308 Sport Catalytic Converter (1984-1985)

Fits on an 89 328 ?

Car passes smog with this pipe ?I I have a Larini test pipe that I have to swap out with the cat every 2 years to pass smog in Ca, I also run a Tubi

Thank you

 

So what is the point buying anything but a "test" pipe?

 

It is GREAT to see that someone is making catalytic converters specific to the 3x8. Best wishes with the project. It will be great to finally get the cat listed in CARB documentation.

It is important to note that ANY PC-1 catalytic converter (that fits) that is CARB certified is already approved for use in California in our cars. The problem is that our cars are not listed in the on-line documents that SMOG shops use so they fail or, more correctly, refuse to pass our cars out of caution and fear.

"Brian Harper" replaced his cats in 2019 and documented the process he went through to defend the usage of a generic PC-1 cats to the SMOG shop he used. Here is some of those details:
HELP I need a catalytic converter '84 308 GTS

 

The newer hi flow cats are not a restriction nor do they impede performance.
I maintain them on ALL my cars, that require them...

It is well known that the units are "49 State" certified, but that's IMO more of a reflection on California, than anything else.

By design two smaller cats "light off" faster for gas processing.
My Toyota 4 cyl has them in line, series if you will..
My Cadillac has two, slpitting the V6 per side, again with the same design intent.

They last so long, I just consider them "cost of doing business"..
Test pipes would be a hassle to remove if you were in a locale that required annual testing.

Older cars are of course going exempt, so "do what your heart allows" at that point.
Good luck to Fabspeed out in California!!!

 

It's obvious they want us all i electric cars!!!!

 

So they will pass the other 49 states?

 

ANSA High performance CATS have always been 49 states.
They too have just "written off" the market in California..
Ya'll know I have run ANSA my entire life...

You could even try "Generic" cats, but I was warned away from them as they are not sized to engine requirements, and IF they do not "light off" properly, al your efforts equal FAIL.

So I have a local hole in the wall parts shop that gave me proper Walker units for the Cadillac, at 50% of retail.
I order the Toyota Tacoma unit from some specialist on the internet, and for whatever reason, the new unit was less than $200 and the scrap one sold for $415!!
And because of the rampant theft market, I had to prove ownership of the truck, legal ID, and they wrote traceability on the SCRAP part, as it entered the salvage process!!

And the check came from a girl behind bullet proof glass......I felt I needed a shower......

 

I had given it to my mechanic with the comment: "Might make you another $40"

So when he got down to the buyer (and normal scrap yards do NOT handle them) he called with:
"uhhhh...you have to come here and bring your stuff"....

 

I apologize for tromping into Fabspeed's thread, and as I posted I wish them all the best taking on the State of California!!

 

Wishing you nothing but positive mojo with your cat products (and if you can get them CARB approved, we'll ask the Pope to give you a Sainthood ), but have some corrections/comments/suggestions/question:

1. The stock 328 cat (and '84-'85 US 308QV cat and TR cat) is Ferrari part number 121385. This cat is 400 cells per square inch (not 600):
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2. Cell density is not the only factor -- the total open area for flow thru the catalytic structure is what's important. Ferrari did a really good design with a very large 130mm open flow diameter (note the very large body of the stock 121385 cat). I'm sure acoustically your 200 cell cat will have different behavior, but what is really important is pressure loss vs flow (or bhp on the dyno). Since you claim the back pressure is lower, you might want to have some actual data to back that up. What is the open flow diameter of your catalytic structure?:

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3. It's a little confusing IMO when you claim your cats can handle 500 bhp. A pair of your cats can handle 500 bhp so you might want to state that more clearly or in a different way.

Good luck with these projects -- we appreciate having other options for cats as the stock cat price is just uber-insulting.

 

Re the Fabspeed video...To substantiate the claim of more power, it would have been good to see a before/after dyno test of the Fabspeed Cat vs a standard Ferrari 328 Cat in good condition.

 

Are there any companies available that will just replace the core of original CAT?

 

People have posted in the past that such service is available, but I don't have any companies in mind offhand myself. It could also be that what's done internally isn't exactly the same as the stock F design (as I posted, the Ferrari catalytic structure is unusually large in size) -- although it would probably get you past an emission test and still look stock. IME, many of the aftermarket cats available for F (like from DEC) are essentially Mustang 5.0 cats (more of a flat oval shape) with different flanges. Here's a couple of photos comparing such an aftermarket F cat to the stock 121385 cat:
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Your photos don't show this -- not talking about the size of the inlet pipe, but the size of the catalytic structure where the exhaust gas enters it. Scaling you photo (and knowing the distance between the flange mounting holes is about 91 mm) shows that the OD where the cat structure lives is about 103~105 mm -- and the cat structure will be smaller than than that:

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Even in your video (where the cat has a slightly different shape) the largest OD is still about 105mm (so impossible for the open flow diameter of the catalytic structure to be 130 mm):

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To ask the question a different way -- what is the diameter of the 200 cell catalytic structure that you put inside your sports cat?

 

Please do post a photo of your later design, if/when available.