catalytic converter delete?

texasfan010 wrote:

if i was going to remove my catalytic convertor how would i go about doing so and what are the pros and cons for doing so? thanks for you help

your car prolly aint legal with it off.................. benefits include lower KR possibly, louder exhaust note, more interior drone

i was told you can take it off yourself

texasfan010 wrote:

i was told you can take it off yourself

yess you CAN...... haha a SHOP will NOTTTTTT do it......... but you CAN take it off yourself BUT its still illegal

if i did decide to take it off what would i put in its place? i prolly wont do it anyway but im trying to learn

texasfan010 wrote:

if i did decide to take it off what would i put in its place? i prolly wont do it anyway but im trying to learn

exhaust pipe........ test pipe .............. or somethin

taking out the cat should not be viewed as a KR reducing mod. it will be illegal to drive it on the road, not saying anyone will care, but do it at your own risk.

on the 95 and 96's the cat is not bolted in. i dont know how it is set up on 97+, but i think it bolts up to the downpipe and is attached to the resonator. in which case you will need to blow torch/plasma it off. you will then need a piece of straight pipe with both ends flared so it can be welded to the existing pipes.
i dont notice any more drone with both 3" DP and cat del. nor is the exhaust that much louder. it does however pop when you rev it up and let off the gas. i cant remember if it did this before taking out the cat or not, but i think it is just the plates in the resonator/muffler rattling.

You won't notice any drone deleting your cat converter.

what are the consequences for removing your catalytic convertor?

texasfan010 wrote:

what are the consequences for removing your catalytic convertor?

car stinks more

the exhaust fumes just seem more "potent". the filter is gone so its kinda expected.

would there be any reliablitity issues after i remove the catalytic convertor, gut the airbox with a new K&N filter, and move to a 3.6" intense modular supercharger pulley. Are these good mods to recieve a decent amount of HP gain and enhance throttle response which i am seeking, keep in mind i have a completely stock 1996 Supercharged rivi, does this seem like a good plan and are there any drawbacks or issues?

texasfan010 wrote:

would there be any reliablitity issues after i remove the catalytic convertor, gut the airbox with a new K&N filter, and move to a 3.6" intense modular supercharger pulley. Are these good mods to recieve a decent amount of HP gain and enhance throttle response which i am seeking, keep in mind i have a completely stock 1996 Supercharged rivi, does this seem like a good plan and are there any drawbacks or issues?

if I were you, my first mod would be a powertuner.
with it you can scan, find out where your problems are (if any) and then fix them with the tuner. Its and all-in-one.
not to mention, after you do something like load a basic 1.5bin, man what a difference. All the torque management is gone, shift points higher, more fuel, less knock, more power...its great.

its more than you would gain with all you listed. I guarantee it. You will FEEL it after a powertune. With a pulley drop, you feel more torque, but your KR goes through the roof.

I made many changes to my car trying not to mod like crazy. At one point I changed from the stock cat to high flow cat. Mods at the time were gutted airbox and 3.4 pulley, plugs. The only difference in changing the cats was a slightly louder exhaust.

Further down the road of mods, I happened to run w/o a cat for a week when I picked up the headers. Deal was too good not to jump at and drive the 8 hours to swap exhaust.

Keeping in mind that headers were added and a cat was deleted at the same time it seemed much louder to me. A week later when the cat was added back in, I noticed a definate change in how quiet the cat made it and how much drone it reduced.

texasfan010 wrote:

what are the consequences for removing your catalytic convertor?

You will see an SES light unless you install a dummy sensor in place of your rear O2.

Quote :

Keeping in mind that headers were added and a cat was deleted at the same time it seemed much louder to me. A week later when the cat was added back in, I noticed a definate change in how quiet the cat made it and how much drone it reduced.

I also have headers with no cat. There is resonance, but no drone. When you did this, was your resonator and stock exhaust still intact? Was this on a Riviera or Bonneville exhaust system?

Stock exhaust after the cat, and yeah..you got me, Bonneville

The rear O2 code could also be programmed out. I know Caspers no longer sells O2 sims as they were considered supportive of illegal activities. Aka when your cat or emissions levels were out of spec.

What is the Bonne's exhaust like after the cat? U-bend, T-split? I really don't know, but the different volumes in the pipe systems could mean the difference between drone or no drone.

but i shouldnt have any problems with those mods im adding to my stock riv?

that is why derek recommended a tuner for your first mod. then you KNOW whether or not those mods will work well.
like i said earlier the cat del will not get rid of significant KR if you have some with the 3.6 pulley. but the gutted box and high flow filter are about as safe a mod as you can do. see the series 2 section for lots of mod info to support the 3.6

AA wrote:

What is the Bonne's exhaust like after the cat? U-bend, T-split? I really don't know, but the different volumes in the pipe systems could mean the difference between drone or no drone.

2.5" straight back through a resonator, a sweeping bend and into a single inlet, dual outlet muffer.

hey anyone got any ideas for a new exhaust? im thinking about taking the converter off. the one i have is bad. i am going for a more throaty, low growl, kinda like a marauders exhaust. what type of exahust or parts should i look for since i have no clue as to what to get?

What you wanna get is a V8

Unfortunately the 3800 isn't going to make quite that kind of sound. I personally like the different sound it has but some people would say it's a nasty sound. It only seems so bad when you compare it to something like an inline BMW six.

Don't take your cat off though, it makes hardly any difference taking it off and you can get a huge fine for not having it - not to mention you're making more pollution without it.

if your car has more than 100.000 miles on her,the cat is most likley bad. mine was totally clogged. when i took it off i did not notice a great improvment in power over stock. just a little rumble that wasnt there before...the smell of gas on a hot vegas day is overwhelming though.. whew........ i had a high flow cat on my old legend...it worked good

Lots of exhaust info in the Tech sections, Series I and II.

robotennis61 wrote:

if your car has more than 100.000 miles on her,the cat is most likley bad. mine was totally clogged. when i took it off i did not notice a great improvment in power over stock. just a little rumble that wasnt there before...the smell of gas on a hot vegas day is overwhelming though.. whew........ i had a high flow cat on my old legend...it worked good

yeah thats what my uncle said too, that it was probably clogged or just went bad.

Nobody's mentioned it yet, but make sure that if you get your cat replaced, KEEP IT. Take it to your local metal recyclers - it has platinum in it, and you'll get a decent chunk of change towards your next mod, gas, or whatever.

I had someone replace my cat and they kept it. Yeah, I wonder why. Assholes. The money that I would have gotten from turning it in would have paid for the labor that he did. Instead, he turned it in and got paid DOUBLE while I was in the dark about the whole situation.

Don't get screwed over. Keep your cat, even if it's a rusted hunk of junk. It's worth money.

It's worth about $45. I "gave" mine to Ed Morad.