Catalytic converter straight pipe?
 

Hey guys, I'm in somewhat of a rut. The cat on my 2.8 is done, makes a horrible noise and I can feel a massive loss in power. I'm a youngin and can't really afford a new cat. Now putting the law and emission rules aside, can I remove the cats and just put a straight pipe, leaving everything else stock?

If you straight pipe it, the cel will 99.9% surely come on and you will fail the emission test (if you are required to take one). I have heard of people straight piping it, and using spark plug spacers and bring the oxygen sensor out of the exhaust stream and it keeps the CEL off. However, where I live our emission testing facility uses a mirror or opens the hood to confirm there is a converter on the car before running the test. One of the alternatives is to remove the cat, completely gut it out hallow (hollow?) and put it back on with the oxygen sensors spaced put of the stream of exhaust gases. Therefore when looked at, it "has a converter" visually. This is usually a hit or miss though keeping that check engine light off. You can pick up a universal converter from summitracing.com for around 45-50 bucks. Most people would say "no these wont work" but I've used them 4-5 times on different cars, and they all worked. Good luck !

If you don't use a cat will the exhaust smell? Or if your cats done for that matter. I have no CEL

Yes, the car will run rich from the oxygen sensors compensating. At least from my experience and the bad cats I've dealt with

My car smells horribly with this cat. The way emission testing works where is live is that you have to do it every 2 years in order to renew your license plate as well. I've got my emissions done in December and its pretty easy to forge an emission test. I've got a CEL and it doesn't bother me, in fact I've got a sticker on my window with the CEL symbol saying "it's a way of life" (LOL). Pretty much, I just want to know if removing the cats would do any damage to my engine.

Yeah it will if done for a long time. Running rich will cause excess carbon deposits in the valve chamber, valves, and piston heads. Shortening the life of spark plugs, etc. Not to mention the car will not run as efficient, and you'll be paying more for gas.

running without a cat will increase power and you will need to brake more, cats along with crushed pipes hurt performance, you can get a universal fit cat, even a hi flo unit cheaper and install it yourself

No ......... A clogged cat will decrease power, yes. But without proper tuning or oxygen spacers (sparkplug spacers) or spark plugs and correct gaps on them, the car will run too rich, hurting performance. A high flow cat, is the best solution for a bad convertor.

i live in long island, ny.. right outside of queens. i hit a pothole and ripped my passenger side cat off.. i called around, every shop wanted anywhere between 700 and 1000 to do it... so there's this shady chopshop type area in queens that i had heard about from a few people. so i drove in there, and they threw one on in like 20 minutes for 200 bucks. that's probably the route you should go if you can find a place like that near you. it's possible, just gotta think outside the box.

while i was there, i saw an old woman pushing a shopping cart full of turbos down the street. it was amazing.

min no way does running a car without a cat cause it to run rich