Throw the CAT outside?
Thread Starter
Zen Vet Master Level VII
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 5,218
Likes: 1,174
From: Southlake, TX
Throw the CAT outside?
My '82 still has the factory catalytic converter with the Cross Fuel Injection on a completely stock exhaust system. The air pump emission stuff was removed by the PO.
The car (knock on wood) runs great, but I'm always looking for a little more.
What can I expect by removing the CAT? Will there be a seat of the pants improvement or do I risk messing up a well running motor and the fuel injection system could get all jacked up?
I'm not ready for a full on exhaust system yet so wondering if eliminating the CAT is work the time and effort.
The car (knock on wood) runs great, but I'm always looking for a little more.
What can I expect by removing the CAT? Will there be a seat of the pants improvement or do I risk messing up a well running motor and the fuel injection system could get all jacked up?
I'm not ready for a full on exhaust system yet so wondering if eliminating the CAT is work the time and effort.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Ford van here, more CAT rattles than a childs day care center.....
need cut out the CATS ASAP, before they clog up the exhaust and need hobble to the place at 5 mph, or towed....they have a nasty habit of melting down/clogging the pipe .....
need cut out the CATS ASAP, before they clog up the exhaust and need hobble to the place at 5 mph, or towed....they have a nasty habit of melting down/clogging the pipe .....
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,481
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,664
Likes: 162
From: columbia city in
by now your cat is bad.the cats were bad when they were new.take the cat off use a long rod and knock the crap inside out of it.put it back on.you should notice some improvement in performance .it also will be a little louder.does not hurt anything ,and its worth doing .not a lot but with only 200hp all the little things add up.
Last edited by terry82; Jun 2, 2016 at 04:41 PM.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 5,024
Likes: 1,120
From: North tonawanda NY
This may be odd but about a year after buying my dodge truck used I decided to replace the y pipe with the cat in it because I was replacing the header the transmission shop cracked and the y pipe was rough... anyway when I removed the old pipe I found the cat was hollowed out and empty unlike the new performance "High flow" cat/y pipe I replaced it with.... The odd thing was I seemed to have a noticeable improvement in low end power after adding the cat back on! I remember reading you could sometimes clean the cats by heating them with a torch to turn unburned oil into ash that can accumulate and clog them. My 84 crossfire cat always reeked of rotten eggs...
Last edited by augiedoggy; Jun 4, 2016 at 08:59 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: eastern NC
EPA Information And Removing The Catalytic Converter
This topic comes up from time to time and almost everyone has an opinion on the morality of removing (or not) the catalytic converter. Unfortunately there are Federal regulations regarding the removal or tampering with emissions devices that come into play and should be considered. Regardless of whether your state conducts emissions tests on your particular vehicle or not, Federal regulations can come into play. I found this post on another Forum and felt this individual (Z28Zach) sums up most of the issues pretty thoroughly.
EPA Information And Removing The Catalytic Converter
Just thought this would be beneficial (from a legal standpoint), and realized how misinformed some people are on the topic. I'm surprised there isn't some sort of sticky on this by now with all the threads out there!
According to Title II of the EPA Clean Air Act (Enacted Jan 1 1988) there are multiple regulations concerning the use or misuse of aftermarket catalytic converters, or the removal and/or modification of a stock catalytic converter. According to various parts of Section 203, all aftermarket catalytic converters must be EPA certified, and your car must have a gas conversion device of some manner. If not, both you and the installer are punishable of a Federal Offense by Section 205 (a). The operator's fine can be no more than $2,500 and the installation agency no more than $25,000.
It is also important to note the 1988 establishment of this statute, which could probably be your best legal defense to anyone operating a pre-1988 vehicle with street-illegal equipment. It is in the courts' hands to prove your system was installed post-1988 beyond a shadow of a doubt, as they cannot try you ex post facto. This would at least be helpful in any sort of plea-bargaining.
Now, in reality, most states do not run thorough emission control programs and some of those that do are loosely enforced. More than likely, most local offenses (on the off chance you are caught during a routine traffic stop) would be swept under the table and marked as some sort of equipment violation, because this is how the local ordinances make money. Its much more beneficial to police to fine you locally (as they will actually see that money) as opposed to reporting you in violation of a federal statute, as they will probably see none of that money come back to their area. Besides, the federal government has better things to do with their time.
I don't really have much of an opinion on this issue; I am all for emission control, but I am all for people having the liberty to rip their catalytic converters out as well (hypocritical, I know). And whether you like it or not, making an educated decision is important before you take any sort of risk.
Here is the origin of my information, if you so choose to learn more about this subject and similar others:
http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/title2.html
In some states, you can be cited for failing a visual inspection if there is no catalytic converter installed on a vehicle that was originally equipped with one.
Good luck and happy motoring... GUSTO
EPA Information And Removing The Catalytic Converter
Just thought this would be beneficial (from a legal standpoint), and realized how misinformed some people are on the topic. I'm surprised there isn't some sort of sticky on this by now with all the threads out there!
According to Title II of the EPA Clean Air Act (Enacted Jan 1 1988) there are multiple regulations concerning the use or misuse of aftermarket catalytic converters, or the removal and/or modification of a stock catalytic converter. According to various parts of Section 203, all aftermarket catalytic converters must be EPA certified, and your car must have a gas conversion device of some manner. If not, both you and the installer are punishable of a Federal Offense by Section 205 (a). The operator's fine can be no more than $2,500 and the installation agency no more than $25,000.
It is also important to note the 1988 establishment of this statute, which could probably be your best legal defense to anyone operating a pre-1988 vehicle with street-illegal equipment. It is in the courts' hands to prove your system was installed post-1988 beyond a shadow of a doubt, as they cannot try you ex post facto. This would at least be helpful in any sort of plea-bargaining.
Now, in reality, most states do not run thorough emission control programs and some of those that do are loosely enforced. More than likely, most local offenses (on the off chance you are caught during a routine traffic stop) would be swept under the table and marked as some sort of equipment violation, because this is how the local ordinances make money. Its much more beneficial to police to fine you locally (as they will actually see that money) as opposed to reporting you in violation of a federal statute, as they will probably see none of that money come back to their area. Besides, the federal government has better things to do with their time.
I don't really have much of an opinion on this issue; I am all for emission control, but I am all for people having the liberty to rip their catalytic converters out as well (hypocritical, I know). And whether you like it or not, making an educated decision is important before you take any sort of risk.
Here is the origin of my information, if you so choose to learn more about this subject and similar others:
http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/title2.html
In some states, you can be cited for failing a visual inspection if there is no catalytic converter installed on a vehicle that was originally equipped with one.
Good luck and happy motoring... GUSTO
Last edited by GUSTO14; Jun 4, 2016 at 02:52 PM.