Static

ok I have been trying to find good info on this but nobody over at nopistons will help me... I sorta kinda know what the rats nest is but nobody will tell me what it does and if I need it... I was also wondering if I would gain so HP from doing what ever it is you do to the rats nest

sa22c_Drifter

yeah i dont know what the rat's nest is neither???

The_7

the rats nest is pretty much a bunch of solenoids and air lines that control some of the emissions system. its on top of the engine. looks like a mess of tubes like a rats nest i guess. many people take it off there car, i did it one day just cause it got in the way. if u take off only the rats nest u wont notice a power increase but the car will run smoother if u had some vacuum leaks, it also makes it alot easier to find future leaks. there is a tutorial on how to remove it but i forget the link, im sure someone else can post it for u.

nevarmore

Theres a HOWTO link in the sticky FAQ thread at the top of this section.

LongDuck

Some things to think about before you jump into this modification are; 1) do you need to pass emissions inspections?, 2) are you mechanically inclined, and 3) will you miss any of the things that the 'rat's nest' performs?

For #1, if you need to pass emissions inspection, taking out the vacuum system will surely prevent you from being able to register your car in your home town or state. Many states require that no modifications be made to the intake or exhaust system to ensure that your vehicle isn't a smog polluter. Taking out the 'rat's nest' will prevent your car from performing a lot of the functions that help to clean up exhaust fumes.

Also, the vacuum system helps to drive vacuum-based ignition advance and retard to better control combustion in your engine. While some may say that fixed-ignition systems work just fine and are easier to troubleshoot, it will also cause an decrease in gas mileage and possibly a drop in performance, particularly under acceleration (which is a lot of the time that your engine is running).

The vacuum system controls such features as when your EGR valve opens and closes (for emissions control with the airpump installed), ignition timing, cruise control vacuum source, and other features like choke, fuel pressure (for EFI cars) and idle mixture during cold start. By removing this vacuum system, you'll be bypassing or disabling these systems entirely.

While oftentimes a source of the elusive vacuum leak that causes idle inconsistency and/or weird driving performance, the system performs many important functions that help your car to be more 'streetable' for daily driving.

Take some time to do a search here and you'll find plenty of information for- and against- making the modification. Good luck,

kettlman

iTrader: (2)

if you remove the rats nest, will you still pass emissions?

pratch

or the link in my sig.

You don't gain immediate improvement from merely removing the nest. However, were you to put a header on, you'd immediately notice the difference! Additionally, removing it makes troubleshooting vacuum leaks a piece of cake

As stated in the tutorial and by others, removing the nest almost GUARANTEES FAILING any emissions testing. In the tutorial, we specifically disclaim it for non-streetable cars or for non-emissions states.

erick1120

One other thing. If you remove the rats nest you would be wise to remove the cats. They will plug soon after or over heat if the other emmisions stuff is removed and they are left in place.

Static

so my choke wont work... I dont have crusie or anything so the only thing I am worry about is my choke really... but if I am not gonna gain HP out of it then I prolly wont do it

rotarypower83

your choke will still work
but be prepared to cap the **** out of everything and possibly changing alot of hoses that connect to carb
I removed rats nest and my car ran like **** for days until I fixed every vacuum leak there was and tinkered with timing but I also put Racing Beat headers on it runs great now and sounds wicked

Static

so is this something you guys think is a must... I mean if it really makes the car run better and is really worth the effort then I will do it for sure

pratch

If you're going to do any other performance mods (header, et al.) then yes, it is just about as close to "must" as there is, as you'll get immense additional benefits from those future mods.