Cataylic conveerter

[dodgeman87]

I have an '89 Chrysler Lebaron stock with 2.5 mitsu turbo and the converter is bad. Can I take out converter and put in straight pipe ? Will it be louder and will I get boost creep or spike ?
Or can I put a Magnaflow converter :confused2: (from FWD ) and expect equal or better performance and noise levels ?

Thanks

[EaZyE426]

It may not be legal to remove the cat and replace it with a straight pipe, but what the government doesn't know won't hurt them... As long as your local government doesn't require emissions testing.

1) Yes, it will be louder, but if you have a muffler, it shouldn't be too bad.
2) No, you shouldn't get any boost creep or spiking. I used to run 2.5 in pipe to the passenger side on my minivan with no cat or muffler, spooled even faster.

[Rrider]

I wouldn't run without one, but like E says legality depends on your area. Where you at? They are not too expensive usually. I picked up my last one at PepBoyz for $60. I just went for the cheapest 2.5" they listed and ignored the model/year stuff.

[ajakeski]

With pipe:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111697392734?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[83scamp]

Ah, the beauty of living in a state with no emissions testing. I just cut mine out, and installed a straight pipe...

[EaZyE426]

Ah, the beauty of living in a state with no emissions testing. I just cut mine out, and installed a straight pipe...

Amen, I actually prefer no cat/no muffler. Love the sound

[johnl]

A non CA certified cat costs $60 or thereabouts, the same identical cat, with the CA certified part # stamped on it costs $185.

I had to replace one last month, I held both in my hands, identical, from same manufacturer. $120 difference. How much of that is the cost of certification in a crony "selected by the state" certified lab, and how much of that difference goes to the state for helping us, and how much is plain ole monopoly premium, I don't know.

There is price fixing, absolutely no one is discounting that cat; I looked high and low - all sellers offer at same $185 price.

[mopar-tech]

A non CA certified cat costs $60 or thereabouts, the same identical cat, with the CA certified part # stamped on it costs $185.

I had to replace one last month, I held both in my hands, identical, from same manufacturer. $120 difference. How much of that is the cost of certification in a crony "selected by the state" certified lab, and how much of that difference goes to the state for helping us, and how much is plain ole monopoly premium, I don't know.

There is price fixing, absolutely no one is discounting that cat; I looked high and low - all sellers offer at same $185 price.

The difference is the amount of platinum in the core, most cheap aftermarket cats are garbage pure and simple.

Jon's CSX crashed and burned NOX with an aftermarket cat, slapped a factory MaMopar unit with 100k+ on the clock and it blew through like the car wasn't even running.

I have one I keep in the shop with quick release clamps for just such need.

[Rrider]

There is no extra platinum in the CA ones. Magnaflow pays $X,000 for the cert, the buck gets passed.

The last cheap one I got was a CA cat, just not one listed for a Chrysler.. I dug around their site until I found one that fit my budget!

You catless guys notice a big difference in smell?

[going4speed]

Yes big difference in smell.

[GLHNSLHT2]

It may not be legal to remove the cat and replace it with a straight pipe, but what the government doesn't know won't hurt them... As long as your local government doesn't require emissions testing.


My local Government requires E-testing. But they don't require you to have all the emissions equipment. So I used to roll in there with my 3" side exit exhaust, and roll out 10 minutes later, after the car scared the crap out of the tester, for either almost jumping off the rollers because he twitched the steering wheel and the spherical bushed a-arms move the car instantly, or he breathed on the clutch after I told him not to and the 1200rpm rev limiter kicked in (set low for those morons so they didn't burn out my clutch) and stalled the car.


There is no extra platinum in the CA ones. Magnaflow pays $X,000 for the cert, the buck gets passed.

The last cheap one I got was a CA cat, just not one listed for a Chrysler.. I dug around their site until I found one that fit my budget!

You catless guys notice a big difference in smell?


YEs, it smells good and not like rotten eggs.

[mopar-tech]

There is no extra platinum in the CA ones.

If they sniff test and check for NOX the car will fail, seen it dozens of times.

The cheap "universal" cats are junk.

[johnl]

No doubt, the OEM cats are superior.
Can I even buy one of those oh so very long 2.25" long stock ones for a GLHT or S?
Not that I would. Point being we are stuck with aftermarket and it is a crony/bureaucrat scam.

Cars with non-certified cats pass, NOX too, and, since OBD1, always with sniff test.

Only recently has CARB forced, scared, all the test shop techs into getting down onto the ground with a mirror to read the cert numbers.


We have the same going on with smuggled water heaters.

CARB certifies natural gas water heaters; they only apparent difference is that they have a "no-consumer servicing" sort of shroud with Izing glass windows and security screws covering the access to the piezio sparker and the thermocouple. They cost well north of $400 while the apparently identical water heater (without the shroud stuff) but bought in Arizona costs $150. Even the model numbers indicate comparability. If you go onto Home Depot's web site to buy a water heater, the first question is "what's your zip code" because that dictates what you will buy and what you will pay. Plumbers are smuggling water heaters into CA.

[mopar-tech]

Point being we are stuck with aftermarket and it is a crony/bureaucrat scam.

There are aftermarket units with the proper amount of platinum and palladium, you are paying for the performance. The cheap ones have just enough of the minimum amount to be classified as a converter.

I use to run emission test equipment, the machine doesn't lie. You can think what you like but I know what I use to see on the gauges and we got picky about what we sold our customers as things get ugly when there is a come back.

Cheap isn't good and good usually isn't cheap.

[johnl]

Gary, I edited post 13 while you were replying to it, changes . . .

The owner of the smog station showed me his new machine, no sniffer at all. Completely done by the machine's brain doing inquiries of the customer's ECU.

He's forced back onto the treadmill - to pay for the new CARB dictated machine. Naturally, the vendor offered to buy his old one, on trade in, likely for re-sale in some other state.

But no, he wants to keep old machine, the one with sniffer, for older cars, to retain that business.

[mopar-tech]

CT they still go on the sniffer, 91-96. Anything newer than 96 they depend on the OB2 status which is a joke in my book.

90 and older are now waived.

[shmedley]

Here in IL anything newer then 96 has no emissions testing

[Rrider]

There are aftermarket units with the proper amount of platinum and palladium, you are paying for the performance.

Maybe I'm too cynical, but these companies should make it clear that you're paying 300% as much for more than a serial number. Which ones you have had good luck with??

[johnl]

Rrider, when it comes to government, it's impossible to be too cynical.

[mopar-tech]

Which ones you have had good luck with??

Been too long and can't recall, last one I hung on a customers car was back in 2006.

Still have a few factory units tucked away "just in case"