Ok got the cat yesterday.. very nice looking unit, even has smallish heat shield welded onto it.. Here is my question, the installation instruction state that, "THe unit must be installed so that the exhaust flows through it the correct directions for best results" It then goes on to state that while lying under the car with feet facing the rear wheels I should mount the Cat so that the numbers stamped on it are legible and right side up.. THERE ARE NO numbers/letters stamped on my unit... I assume that the heat shield should obviously face the street... Now I haven;t crawled under the car, but I am assuming the flanges will only bolt up correctly if I have the cat facing the right way, because the flanges are very different on either side of the Cat.. so can anyone help me out!?!?
if you remember how the stock cat fit in there...match the flanges and make sure the secondary O2 bung is aimed in the same direction or at least have enough space to reinstall the secondary O2....
if i were you get some gaskets for the flanges, btw, the random cat is about 1cm shorter than the stock one, so you might have to pull the exhaust back a bit...
Originally posted by a1andres ... I assume that the heat shield should obviously face the street...
ummmm...you mean face downward? correct me if I'm wrong but shouldnt the heatshield face upward towards the car??? to "shield" the car from "heat," not the street...or maybe Im reading this wrong...
The heat shield that comes on the cat will usually face the ground. There should be one on the car that shields the floorpan.
The flanges should only mount up one way- a 3-bolt on the front (header) and a two-bolt on the rear, if I remember right. There should also be an arrow for exhaust flow direction that matches all of that.
Well I guess I should havemkentioned I have a 4g prelude not a 5g.. UM there are no markings on the cat at all what there is a Random Technologies STICKER on the unit.. it is on the oppisite side of the heat shiekd.. well I am gonna just gonna crawl under the car and check it out becasue the flanges are very different so it wshould be obvious.. hopefully anyway.... BUT the heat shield should face the GROUND right???? THE ONLY reason I am not 100 percent sure ist hat there is that damn sticker and the sticker would NOT be visible if I mounted the cat with the heat shield facing the ground?? man this should be much easier then this.... I guess the best thing to do is just get under the damn car and see what I see..
BUT finally the HEAT SHIELD.. face the street?? is that the consensus???
It will only fit one way- that's the way it should be installed. If the flange is just captive, and not welded in place, mount the heat shield facing the ground.
Why not talk to Random or whoever you bought it from if you're worried. Does Random have a web site?!
Originally posted by a1andres Well I guess I should havemkentioned I have a 4g prelude not a 5g.. UM there are no markings on the cat at all what there is a Random Technologies STICKER on the unit.. it is on the oppisite side of the heat shiekd.. well I am gonna just gonna crawl under the car and check it out becasue the flanges are very different so it wshould be obvious.. hopefully anyway.... BUT the heat shield should face the GROUND right???? THE ONLY reason I am not 100 percent sure ist hat there is that damn sticker and the sticker would NOT be visible if I mounted the cat with the heat shield facing the ground?? man this should be much easier then this.... I guess the best thing to do is just get under the damn car and see what I see..
BUT finally the HEAT SHIELD.. face the street?? is that the consensus???
LOL....the sticker won't last more than a couple days....cats get up to 1800 degrees.....you will get a toasted sticker.
Well thanks for all your help people.. I am going to call NRG-Racing tomarrow and ask.. but I think that I am going to install it with the sticker facing the street...... I will probably just peal the sticker off, so it does not smell while it is being burned off...
As for being conned.. well as long as it bolts up with no modifications necessary I still paid less then an OEM one would cost.... so there we go.. but I think I did get it from Random, because on the return address it has Randoms name and address printed on the UPS label.. NRG.. told me it was being shipped directly from them.. but whatever...
I am going to install it tomarrow or Tuesday.. I will let you guys know what happens!!
It seems to me that when I did my exhaust opn my 4th gen VTEC, the part of the cat that bolts to the midpipe had 3 equally spaced studs. They were located at 12 o'clock, and about 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock. I can't recall exactly what the header end of the cat would look like, but that may help with the orientation, both in direction and up/down.
Thanks for the help everyone.. I called Random Tech directily today and they told me to bolt it on with the "shield" facing the undercarraige of the car.. and that's that.. it's raing today PLUS I have a Job interview, so the installation will have to wait till Tuesday..
With that in mind, don't ever drive over grass; you will surely set a fire.
I'm surprised they recommended that; in my '89 the shield faced the ground, as well as with my '91 Trooper. The undercarriage is protected by the factory heat shield.
That direction shouldn't matter- the important one is the direction of exhaust flow, which the flanges should determine.
yeah I was kinda suprised too.. but That's what they told me and its also the way that VeeTec suggested I mount the CAT.. I allready had the stock heat shield off because it was making this rotten rattling sound when I was at idle at at odd RPMS.. I don;t think I will be doing TOO much off-roading in the lude.. SO I am not TOO scared of setting any fires.. BUt I will watch out for fallen leaves and such.. but I live in/near a concrete JUNGLE. (Philly) so even that isn;t too big a concern!
Well the Cat will go in tomarrow.. hopefully it will just bolt up no problem.. I allready bought new bolts and lock nuts from the honda dealership.. along with the gasket that goes from the CAT to the exhaust side.. and when I put in my Greddy I bought the gasket that goes from the cAt to the header.. so I hope to be in good shape....
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SO I am not TOO scared of setting any fires.. BUt I will watch out for fallen leaves and such.. but I live in/near a concrete JUNGLE. (Philly) so even that isn;t too big a concern!
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