Welcome to the Corvette Forums at the Corvette Action Center!

Cat conv. and performance

No science expert about emission related parts, my spelling is a little rough, but I do ask 1000"s of questions about cars and everything that goes into them. I always ask why, and I ask as many people that I think can give an informed reply.
 
Clean burning pump gas is $3.30 a gallon ( in Calif.) for my 1996 C4. I live in the country in northern Calif, if anyone is curious, the air is much clearer here than when I was a kid in the 60's. We get about a week of poor air quality per year in Contra Costa County.
 
I don't say anything unless it is based on first hand knowledge from someone in the know.
 
FWIW, running w/o the cat, for a very brief time on my slightly modified L83 made NO DISCERNIBLE difference except in my guilt level.

These days, I think the acid rain is sourced from China more than the US. Just try breathing in Peking or Shanghai these days.
:w
 
China has allot of cars without Cats
 
I had remembered reading a recent article in Hot Rod magazine about a drag racer who has a DD 04 GTO thats pushing 600 h.p. His dyno runs have proven that the free flowing cats he installed to comply with CA emissions cost him a whopping 6 h.p. and 7.5 lb-ft of torque. Geez, so much performance is lost Im astounded. Check it out yourself those who doubt, Sept 2007 issue.
 
I had remembered reading a recent article in Hot Rod magazine about a drag racer who has a DD 04 GTO thats pushing 600 h.p. His dyno runs have proven that the free flowing cats he installed to comply with CA emissions cost him a whopping 6 h.p. and 7.5 lb-ft of torque. Geez, so much performance is lost Im astounded. Check it out yourself those who doubt, Sept 2007 issue.

That should give him a little extra boost:lou. So switching stock cats to staight pipe would of given him about 20-25HP, so from stock to high flow cats he is getting about 15HP. Still a good gain and he won't get asthma:D.

You are comparing high flow cats to staight pipe, your twisting the truth a little, you are forgetting about the 15 or so HP that was gained from stock, not including the 50 HP from the new headers and larger exhaust.

Down with cats:soapbox
 
I have been to China, worst smog I have ever seen, hard to breath and burns your eyes, and we are going to have the Olympics there? OH MY GOD!!!

I have to agree with you there. We go back to England every couple of years to see the wife's side of the family and the fumes are terrible in the larger towns and cities. Most of the vehicles are diesel. The smell always reminds me of Olongapo. LOL
 
Nelson84, you're breathing our toxins and its gone too your head son. I'm not twisting anything. First where are you getting this 20-25 hp loss you mention? Did you take your car to a dyno and run it prior to removing them? Then go back and run it again? Or are you using some edumucated guesstamate based on someone elses half baked response on another thread? I say show me your dyno run and I will humbly bow to your superior knowledge.
Most of us are running some sort of performance exhaust. But, many of us must comply with emission testing. It consists of a visual inspection and an emissions performance test. If you fail either you dont get to license your car. Plain and simple. So we who are abiding by the law are running catbacks which will give us a performance advantage over stock exhaust. So what is twisting the truth about changing to a freer flowing catalytic converter that not only complies with the law but also gives a performance advantage?
Put another way. I'm not saying that cats are the answer to our growing polution problem, but the law in my part of the country states I must run em. So I have given you proof in the form of someone elses dyno run that running his high performance engine thru a high performance exhaust that meets the federal and CA standards cost him so little in performance its not even worth discussing.
Now about your dyno runs.............
 
A dyno run????????

what does that cost? I'm not made of money you know. Having 7 vehicles in my stable costs alot to maintain let alone go hit the dyno every now and then.

With your car, it is common knowledge that the LT1 does not perform well with exhaust mods. GM got it right with the LT1. But in my case with thearly C4s, they are way more restictive. A straight pipe here no mufflers there and thats where you gain the 20-25HP. If there was no gain why is my vettes quicker without the emissions?

You should move, where there is no emissions laws and you will be a happier person with the extra HP. I sense a little tension in your typing.

NO CATS=:lou
 
Gotta Chime In

I had up to this point resisted the urge to comment on this thread, but it is still getting some play. I am a total, almost militant, skeptic when it comes to environmentalism and particularly global warming.

yadawho - You may in fact be an expert on this subject but your argument is weakened considerably when you misspell asthma (ashama), pollution (polution) and environment (enviorment). Also, you imply that since your father-in-law died from air pollution ( a difficult-to-prove claim) you are an expert and shouldn't be challenged. ;shrug

nelson84 - The implementation of emissions controls on automobiles has been incredibly successful. While miles traveled has increased greatly since their introduction, air pollution has been greatly reduced. Cats are only one piece of the emissions controls puzzle. "Cats bad" is kind of a :Silly statement. Catalytic converters work with EGR and fuel injection to reduce NOX, CO, and unburned hydrocarbons to extremely low levels.

Finally, the number of catalytic converters removed in the search for increased horsepower contribute even less to the overall pollution picture than the amount of horsepower gained.

I hope I spelled everything correctly.:D
 
Do you run down the road wide open? otherwise cat or no cat it makes no difference (except more air pollution). Lets talk about the real world. Oh still think the horsepower gains are very small. maybe 2Vett's of same year with and without cats could set up a race, that would be interesting. GOD HOPE MY SPELLING WAS OK.
 
I have worked with Techs who moved here from your great state, money is better here for auto tech's, unions.
 
My Father-Inlaw died from Railroad workers lung disease, It is caused by carbon particles in diesel exhaust smoke from the Locomotive, it is the same as coal miners black lung, look it up. These are quick replies, if I miss the spelling of a few words I am sorry, as it seems to offend you greatly.
 
I had up to this point resisted the urge to comment on this thread, but it is still getting some play. I am a total, almost militant, skeptic when it comes to environmentalism and particularly global warming.

yadawho - You may in fact be an expert on this subject but your argument is weakened considerably when you misspell asthma (ashama), pollution (polution) and environment (enviorment). Also, you imply that since your father-in-law died from air pollution ( a difficult-to-prove claim) you are an expert and shouldn't be challenged. ;shrug

nelson84 - The implementation of emissions controls on automobiles has been incredibly successful. While miles traveled has increased greatly since their introduction, air pollution has been greatly reduced. Cats are only one piece of the emissions controls puzzle. "Cats bad" is kind of a :Silly statement. Catalytic converters work with EGR and fuel injection to reduce NOX, CO, and unburned hydrocarbons to extremely low levels.

Finally, the number of catalytic converters removed in the search for increased horsepower contribute even less to the overall pollution picture than the amount of horsepower gained.

I hope I spelled everything correctly.:D


Are you fur it or again it, ;shrug all pops and buzzers from here. I will admit it I'm a hillbilly, shot gun under the bed and a 22 under the computer desk. Its like dukes uf hazzard around here and plenty of daisy's.
 

Corvette Forums

Not a member of the Corvette Action Center?  Join now!  It's free!

Help support the Corvette Action Center!

Supporting Vendors

Dealers:

MacMulkin Chevrolet - The Second Largest Corvette Dealer in the Country!

Advertise with the Corvette Action Center!

Double Your Chances!

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom