Catalytic converters pros and cons !

[M.Seidam]

Hello dear passionate off-roaders 

I found this regarding pros and cons regarding catalytic converters removal . 

https://greengarageblog.org/13-removing-catalytic-converter-pros-and-cons

for me : The disadvantages overweight the advantages that we are trying to make this planet more green . 
 

what do you think ?!

cheers and drive safe 👍🚙🌷

 

[Barry]

For anything which drives on the road, yes it should have one. For anything which is solely for off road or racing, I’d chuck it in the bin. Purely from an environmental perspective. 

[M.Seidam]

The article and I agree with @Barry . 
These modifications really should be done by someone who knows exactly how to do it in order to achieve the wanted purpose from removing the CC ( cat. Conv ) in offroad or race event . But for me as I am using my X off as well as on I will keep it till the thing becomes more suspense at advance levels 😎

 

[Wael Mounier]

As you all mentioned the Catalyst Converter is mainly to absorb the toxic gases from your engine but at the sametime it restrict the airflow of the exhuast so removing it enhance the performance signficantly of the engine due to the better airflow.

There are an aftermarket bigger Highflow catalyst converter by 3rd party companies like Magnaflow that enhance the airflow and still env. friendly

Edited September 10, 2020 by Wael Mounier

[Barry]

The catalytic converter doesn’t actually absorb anything. What is does is catalyse 3 reactions to help make the exhaust emissions less harmful. 
 

1 - Hydrocarbons (Unburnt fuel) are converted into carbon dioxide and water. 
 

2 - Carbon monoxide is converted into carbon dioxide. 
 

3 - Nitrogen oxide is converted into nitrogen and oxygen. 
 

It’s not 100% efficient, some harmful components still escape into the atmosphere, but it does help a lot. Sports cats are less efficient because there is less catalyst contact area inside but they still help and because they are more free flowing, you can get more power. It’s a trade off between emissions and power and sports cats make a good compromise. 

[Frederic]

With my biggest fear being the yearly RTA inspection crew suddenly saying: "Where is your Catalytic Converter Sir, we cannot pass you if you don't have it" i would like to keep it in place. The few percents power savings are not worth it in my opinion. 

[M.Seidam]

@Barry thanks for last info well clear 

what if the muffler only totally removed will the sound ( sound pollution ) be worse than if the a whole was created from the exhaust pipe just after existing the engine ? What I am trying to say does pipe length affect sound ? 
 

because I still believe that muffler helps only 30% of noise because it’s at the end 
 

Edited September 10, 2020 by Mohamed Seidam

[Barry]

20 minutes ago, Frederic said:

With my biggest fear being the yearly RTA inspection crew suddenly saying: "Where is your Catalytic Converter Sir, we cannot pass you if you don't have it" i would like to keep it in place. The few percents power savings are not worth it in my opinion. 

You have 2 options. You can cut the cat open and remove the guts and weld it shut again. This is obvious to anyone inspecting it. The other is to put a metal rod down the centre and beat the guts out with a hammer. This is undetectable by visual examination but may or may not be picked up on a HC test. If you have a downstream O2 sensor, both of these will cause a catalyst efficiency DTC like P0420 and bring on the EML. 
 

18 minutes ago, Mohamed Seidam said:

@Barry thanks for last info well clear 

what if the muffler only totally removed will the sound ( sound pollution ) be worse than if the a whole was created from the exhaust pipe just after existing the engine ? What I am trying to say does pipe length affect sound ? 
 

because I still believe that muffler helps only 30% of noise because it’s at the end 
 

The muffler at the rear is only part of the system that you can see. In the centre of the car there will be more mufflers/resonators. If you remove any of these, it will get louder. If you remove all of these and run a straight pipe, it will be stupid loud and Sharjah police will take your car. The other issue is resonance. When you are cruising at a constant speed, the droning sound is unbearable for any length of time. I used to enjoy it when I was younger but now I just want to chill out and listen to the radio, not baaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwww all the way down the road. 

[M.Seidam]

Really car and motorbikes are entirely different worlds in all aspects and what can be applied in one world is inapplicable to other ( e.g : I can up shift from sec to 5th gear in a small 200cc motorcycle clutchless and sequentially up with no skip but in car still can skip one gear up if rpm high enough ) .same for pipe exhaust 🤔

[Barry]

Shifting up in a car without using the clutch is easy once you get used to it. If you time it right, you can skip gears. It just takes practise. I do it sometimes when I’m being lazy. Shifting down is a bit trickier. You have to rev a bit just when you hit neutral to match the engine speed to the transmission speed. If you get it wrong it can be jerky. On a bike I never use the clutch, only for starting and stopping. Also for popping ghetto wheelies on low powered bikes. 
 

The majority of vehicles all operate on the same principle. Once you figure one out, you can probably have a good go at understanding how something else works. I learned to drive on tractors on the farm when I was 7-8. When I learned to drive cars when I was 10-11 it was the same, just different. Steering, gears, clutch, brakes, throttle. As long as you understand what each does, you can figure it out.