Interesting opinion about test pipes with my reasoning included for free!! :-)

Lets get real here....by the time most people notice that they're experiencing a cat fire, its usually too late. The Check Engine sensor back there doesn't hint at impending danger - when that thing lights up, its time to grab your fire extinguisher and start praying. Unless you have a camera trained on your cat converter to watch for glowing-red metal (indicating that unburnt gasoline is being passed into your exhaust and is being ignited there) you might not 'feel' much. Some folks feel that the car is sluggish in this condition, as detonation is only occuring in half of the cylinder banks. However, if only one or two cylinders are not firing for some reason, you might not feel a thing from the car's response until you see the smoke/flames.....

Anyone with first-hand experience want to chime in?

 

Just last week there was a story of a 308 burning up right at the gas station pump - apparently due to excess fuel (probably a cracked rubber fuel filler hose) running down to the cat. Based upon the picture it looked like the environment would have come out ahead without a burning ferrari with a cat than without. Also, the additional risk to to life and limb of all those in proximity to the gas statio was obviously significant!

ps. I thought Husker's pic was not unreasonably offensive and quite humorous - Franklin Esq. could use a dose of healthy and light-hearted self reflection. Not all positions of right, wrong, ethical and moral (or not) come from the law (from a fellow attorney).

 

You know, there is proposed legislation kicking around that would allow for a reward for people to turn in violators of this law. The Gentrys of the world might make a killing one of these days just by printing out these threads...