I was wondering if it was necessary to get a hi-flow catalytic converter when getting an aftermarket exhaust and header. Right now I have a mugen header and exhaust and I was wanting to know if I am losing alot of power by using the stock catalytic converter. Also, if I get an aftermarket catalytic converter does it change the tone of the header/exhaust? If so, does it make it louder or quieter? My final question is what catalytic converter would go best with my mugen header and mugen exhaust? Is a random technology catalytic converter any good?
it's not necessary, and you won't lose power by using the stock cat, you'll just limit the gain on your header and exhaust. since you have a mugen ( ) exhaust and header (i'm jealous), a high flow cat will finish your exhaust system and probably will give you a lot of gain. now mugen cat lol, if they made one haha...
Originally posted by gold I was wondering if it was necessary to get a hi-flow catalytic converter when getting an aftermarket exhaust and header.
That's up to you to decide if it's neccessary. Some people are happy with just the header and exhaust, others want more.
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Originally posted by gold Right now I have a mugen header and exhaust and I was wanting to know if I am losing alot of power by using the stock catalytic converter.
Generally speaking you probably "lose" (more like limit) a little. I have a custom Random Technology 2.5" cat on my car right now mated with a Fujitsubo header and Tanabe Racing Medalion (full 60mm) and I like it, yes I can feel something different but it isn't like "HOLY SH*T I can keep up with M3's now!"
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Originally posted by gold Also, if I get an aftermarket catalytic converter does it change the tone of the header/exhaust? If so, does it make it louder or quieter?
Most of the time louder. But on my car it's not a WHOLE lot louder.
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Originally posted by gold My final question is what catalytic converter would go best with my mugen header and mugen exhaust? Is a random technology catalytic converter any good?
As I stated before my Random Technology one is custom made to 2.5" and I really like it. What a lot of people don't know is that the Random Technology cat that is usually made for the Prelude is 2" in diameter which is about the same as the stock cat, it's the internals that make it flow more......so when you see cat comparisons of the Random Technology cat vs. (insert name here) they might be comparing a 2" cat with a 2.25" or 2.5" cat (such as a CarSound cat). Obviously I really wanted (and needed) the 2.5" piping.
In the following picture my Random Technology cat is on the left and on the right is a pipe that is the same diameter as the stock cat (for the first inch or two), the difference is clear.
You can get a custom CarSound at www.testpipes.com but be warned that they are a little shady. Not only that but a customer from www.Honda-Tech.com got one where they actually INSERTED another pipe INTO the CarSound cat with the flange attached (bad). I don't know if there's been other cases like this but then again, not everyone who's gotten one has taken the time to inspect it. Regardless I searched a lot on Honda-Tech and a ton of people got screwed by them and to me it wasn't worth it so I got a Random Technology cat. There ARE however cases where people seemed to fair well with them. Caveat emptor.
For my cat I contacted Random Technology myself and spoke to a technician there (I forgot his name at the moment). Plus I THINK Random Technology might have a better warranty? Not sure on that though. Good luck and use the search feature.
Also: I have no CEL light with my cat, and if there were a choice between a 2.5" CarSound and an off-the-shelf Random Technology cat I'd go with the CarSound....preferrably made my SMSP not www.testpipes.com. (For SMSP contact info search and get their number).
Thank you all for the help! Joon525 you are the shiet! I guess I will be looking to get a 2.5 "carsound then. By any chance would you know if the carsound cat would throw any cel codes at me once I install it?
Originally posted by gold Thank you all for the help! Joon525 you are the shiet! I guess I will be looking to get a carsound then. By any chance would you know if the carsound cat would throw any cel codes at me once I install it?
I'm told the CarSound is OK with CELs (doesn't throw one), if you get one (CEL) with the CarSound cat...maybe something else is wrong with the car. Otherwise you can call Random Technology and try the custom one I have (Ritteri has one too and they can make them at any time).
Originally posted by Joon525
I'm told the CarSound is OK with CELs (doesn't throw one), if you get one (CEL) with the CarSound cat...maybe something else is wrong with the car. Otherwise you can call Random Technology and try the custom one I have (Ritteri has one too and they can make them at any time).
How much did random technology charge you for the custom 2.5" catalytic converter? If I opted to go that route, who there would I need to talk to? Tech department? Any particular person? Thanks in advance.
Are there any other specifications we would need to provide to RT besides the 2.5" diameter?
Thanks for posting that, I wasn't aware of the issues with testpipes.com...looks like custom RT would be much better, albeit more expensive I'm assuming.
Originally posted by gold How much did random technology charge you for the custom 2.5" catalytic converter? If I opted to go that route, who there would I need to talk to? Tech department? Any particular person? Thanks in advance.
