Catalyst Decision
 

OK guys I am thinking about dumping my stock cat and just installing a Catco hi-flo cat that I have sitting right beside me. I have to decide this now as I am building my downpipe this weekend and that will be the determination on whether or not I do the stock or aftermarket catalyst. law states the you cant change the cat without reason when the car is under 5 years old or under 50000 miles. BUt then again I live in the rednack city of NC and all they really look for is the Catalyst but they will start doing sniffer test in 2 years I need some input people.

cat question
 

get rid of the cats completely if you can i dont know about the emissions up there but in florida there are none. i got rid of them and put a straight pipe from manifold to muffler no check engine light or nothing runs great no loss in back pressure big diff with intake. breath better fart better;)

i say go for it...if you think it will be a problem, then find a inspection place that just does not care. i have done that before on my eclipse...its usually a couple extra dollars but thats just what i would do if i were thinking of doing something like that to my protege:bt:

you're lucky!!
 

be glad you don't live in Mecklenburg county, i.e., Charlotte. they've been doing emissions testing now for about 6 or 7 years. i had an old Volvo that perenially failed by a very small margin. just what you said though... show them that the emissions gear is in place and they let you off the hook.... gee, are they doing it to save the environment or make a little money.... i wonder... :rolleyes:

i'd dump the primary cat [and i just may myself]. as has been said by many, including my mechanic, that it's a major power-robbing item.

do it man... my bro "jarhead", lived in NC for awhile. jacksonville the asshole of NC.. but anyway.. he had a truck down there that wouldnt pass inspection. so he found a place that just sold the sticker to him and said it pasted. so change it:bt:

Magazine tests show that high flow cat has few extra hp than no cat.
Engines are build with cat converters as one of the design parameters.
As for ethical considerations:
Why our generation has to take responsibility for cleaning up Earth, if those who turned it into dump got rich and now make us accountable for the damage which was done when we weren't even born?
So fuck them(lawmakers), modern human cannot live without CO2 and will freeze without greenhouse effect.
Alex

boostedmp5,

how much louder is your car w/o the cat? is it tolerable. if I could get around emmissions testing, the only thing holding me back would be the noise.

If you're going with a turbo, I don't see the point in keeping the stock primary cat. It's likely to cause problems with the turbo spooling up due to the backpressure it will present to the turbo. It may even shorten the life of the turbo. Also, you may fail the sniffer emissions test with the turbo even if you keep the primary cat. I'd remove the stock manifold and primary cat together, and save them to reinstall later in order to pass the emissions test.

hey eeter
 

I have a tanabe racing medalion and yes its louder but who cares car performs excellent. noise depends on the muffler you use. mine is loud because its a straight thru design but it doesnt sound ridiculous. :cool:

OK Everyone I decided to dump the primary cat in favor of a Catco Hi-Flo cataylst I already have. I have done some research and the primary cat in our protege is the same type as in the Probes and they are bad to fail emissions tests anyways with time. I look at some charts with Hi-Flo Cat's also and they emit less NOX emissions than stock cats so I shoudl be in even better shape with the Hi-Flo plus I found some good 'ole boys here in NC that will just give me a sticker for 3 bucks LOL :bt: so bye bye stock cat and hello turbo. I'm building the downpipe tomorrow and the turbo will start going on next Friday. Also the Racing Beat springs are going on early next week.

chdesign,

In what section of the exhaust pipe are you putting the high-flow cat? I'm assuming that you aren't keeping it in the stock position.

It is a universal Slip-fit cat that I am going to place right after the oil pan under the car. I already have assureance from my speed shop they will pass my inspection tests since I am going to be working for them part time. I am going to be using 2.5" piping all the way back and I am going to retain my A'pexi Dunk muffler since it is a turbo style muffler anyways. I am finally going to build the downpipe tomorrow and hopefully mount the intercooler friday I believe tha actuall turbo install is going in maybe Sat. that is if I get my Ford Probe header so that I can rape it of its EGR fitting to weld to my Header :bt: I will let you all know and try to get some pics up if possible.

Curious...does it matter where you put the cat or just as close to the header as possible? (I realize not at the rear bumper)

Also, does anyone have a CARB legal header for the Pros? even among the probe croud...I haven't seen any parts for the Protege that has a CARB #.