Getting rid of the pre-cats
Getting rid of the pre-cats
Author
Discussion

The Red Baron

Original Poster:

299 posts

212 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
I'm thinking about getting rid of the pre-cats before the winter is over. I've read all about the difficulties, so I intend to take off the manifolds first and replace the gaskets at the same time.

Once back on the car, do I need to get the ECU re-mapped, or any other 'tweaks' if all I'm doing is removing the pre-cats?

Thanks in advance.



Pasco

6,652 posts

257 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
I'm fairly certain that i did not change anything ecu wise when i removed my pre cats scratchchin main cat then that's a different matter i seem to recall.

Any how its a good mod to carry out for the following reasons

1 Removing them reduces under bonnet temperature by a considerable amount

2 Will improve the exhaust note but not by a huge amount

3 will release approximately 3hp

They are a pig to remove as are the manifolds but as i say its well worth the effort just for the under bonnet temp reduction alone and also it has no bearing on the MOT test whats so ever so get cracking thumbup

clive f

7,259 posts

262 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
no tweaks needed, just get rid of the things, your engine will love you all the more for ityes

yellowgriff

1,429 posts

211 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
Pre catts or main catts need no ecu resetting, Better to removed them ,they are not that bad to get off. Get ready though for hard work to drill/ knock the things out,, Health warning wear gloves & wear a mask off some sort,, Cover arms as these can cause a bad rash.

Pasco

6,652 posts

257 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
Er don't you have to change the tune resistor if you go catless ?


The main one that is ?

Edited by Pasco on Monday 1st February 17:10

yellowgriff

1,429 posts

211 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
Have complete de catt on griff 500,Have changed nothing at all. Dont know if its running cooler yet havent had any hot weather, Sounds a lot better, Havent touch the middle silencer under seats.(YET)

davetherave1970

2,144 posts

275 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
All cats removed on mine. No ECU changes.
Just for your interest, below are temp readings before and after removing all three cats on my Griff.

Temperatures using IR thermometer: -
Before
NS pre cat area = 280c
OS pre cat area = 290c
Main cat area = 195c

After
NS pre cat area = 240c
OS pre cat area = 220c
Main cat area = 90c

Big Ashy

492 posts

282 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
shout Your gonna have to shout if you do I reckon, I have removed precats and had the Offord sleeve conversion done and its loud enough but nice, with it producing a deep burble on tick over to a incredible roar when you get on the loud pedal. I`m toying with the idea of removing the main cat but have been told it sounds a bit "tinny" due to the large diameter of the pipe and will be that loud that it will attract a lot of attention from the B.I.B? cop
Anyone shed any more light on the above mods and the resulting noisescratchchin?

The Red Baron

Original Poster:

299 posts

212 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
Right - seems no good reason to keep them then!!

Now I'll replace the manifold gaskets as a matter of course, but is there a special sealant or grease that I should apply to ensure a good seal? What about the bolts? Should I replace these too? Are they just standard off-the-shelf size or something special? Where is a good place to source these?

Any thing else I could do while I have the manifolds off?

I've finished my other winter projects and am now getting itchy. Can't have the car just sitting in the garage - need to either drive it (still got snow on the roads) or play around with it!!! eek

yellowgriff

1,429 posts

211 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
No sealant required, New gaskets bolt it all back together,, Pre catts out & main catt removed defo not tinny at all. Really not sure about remove the box thou, To many saying they are to loud,
With Nick Smith making 8 oclock meets sunday mornings my neighbours will hate me,, Yes even more,, Dont forget about MOT if removing main catt..If you do when mot comes round i have a spare,,

steve-V8s

2,924 posts

277 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
There seems to be a fair bit of confusion over the cats. On cat equipped cars there are three units fitted. There is a pair (One each side) where the four exhaust manifolds join into one , the main cat is located in the large cylinder after all the pipes have joined. The two smaller cats are allegedly there to cope with emissions during the warm up period for type approval. The main cat is needed to have any chance of passing the MOT emissions test. The “tune” the resistor alters the map allowing a richer mixture which the engine may prefer but is not compatible with running a cat. Catalytic converters only work in a fairly narrow mixture range so the lambda sensors measure the mixture reporting rich or lean back to the ECU so it can adjust as required.

There seems to be a good argument for removing the Pre cats as it does help reduce under bonnet temperature, removing the main cat however seems to me to be rather silly as there is very little to be gained unless it is blocked and the car will no longer pass the emissions test.

If you are taking the manifolds off get a decent set of bolts with smaller heads (ARP do some), makes it a lot easier to get a spanner on them.

Ballistic Banana

14,706 posts

296 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
yellowgriff said:
No sealant required, New gaskets bolt it all back together,, Pre catts out & main catt removed defo not tinny at all. Really not sure about remove the box thou, To many saying they are to loud,
With Nick Smith making 8 oclock meets sunday mornings my neighbours will hate me,, Yes even more,, Dont forget about MOT if removing main catt..If you do when mot comes round i have a spare,,
no cats and straight throughs ears

Mount Ventoux http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ESL1oWH

Testing lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TXYT9nMPS0

Loads more on here LINKY Including many other de catted 500s and original de cats smile

BB


yellowgriff

1,429 posts

211 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
BB sorry mate my neighbours would kill me , I live on a unmade road, So no fast get aways, The car in the vid sounds fantastic thou,, The flames are to die for & i more than likely would,,, LOL

clive f

7,259 posts

262 months

Monday 1st February 2010
quotequote all
obviously a car wont pass an mot very easily without the main cat, thats why you have a decat pipe, and refit the main cat for mot purposes, 2 hrs max work giving another 12 months glorious driving.

if you decat the main cat pipe by removing the cat itself, and still using the large dustbin sized pipe of course it will sound terrible, hehe