running the car w/o a Cat

[trikzta]

is it safe to run your car w/o a cat as in nothing connected to the exhaust manifold.. i know is not legal or even environmental friendly im just wondering? would it have any bad effect on the engine or anything else ... im not much of a mechanic but im tryin to get there... i love playing with cars

[1996 328ti]

I don't think the car will run any different, but do you have an emissions inspection?

[trikzta]

inpection... erm u know ive never heard of those here in miami.

according to something i just read the Florida inspections were abolished on yr 2000

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by trikzta

inpection... erm u know ive never heard of those here in miami.

according to something i just read the Florida inspections were abolished on yr 2000

I wasn't aware of that.
Then federal law aside and the fact you would be limited to who you could sell the car to, you can do it.

[trikzta]

okay thanks a bunch

[Jean H.318TI]

the car is gonna run perfect but ur gonna have a CEL so just get a 02 sensor simulator and ull be fine or just pull the bulb out

[trikzta]

whats a CEL and what bulb? thank god i didnt take the CAT off today

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by trikzta

whats a CEL and what bulb? thank god i didnt take the CAT off today

Check Engine Light

Is there anything wrong with the cat?

[trikzta]

not sure but i think so... so thats why ama buy another one .. just waiting on the money... kinda made marv wait a lil too long.. well at first some members thought it was limp mode but then after i explained briefly some members came up with the Cat being messed up and said the Cat's on 98's fail prematurely..
( http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=28081&page=2 )
and well what the member said got me pretty sure about the Cat failure

[trikzta]

and about the bulb and O2 simulator? and i already have a CEL on

[cooljess76]

Removing the catalytic converter is not only illegal and bad for the environment, it's also ghetto. Whenever you decide to sell the car, the buyer is going to be screwed if he/she wants to be legal. Remanufactured OEM cats cost about $1500, most if not all aftermarket cats will fail after a couple of months and it's illegal for a junkyard to sell a used cat. If you're removing the cat for performance reasons, you should know that you won't see even the slightest improvement or gain and you my even lose some torque. Removing the CEL bulb will also mean that you won't pass inspection and you won't know when there's other problems. If your car is '96 or newer, the post cat o2 sensor will send improper signals to your DME(ecu) and the fuel trim will be off resulting in a lean or rich air/fuel mixture. Sure you can buy or make an o2 simulator, but let me restate that it's ghetto. Unless you're running a forced induction setup ie; supercharger or turbo, you won't see any noticeable gains other than loss of torque and even those who are running forced induction usually run a high flow cat. Besides that, I like breathing clean air and just because your state may not conduct emissions testing or you may know of a shop who will cheat the test for a fee, it's still illegal. The EPA is a federal agency and state laws cannot override the EPA's standards. Personally I would not encourage or recommend removing your cat.

[BMW_Hatchback]

[trikzta]

well jess it might be ghetto and dumb kids might do it instead of buyin a new muffler or sumtin but im not doing it for either for performance or the sound of my car cause the loudness i hate it and the torque loss yeah i already know about that.. and when i ask if i can run the car w/o a cat i dont actually mean on the street.. i just mean turnin it on and havin it on.. for an excessive amount of time i dont have a turbo or a SC im just tryin to get my car runnin as smooth as it was before the Cat got messed up i know is illegal and i mentioned it.. 5% Tints are also illegal but no1 says anything about ppl having on their cars.. and if i do run my car on the streets w/o the cat might be for less that a day to get it to a shop or something but besides that the only reason i want to take it off and make sure nothing is goin to go wrong with the engine or anything else is to attempt to fix some other things and see if it runs good before the other cat arrives..


LOL good one BTW with the Pic of the kitty

[BMW_Hatchback]

tint is one thing, which varies form state to state, but for the most part no cat is illegal, even though some states don't test to register the car. I would see if you can get a used cat from a few members here.. I know a few guys selling

[trikzta]

Marv is selling one i talked to him a few weeks back but i had an issue with the bank... they decided to close down my account.. and when i went to complaint they re opened it so now im hoping to recieve the funds tomorrow.. and no cat i kno is illegal but no1 really cares or checks here in Miami so i have no worries