I just put together another CAT converter over the holiday weekend. This is a full stainless polished, 200 cell metal substrate CAT converter with heat shield, which claimed to be only 10% flow loss and EPA/CARB compliant. The sizing of the CAT was selected to match up with most aftermartet exhaust systems, as most systems have a 2.25 ID inlet piping. Currently, it's connected to my stock exhaust and seems to work fine (but too damn quiet!). I'm still waiting on my replacement exhaust before taking it to the dyno for some numbers. Here are some pics...

Pre-assembled setup: Pre-positioning everything before welding them together.



TIG weld of the front flange and O2 bung





Finished product

 

nice work JT. I thought you had the random tech cat though after tossing the magnaflow? Man you have too many mods to keep track of. Always tasteful though. Cant wait to see the dyno results on this one, although I already have the R/T cat myself, just havent had time to put it on.

Man I wish someone would come out with a heatshield to cover our aftermarket cats. Just so things wouldnt be so obvious to an inspection or dealer.

 

never mind, just realized Dzuy swapped his cats. Crap here comes a troutslap for mixing members up.

 

That's an awesome job you've done there JT. Both myself and one other CL9 guy here in Aus were looking into having a Metal'Cat fabricated to be a 'plug and play'/bolt-in application but never got around to it for a number of reasons (1 cost of Metal'Cat, 2 playing the gamble of finding an exhaust shop with both the skills and interest in doing the job at a reasonable price and quality befitting of the Cat in the first place). Hence I jumped on the RT bandwagon (till to install also)...but what you've got there is what I'd ideally like!

Now if only you could use those marvellous fabricating skills of yours (provided you could find the time) to share that rather attractive cat with the rest of the CL9 community who're prepared to be upfront with money . J/K.....Thats what custom exhaust shops are for!

Metal'Cat's are very popular with the WRX crowd, so I'll be eager to see what the results of your next dyno are.

 

What is your replacement exhaust going to be or are you just replacing your current one under warranty?

 

skillz

 

I ordered the Tanabe Medalion Touring but it won't be available until mid Jan 2006.

 

JTso, I'd swear you tested over 90% of the parts for the TSX on your own, lol. Is this your 2nd or 3rd catback?

 

Thanks Matell, the hardest part of the fabrication is making the flanges and drilling the large hole for the O2 bung. The fitting and welding part is actually pretty easy. If I can have some CNC machined stainless flanges made (:cough: Dan Martin ), I probably could crank out a few CATs.

 

Wow. Nice job JT. Cant wait to see a dyno result with and without the stock exhaust. Youre the man.

 

Great looking piece there Johnny

Is the Random tech cat a 300 cell metal substrate CAT converter?
Does a lower cell metal substrate result in more air flow?

 

Not sure if the RTC a 300 cell or not without knowing the source of the CAT. However, it looks to be a 200 cell according to the core. A 200 cell core flows better than a 300 (most high flow CATs) or 400 cell (stock TSX) core.

 

Very nice work man cant wait to see the dyno. If it is good enough dan better start making flanges.

 

Johnny does it again!

Great job man.

 

:troutslap

hehe

 

JTso you are a god

 

This is going to match the new A-pipe, correct? I'm wondering if an increase in pipe size on a NA engine is going to negatively impact exhaust scavenging at lower RPMs.

 

Yes, the sizing was selected to match. The stock CAT has a 2.25" ID inlet and a 2.0" ID outlet. I selected the custom CAT with a 2.25" ID inlet. The outlet is 2.10" ID.

Just for comparison.... My observation of the RTC during a recent install for a local member is that it has a 2.25" OD inlet with a 2.10" ID. The outlet is 2.0" OD with a 1.88" ID.

 

Hey JTso~
Did U make the CAT yourself? I'm recently in the market to purchase a CAT, considering the Magnaflow and RT Cat now. Which one will you recommend? and how much is yours?

 

damn.....JTso, you're the man!

 

Nice looking cat. What type pricing is that selling at?

 

I just found some info on that cat as an FYI...

___________________________

Taken from a sellers site:

*Superior forward flow (CFM): 534:81 for metal'Cat™ versus 312.17 for the competition*

*Only 11" long—great for small and mid-size cars

*Unique 200-cell-per-square-inch high-flow full metal catalyst

Flowbench measurement of Metal'Cat&3153; with 3" inlet/outlet against a popular performance brand.

____________________________

As an FYI, the 3" RT Metallic is 10.5" and flows 598 cfm @ 28" of pressure.

 

Yes, I put together the pieces myself. I don't believe you can buy a complete production Magnaflow CAT unless you know someone to fab up one for you. Therefore, your only other choice is the RT CAT.

Thanks, Actually, there is no plan of selling it as the materials are very costly. The CAT alone is $162. The total with stainless pipe, O2 bung, custom flanges costs me $220 plus the welding supplies (gas. filler rods) & labor. I did it just for fun.

 

NIce work!! good to have you as a mod man!

 

Can you make me one for free? Just for fun?

 

Nice work, looks good.

 

nice one JTso - i was seriously considering getting a metal-cat aswell, but decided to go with the OEM metal cat of the Cl7 to solve fabrication issues etc (the maxum works header has different dimensions to stock and i don't trust many local exhaust shops to make it to the right size without having the header first).

The specs of the metal cat seem really good and i'd say your setup may offer similar if not better gains to the RT cat. I'd be interested to know how the OEM metal cat compares flow wise.

 

I do have another CAT for sale in the BM forum.

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/sold-fs-tsx-high-flow-cat-328451/

 

Looks great. What brand cat is that?

 

well, a few weeks ago the random tech cat thread was a hot topic.

how does everyone like their cat?

my impression is still the same, the gains were impressive, and you can def tell on the high end.

the engine note is great!!!

i'm just curious, that's all :troutslap

 

I just got back from the dyno and here are some numbers.

Last dyno:
300 cell cat with Tanabe SMH

New dyno:
200 cell Metal' cat with Tanabe MT

Since the design and piping of the two exhaust are pretty much the same, the numbers are mostly from the cat converter.

Note: ignore the torque spike from the last dyno. The torque should only be around 162 instead of 170. Today's numbers indicate a slight drop before 3200 rpm but gains everywhere else.

SAE corrected:


Uncorrected: This is the actual hp and tq to the wheel without factor in air temp and other variables. Today is relatively cold at approx. 43 degrees F. Cold air does help with performance. If using the standard 15% loss to the wheel calculation, which means the engine produced 244 hp and 208 tq to the crank.


This is just

 

Looks great Johnny!

 

so how much will you be selling these for

 

You mean the cat? I only have one so it's not for sale. Besides, it's not JDM.

Build material:
50% Australia
50% US

Assembly:
100% US

 

If you ever decide to make some to sell, I would be interested in buying one.

 

Looks great Johnny. Thanks for the dyno

You're got yourself one badass NA TSX

 

Nice numbers, was this with the custom A-pipe?

 

Thanks, this is with the standard DC A-pipe. The custom A-pipe is to be used with a different application.

 

Nice work I can only imagine what would happen with your figures if you found a way to set up FI. You planning on going FI in the future? Or are you purely NA?

 

244chp... SWEET!!