nonameo

fairly simple procedure, right?


Well, I want to be careful anyways. What should I be careful to look for/problems? this car is ALL stock(88 t2) save rebuilt engine. I am mostly worried about fuel:air mix, but I don't think it is going to be a problem... I am just paraniod I guess.

rico05

Don't. Waste of time. Actually creates turbulence that hurts power. Sounds good though. If you really want to, I just unbolted my cats, and used a 12 inch screwdriver and a hammer and banged all the **** out iof it till it was hollow. With a TII, you will get boost creep though. I wouldn't reccomend this mod....

nonameo

ugh... great... well I guess I need to get a dp then cause I am pretty sure those cats are clogged... and I don't want to spend the $ for new cats.

Jerk_Racer

I did it when my cats were clogged to the point of getting almost no boost. It helped in that respect. But I eventuall got a real exhaust. A gutted stock exhaust is worse than a non-gutted stock exhaust. With it gutted I was finally able to shoot flames. This eventually blew the driverside muffler up. I mean it was blown the F up. Do a search looking for my name. I posted pics. It wasn't pretty. This was caused by this ghetto mod. Getting a real exhaust system made a HUGE improvement.

nonameo

I am not doing this for the sake of performance, I am doing this moreso because I know that clogged cats can cause problems. If I had the money to do lots of mods, though, you know I would be pushing this car to the limit

I am thinking about welding some pipe in place of the cats... not exactly a downpipe, but I think that it might be better than having an empty cat.

HALO

If they are clogged and you dont have the money to get a new high flow job, I dont guess you have a choice. That sucks, dude.

Let us know if you run into any major problems.

seventhgear

i know this is off the subject but i have an n/a 7 and the gutted cat didnt do too much for me really . just noise!! lol

rico05

A gutted cat will give you farty backfires w/o flames and boost creep. If you are broke, then go for it, but not for too long. I really liked the gutted cats and single N1 setup I had......Till I threw on the full exhaust. Why do you think they are clogged? Are you not boosting? Sure it isn't a TID or manifold leak?

nonameo

I am not totally sure, but the engine is burned out, and the car has 130k on it... so its largely an assumption. How much off will it be from a "real" downpipe if I just weld a piece of pipe in the cat?

edit)- I just got this car, I drove it home and that is all i have driven it. Anything that was wrong with the way it ran was probably caused by the engine, which is getting replaced. (engine was smoking/bad idle/old/putting lots of soot on the pavement/bad compression/etc...)

All of my money is going into replacement parts for everything necessary. In about a year, I will have enough money again to do something worth talking about. Till then, I will have to keep up with regular maintenance. I need to get a better job . an A+ tech needs to be earning more than min wage. Unfortunately, none of the comp shops want to hire anyone under 18. I do some side buisiness, but it doesn't grab me much. oh well, this car is lots more fun than having an old 84 celica.

HALO

It is the first thing I would check. The Cat can screw everything up and make your car feel like it has no compression.

That is always the first thing to check. I hope it is the cat. Nothing too major. easy to repair.

May the force be with you.

rico05

A clogged cat feels very different than a popped engine. A "real" dp is not that different than a custom job, it is just custom cut, beant, and fitted for the application so it is an easy bolt in affair. Most folks don't have a cutting torch, mandrel bend press, and a welder for the dp, so companies sell them at 4x the actual build cost. Have fun


BUT REMEMBER.....You WILL creep w/ a dp on a turbo. BE CAREFUL and make sure that you have enough fuel for the extra 3-5psi you will push at WOT.

nonameo

Ugh... I know this is a stupid question, but can you explain boost creep real quick for me? If I have to get xtra fuel to the engine, that means I will need a new fuel comp right? larger injectors? I think it would be cheaper to get a hi-flow cat. Oh well, I WILL make it work somehow.

HALO-- I have already sent for a rebuild. I got this car on the cheap side, I had anticipated an engine rebuild.

Jerk_Racer

Boost creep is when your boost creeps up because the wastegate can not bleed enough exhaust out of the system. in short, your turbine can't handle the exhaust flow. It can not be remedied by a boost controller. What to do you ask. Well, there a couple of things you can do. Port out the wastegate to get more flow, but this is a band-aid. Or go for a turbo upgrade that has an external wastegate. T04 upgrades are a good example. Most external wastegates outperform actuated integral wastegates (the stock kind) big time.

Mind you, I'm stupid. If my explanation sucks in some way, please correct me so I don't keep on spouting off the same wrong info.

nonameo

no, I get it. its basically boost overflow. When I think creep, though, I normally think something that happens over a large period of time. As I understand it, boost creep is when your boost hits its max. then starts to slowly creep upwards because it can't bleed it all off. I thought it was something like a calcium build up. Porting the wastegate? sounds free :P why wouldn't that work?

nonameo

guess I need to get a boost gauge?

Jerk_Racer

Porting does work - to some extent. It depends on how bad it is.

nonameo

youre online right? just IM me... lookicanread on aim.

BlackFC_NYC

im assuming a straight pipe wouldnt be any better correct? cause that would be a cheap option as well.

rico05

Nope, a striaght pipe is not a good idea on a stock fuel system. A boost gauge is a good idea for ANY turbo car (stock ones suck) and should be the very first mod done, IMO. What you really need is to upgrade your fuel system (bigger pump, secondary injectors, S-AFC) and get a boost controller. Porting the wastegate is not a bad idea, but it will not solve all your problems. A little creep is to be expected when modifying a car, but it should be prepared for by an upgraded fuel system. Your car is an 88, so 5.5psi is stock. Watch out, anything over what is it.....like 7psi on the stock fuel system will cause you to lean out and detonate. Someone please jump in here and correct me. I am just begenning to learn about turbo systems, so I am not a pro at this.....

nonameo

ok... can we clear something up???

At this point in time, I am NOT going for extra HP. Not yet. What I need is to get my car RUNNING!!! Being my car has 130k miles on it, I have good reason to believe my cats are clogged. It is cheaper for me to replace my cats with a dp than it is to get new ones. I am trying to AVOID spending any money I don't have to spend, seeing how I am low on money right now. So... essentially I am looking for the absolute least expensive way to replace my cats.

IOW I can't spend 2000$ on mods. I would like to stay under 500. A boost gauge is reasonable, I will do that, any brand reccomendations? Again I don't want to spend 150 on a boost gauge.

nonameo

what about removing the restrictor pill? If I am able to keep boost low enough, will I still need fuel mods?