Is it safe to remove your catalytic converter, i have read that it makes your engine a bit more peppy because of more free flowing exhaust. Are there any disadvantages to this?

 

say goodbye to passing an emissions test. also your clothes tend to stink and eyes water when at an intersection with no crosswind

where are you at in WV? i'm in h-burg right at the WV/VA line almost.

 

im in beckley, my car already has an exhaust leak. so im kinda used to it lol. Is it better to get a high flow cat converter? The guy i went to last time didnt even check my emissions. hehe

 

just gut the cats,i haven'thad any problems with it smelling

 

how hard is it to gut the cat? can i just take the cat off myself and do it? im kinda low on cash...

 

20 year old car gives u no emission checks in va

 

Take it out and bust all that **** in the center with a piece of heavy pipe(a broom stick also works just takes longer and will **** the ol lady off). Don't forget to get the screen out as well, its inside the converter also(sometimes). Or you can get a piece of strait pipe and have a shop weld it in. It shouldn't cost over $20. Then it won't have a bubbly sound, and you wanna try to keep the pipe all the same size anyways(no fat spots from empty cat). Good luck, you should fell a difference. My old 76 mercury monarch w a 351w had one on it. When I removed the cat it made a huge difference. That thing moves like a scalded dog now.

 

Cool. I used to live in Luray! When I lived in VA I had a 89 Nissan 4X4 pickup. I never had to pass emissions. It has been a while though. And for some reason, I doubt that you have Emissions in WVA So cut that joker out of there! Have fun.

 

there is no emissions (sniffer test) in va, only a "complete and leak-free exhaust system". although some of the bigger cities require it (nova, richmond, roanoake)

 

cool. luray is just a stones throw away. come back to the valley, we are in need of more first gens. i can count how many i see in a summer on one hand.

 

sweet im gutttin it!

 

Also is there ANY performance gain from this?

 

i was having the same problem with this and i am very interested in what others have to say. still, it seems no one has really answered what i feel to be a more important question.....will the removal of the cat converters cause a fuel'air ration problem, lower gas efficiency, or any other o2 sensor problems. I am so close to cutting those damn things out and putting in some flex pipe, I just need to make sure that I won't riun anything else in the process.

 

You will feel a slight performance gain from it, as it does let the engine breath easier.


Thiseas, the removal of the cats won't cause any ratio problems. I looked into your profile, so it says you have an 83. The 83's don't have an O2 sensor, so no problems with that. Gas effeciency will not change, or will actually increase slightly. However, I have read that flexpipe may not be the best thing to use to mend the gap.

 

Flex pipe can restrict the exhaust flow almost as bad as a cat. Straight pipe it. No downside to doing that, at least performance wise.

 

will it make the car louder?

 

yes.

 

Yeah, thats what I heard. I didn't state it because I wasn't 100% sure on it.

 

dang my car is already loud i dont want to be annoyingly loud....

 

Replace the cats with a pre-silencer, they're fairly cheap.


Though, best thing would be to do the entire system one time... headers, presilencer, and muffler.

 

will the smog tech know that the cat has been gutted? I live in CA and it's real strict here for smog my 85 is already a known gross polluter. and 2 years ago it barely passed smog . so I'm afraifd to take it down casuse now it idels ough and almost dies until 30 seconds go by then it straightens it's self out and idels normal
Jr in CA

 

Being in CA to my understanding, its not a visual inspection, so you would never pass the test without properly functioning cats.

 

I meant Calif. how much are cats? rx7 has 3
JR in CAL.

 

Will i have any issues taking off my cat? (1985 12a Rx7 GSL) like oxygen sensor?

 

Yea, I meant california too, dont know how much they go for. A new one would replace all three.

No worries, you don't have an O2 sensor.