Hey is there anyone out there who has replaced their catalytic converter with a straight pipe, or possibly a street legal one, like one from Random Technology? If so how much power difference do you feel? I'm thinking of putting one, along with an intake.

 

I would be interested to see dyno results with a strait cat. converter.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by HyperDimensions
[B]Hey is there anyone out there who has replaced their catalytic converter with a straight pipe, or possibly a street legal one, like one from Random Technology?

 

If you replace the CAT with a straight pipe without changing the ECU the check engine light will come on.
I know.

 

For what it's worth, Honda touts the stock converter as a very efficient, low restriction unit.

 

Yes it is not legal to replace a cat early unless it is deemed as required by a mechanic (they have to sign a card that you keep as proof).

But, the best flowing aftermarket cats are supposed to be Car Sound and Catco, while the Random ones I guess don't flow so well.

The ECM has two O2 sensor inputs, one on each side of the cat to monitor the effectiveness of the cat, and a straight pipe is not that effective as an emission device. Talk to Shaner about that, he's got the Mugen ECM.

 

After doing this to my civic and the rising cost of finding someone to do smog, I'd never do it again.

 

Do the search and you may find my post of the BYS straight pipe in place of the catalytic converter.
Sure the gain was there but it was very minimal.
You also need to have the aftermarket ECU like Mugen's if you need to use it. However the amount of fuel getting dumped it wasn't worth doing it.
Tim Ham is actually running with the straight pipe but with stock ECU with check engine light on. He says there is no problem running with check engine light on but strangely when I removed my Mugen ECU, I got the check engine light few days later and my car started to run like crap with lots of hesitation.
When I heard the exaust note of Tim Ham's car at the Asheville, it was quite nicely resonated deeply with HKS exaust.
It is up to you to try it, but in my humble opinion don't bother using it on the street driving, the drawback far outweighs the benefit besides you don't want going around breaking the law. Use it on the track and in competition, other wise stay clear.

 

Hey what would ya'll think about the cat from Random Technology? Their website is at http://www.randomtechnology.com but the cat for the S2000 isn't listed. I've emailed them and they said they have it for around 200-300 bucks. Since these are street legal, do any of you think its worth it?