catalytic converter

[SpeedRacer]

well we have new cars and here in cali when you have a new car you dont have to pass smog for 4 years and i was thinking about replacing my cat with a hollowed out cat so if a cop looks under my car it will look like i have a car, anyways do you guys think this will help me with power i heard i will really feal it in 2nd gear but i dont really know that much i get lots of mixed opinions on this mod i am not interisted about you telling me it is illegal just interested in the performance gains because i can get this done for like 50 bucks.
Thanks guys

[Ant]

I haven't heard good things about hollowing out your cat, cause it makes a whirling effect when its hollowed out that isnt good for preformance or something. Just get a free flowing cat, or a test pipe. Or you can save up your money for a Full catback system and get a better preformance gain, plus more than likely a good sound, belive me you'll want to do it later down the road anyway.

[SpeedRacer]

i already have a good catback system i want to take my cat out now

[Ant]

So just get a test pipe, or sometimes called a dump pipe. It's just a regular piece of pipe where your cat goes.

[DynaSpeed]

I hollowed out my cat in my '95 PGT and it was *AWESOME*. Real torque that I could feel. I never put on a test pipe, but I don't think it would've helped all that much compared to the whirlwind. So as long as you can deal with the morals and ethics of destroying the livelyhood of your future generation, then go for it.

And personally, I loved the whirling sound that it made... I got a lot of compliments on the sound of the exhaust at throttle.

Also, no smog tests over here, so I was in the clear

[SpeedRacer]

im doing it can i hollow out the stock cat and how would i do this?

[JSIR]

that's an expensive piece your destroying there, the cat goes from the base of the header to the start of the exhaust, one piece welded together. If you ever need to return it to stock that will be a costly part to purchase new. Hopefully buy then they may have a few at the junkyards. You can hollow it out using a long pipe or pry bar, insert it in the end of the cat where the exhaust hooks up and start bashing away until all the little pieces are out. This is a really large cat compared to other Honda ones, so there will be lots of pieces, and dust, wear a good respirator/mask when doing it and gloves. Its a bastard of a job if you ask me.

[DynaSpeed]

JSIR's right... since it's one piece you technically have to take the whole downpipe off, unless you torch it off, of course. I used a huge screwdriver to pry it all out. And, since it's new, it's gonna be a lot stiffer honeycomb.

But, while it's off, custom weld some flanges so if you need to take it off or back on or whatever, it'll make the job a cinch.

[SpeedRacer]

i thought the cat was bolted up:confused:

[iR-VTEC2]

yeah youll have to cut that sucker off. CUT IT OFF. Get a nice used cat then hollow it out OR get a random tech. catalytic converter. Them's nice.

[SpeedRacer]

i heard a aftermarket cat wont do the job you have to go with no cat

[iR-VTEC2]

The random tech cat is pretty much str8 through. You can actually blow air through it and feel the air coming out. You cant do that with a normal cat.

If that's any indication of how well it performs then im sold. They claim that it even out flows a glass pack.

[SpeedRacer]

how much are they? and do they have one for my car?