It's around $32x.xx (with shipping)or something like that. Yes it's a little expensive but it's what I wanted (I also won at blackjack the week before I ordered it ). The flanges on my Random Technology cat float as well, so you can rotate the cat to position the O2 sensor (if you had to).
You want to talk to this guy named Clay at Random Technology.
Here are pictures of Ritteri's cat which is the same as mine.
All stainless steel too by the way.
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Originally posted by shik0me Are there any other specifications we would need to provide to RT besides the 2.5" diameter?
Nope. They knew the length and flange sizes and even knew to put in the secondary O2 sensor bung.
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Originally posted by shik0me Thanks for posting that, I wasn't aware of the issues with testpipes.com...looks like custom RT would be much better, albeit more expensive I'm assuming.
See above.
If you're going to get a CarSound, again I'd get it from SMSP. That's just me though.
I have the carsound catalytic converter and i've noticed gains right away when i put it on. It helps the low to mid end range. My exhaust sounds a lot better and the lag on low end is gone! Mugen exhaust and Mugen headers too bad i can't afford it.
UPDATE: I just got my car inspected today and it passed with all sensors working. There were no workarounds installed to stop a Check Engine light from coming on. The parts installed were as follows.
My mugen header/exhaust is on it's way from King as I write this.
I'm looking to replace the stock cat with a more high flowing piece.
From the posts I've been reading, it seems that my choices are Random Technology or Carsound.
I really like the custom 2.5" SS Randon Technology piece but I've read that they don't flow as good as the Carsound.
However, what is the deal with getting a Carsound cat from SMSP? Why get it from them and not from somewhere else? Do they modify them, weld on flanges, what? Are they available in SS?
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Last edited by Xx D-MAN xX; 02-28-2005 at 08:59 AM.
From the posts I've been reading, it seems that my choices are Random Technology or Carsound.
Who has tested their custom version against a Carsound? No one I know of that is from this site.
Test results were shown a while ago comparing the off the shelf Random cat to others but not the custom one.
What's so custom about these Randoms? They're the same cores, just that the outlet diameter is opened up. The biggest issue with the Random's is that their core is tiny compared to the Carsound's core. Opening the outlets will help a little, but not enough to have it keep up with Carsound's. I did a quick search on google for "Carsound random cfm" and this is the first link.
There's tons of additional links if you're looking for more information. Though as you can see from that link they did (whomever conducted the test) the 3" opening versions. Looking at the "newer" version of the Random (703000) the design is much more like the CarSound and look to flow better. In terms of catalysing I have no idea which one is better.
For what it's worth SMSP doesn't use CarSound cats anymore as they've found another supposedly better supplier. From what I read, the design is very similar to CarSound's, but they use a much better core mounting setup to prevent the core from breaking off the walls. CarSound's have been known not to like extremely rich cars, as the extra fuel that comes into contact with the core will eventually dislodge it when the gas vapors combust on the hot core surface.
What's so custom about these Randoms? They're the same cores, just that the outlet diameter is opened up. The biggest issue with the Random's is that their core is tiny compared to the Carsound's core. Opening the outlets will help a little, but not enough to have it keep up with Carsound's. I did a quick search on google for "Carsound random cfm" and this is the first link.
There's tons of additional links if you're looking for more information. Though as you can see from that link they did (whomever conducted the test) the 3" opening versions. Looking at the "newer" version of the Random (703000) the design is much more like the CarSound and look to flow better. In terms of catalysing I have no idea which one is better.
For what it's worth SMSP doesn't use CarSound cats anymore as they've found another supposedly better supplier. From what I read, the design is very similar to CarSound's, but they use a much better core mounting setup to prevent the core from breaking off the walls. CarSound's have been known not to like extremely rich cars, as the extra fuel that comes into contact with the core will eventually dislodge it when the gas vapors combust on the hot core surface.
Thus the rumor that all Hi-flow Cats clog overtime.
Thus the rumor that all Hi-flow Cats clog overtime.
No, it's usually a high exaust fuel mixture that causes ignition in the cat. It's not a "rumor" and they don't "clog" like a sink. Especially with an N/A application you shouldn't have any of these issues with a well tuned car (I've had my CarSound for 4+ years running). If you have a poorly tuned car then you'll run into issues as you're causing a hot spot in the cat by combusting the fuel there, which melts the platinum catalyst which in turn blocks the air passageway. In the end all catalytic converters will meet the same demise if you throw fuel into them, CarSound is less robust against this vs the others. If you tune your car well you can get a very long life out of a high flow cat. Tune the car poorly, it'll have an early demise.
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) exhaust and header (i'm jealous), a high flow cat will finish your exhaust system and probably will give you a lot of gain. now mugen cat lol, if they made one haha...
). The flanges on my Random Technology cat float as well, so you can rotate the cat to position the O2 sensor (if you had to).
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