Of course, never do anything against the state lest you become an enemy of the state and feel the full power of the state. Since everything is illegal, I wonder what isn't? I promise i won't pull the label off the mattress !
Don't mean to hijack this thread but I think it is legal to purchase assault weapons off the shelf once again..
Has anyone dynoed an f-car pre and post cat removal? It is a relative common practice on the Viper board and the usual gain in between 10-20 hp depending on the mods. The sound of a Viper with headers, no cats and a Borla cat back it just amazing. I could care less about the few hp gain if it enhanced the sound of the engine.
Nope. assault weapons have been illegal since 1934, except by special US government permit/background check/fingerprint file/annual tax/and chief of police signature. Maybe you mean the weapons that LOOK LIKE assault weapons, feared & dreaded by folks more caught up in appearances than reality?
The 348 / Mondial t engine was rated at 300 hp w/o cats. With cats the factory claims 295 hp. Not sure whether this "official" numbers tell the whole story but I consider it as an indication that a 5 hp loss is realistic.
Cats definately drain hp. Also throttle response is a factor. The weight change is negligable on cars weighing around 1300kg. I've removed the cats from the whole fleet of 360C in OZ, for race track use of course, and lap times drop significantly. About 0.5s per 60s. I replace the cats with small silencers, not test pipes. The silencers are only about 2 kg lighter than the cat, if that. For road use, it's totally un-necessary to remove the cats. If it's speed you're after, run with half fuel tanks for a much better gain! If you don't feel you go any better with a half tank compared to a full tank, you won't gain anything from removing the cats!
Lots of people don't like animals of any kind in their Ferrari's - especially cats. They have a bad habit of hiding under the seats and you can't get them out. I have not yet had the need to remove any cats from my 550. But if you get a HP gain from the weight alone (although most cats don't weigh that much) I could understand the desire to remove them. Certainly nothing is wrong with discussing removing animals from your car. Any officer (and I assume everyone is talking about Animal Cruelty Officers) would be hard pressed to bring a case against someone because they didn't want cats in their car - assuming of course during the removal process the cats were not damaged. The real risk is that a cat lover (like my aunt) sees these posts and then you have some explaining to do.
Just to those who don't know one of the biggest pluses I see of not having cats is reducing the fire risk of many 80s and early 90s Ferraris. Not the hp. Since many Ferraris (80s Digiplex) ignitions are set up as either 2 4cyls. or 2 6 cyls banks many can drop a bank and the car still continue to run. The raw fuel that enters the cat will light it up. Hence so many engine fire cars on Ebay and Italian Design.
FYI - There is an article in the Los Angeles Times this morning about the new State law that would not exempt collector cars. In the article some bureaucrat is quoted as suggesting that a simple scan of the Internet reveals many car enthusiast sites offering advice on how to remove smog equipment. Big brother is watching. Jim S.
I have heard on this board that dropping cats can also have the added benefit of dropping engine temperatures, especially in hot climates. My 1984 308 tends to overheat in stop-and-go traffic, and in the summertime, we have heat+humidity in the mid 90s for weeks. I just had the radiator flushed/filled (at least that's what I paid the local mechanic to do), but on the ride home, temps continued to climb even with the fans running over the radiator - foam over the radiator looks good, coolant is at proper levels, new radiator cap, etc. So now I'm looking at improving exhaust flow to get heat away from the engine - headers and cats are on my hit list. The drivetrain for the 308 series was originally designed without restrictive emissions equipment - how else to explain the massive HP drop in the 1980-1982 series 308s? Before I have the headers pulled and ceramic-coated, I'm looking into removing the cats - its CHEAP, it does improve flow away from the engine, it removes a deadly fire hazard, and can be done in an afternoon by your average Joe pipe-bender down the street. These are facts that have NOT been disputed here. Also, I live in a state that does NOT TEST FOR EMISSIONS. Here in SC, if you want the cats 'dropped', you ask the muffler guy to do so, and pay him cash for the bypass pipe he fabricates for you. Most of these are pretty straight-shots of pipe between headers and muffler, so labor is low for these pipes. Heck, if you wait five minutes, he installs it for you, since he has to 'drop' the cat in the first place to take measurements for the bypass pipe and test for fittment. However, if I decide (or NOT decide) to do this, I'll be sure and keep it "on the down-low".
I've seen a 328 catch fire at the track, it is not pretty! The header and cat were completely melted.
Wouldn't an official need a warrant of some sort to check to see if your car was legal? Of all the folks who have the authority to enforce this, who would have enough free time on there hands to go prosecute Mr John Smith on Main St. and his personal car in his driveway? Really? It would seem a lot of work to drag him and his car into court and if so how much more proof do you need that it's not the spotted owls and redwoods these people are after; it's the $$$ in the fines.
Driving is a privilege, not a right. So, by operating your car on public roads you have already given implied consent to have your cat checked for any violations such as sound, emissions and safety.
But they have to use a machine to check it. How would they get the car from the person's driveway to it for analysis? This is assuming that the owner lives in a state that doesn't do annual checks.
If they stopped you for any reason they can search the car. You can always refuse but that may be a night at the county cross bar hotel.
Who knows any cops that carry a CO analyizer with them? I guess this kinda answers my question. To actually get into any trouble you have to be pulled over and then they can seize your car for testing. Of course they have to be thinking about that cat thing when they do pull you over. I am assuming that traffic stop is likely unrelated to emissions checking. Probably speeding or something similar. Anybody been pulled over and been questioned about the emissions setup on their car while being told to slow it down a bit? I am not suggesting that cat removal isn't illegal. I am only suggesting that you will win the lottery before you get into any trouble with it. I know 2 people that have hit a big lottery but I have never even heard of a private owner getting busted by the tree-hugging police over a cat issue. Does anyony know of anyone out there who has been caught? Not a car shop but just a regular private individual.
