment for 100,000 miles. Or perhaps not.

I'd buy one if it were, say, $400 or so. Still, it would be interesting to hear from some of the people who run shops that import parts to get the real scoop instead of speculating. Just how much do those things cost?

 

Those Metalit cats (same technology as the Renault cat used by Hytech) only run about $400-450 in Japan

 

Yeah, those look nice.

It would be nice if I could get my hands on one of those, or just the Renault/Hytech cat without the rest of the system, for a decent price.

 

I'm running a JDM ITR cat

 

Well... well... aren't you special.

 

Me too

and it was free from a friend who had imported a damaged 99 JDM ITR.

It is definately larger bore and way shorter. As to the flow I've heard it's only marginally better than stock. I wanted one as I have JDM 4-1 header and a JDM aftermarket exhaust.


[Modified by NZITR, 11:25 AM 12/14/2002]


[Modified by NZITR, 11:26 AM 12/14/2002]

 

..cuz the JDM header is bigger and longer. Ooooooo did I just say bigger and longer. Heh Heh.

 

I realise that the JDM cat isn't intended to be a high-flow unit, but stock cats aren't as restrictive as they're sometimes made out to be.

 

I'm interested in this topic also, as I also was looking for a jdm itr cat.

 

i have it.

 

My roommate's cat is almost JDM. She's Siamese.

 

no.. that's a *****! wait that wasn't funny

 

bECAUSE 9IT'S WAY TOO SHORT. tHE jdm BPIPE IS LONGER

[E]w00t CAPS lock

 

Maybe the USDM cats aren't quite as restrictive as they have been made out 2 be. But, after installing an Apex N1 cat-back I then installed a DC Sports 4-1 JDM header & a carsound cat. WOW!!!!!! Quite a noticable change from a USDM cat & a CD Sports 4-1 header with a USDM collector.

 

First of all, that is an invalid comparison because more than just the converter was changed.

Second, how was the difference measured? On a dynamometer or by the ever popular "it feels faster" method?

As to the B-pipe length issue, yes, that could be a problem for some. However, if you intend to remove the bottleneck from the B-pipe it becomes less bothersome since you could easily alter the length of the B-pipe to compensate.

 

yep, the JDM cat is shorter than it's "US counterpart"

The difference? It's probably more than likely not even close to noticeable. Mine flows good and I like it, but I've never used a US ITR cat..

 

I'm not really looking for an improvement in flow characteristics.

I'm looking for a high quality converter that fits a 2.5" header. Chances are there is a more practical choice than the stock JDM unit, but I am still curious as to why they are not readily available here.

People have brought up some very good points to consider here, and that is why I started this thread.