Need new cat. Any recommendations?

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by xxch4osxx
Originally Posted by StevieC
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Straight pipes! Forget the cat!

It's illegal here to do that, but I did ask him where in Canada he is because depending on the province he might not have to fix it because of the smog testing being cancelled in Ontario in April of next year.

And rightly so! That Drive Clean program should have been axed years ago!!


Tell me about it... Super happy about this cash grab being gone.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Sorry for the late reply, but I'm in BC.
They also ditched the Aircare program a few years ago.
But for the sake of keeping the car as OEM as possible, I'm partial to keeping a cat with the muffler.

thanks for the suggestions guys, I think I have some homework to do

 

[DuckRyder]

You know the OE Rear muffler is reasonable priced (again assuming it can be gotten in Canada) @ ~425.00.

OE cat is expensive (~1500.00) ... were it me I might have to go magnaflow cat and OE everything else if I wanted stock sound...

OH and hers another supplier I've used.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperCat/0228/BMW_0228_EXHMUF_pg1.htm

 

[KalapanaBlack]

Bosal is junk. Walker and AP are, too. They are just cheap-o 1-2 yr aftermarket "solutions." Oftentimes fit poorly, too. May leak at flanges. If you don't care, Walker is pretty decent about honoring their warranty. IIRC it's 5 yrs rust-thru and 7 yrs internal.

Eastern Catalytic Converters used to be good. Not sure about now.

Autopart International (Advance Autoparts' wholesale division) sources some very high quality exhaust, but doesn't have very good coverage for non-Asian cars. The stuff is a carbon copy of factory size/bend/fit. Unsure about the internal quality of the cats, they don't seem to be total junk. Maybe not OE quality.

Davico is so-so, as well. Not great looking or fitting, but not super failure-prone internally.

OE is probably always the best choice for a cat - IF it's still made, and IF the absurd prices aren't a no-go. At least part of the reason for the price of OE cats is that there's pretty good precious metal content, which 100% dictates how the cat functions internally. And, of course, the fit will be perfect.

If this is a rarely driven weekend car and you don't need to pass emissions, maybe an adapter is the way to go to get rid of the light. Just don't let the cat clog and then, unbeknownst to you, ruin the valves.

 

[Wolf359]

The reason OE cats are so expensive is that they have to last a certain amount of time, typically the life of the car so they have the most metal or at least the 8/80k federal emissions warranty. The aftermarkets don't have to have that good a warranty on the theory that by the time you need a new cat, the car is going to be pretty old and maybe all you need is another 5 years or less out of the car. When the aftermarket cat goes, it's probably time to get rid of the car. I'd just get an aftermarket cat, you don't really need an OEM cat to last 200k.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Magnaflow also has an exhaust for your car, so you can get both the cat and the cat-back exhaust from Magnaflow and have a nice system

I also found this cheap 304 stainless muffler on eBay

 

[Lolvoguy]

The downside? I'm seeing with the Magnaflow, is the 2 to 1 flow. IIRC, it's better to have an independent setup similar to the OE setup, vs. a 2 to 1.

Can anyone elaborate or explain if my concerns are justified?

thanks in anvance.

Oh and to those suggesting I cut out the cat and put a straight pipe. Sure, that's the easier and cheaper method, but I prefer to hear the mechanicals of my engine (the way it was from stock). As opposed to hearing mostly exhaust drone.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
The downside? I'm seeing with the Magnaflow, is the 2 to 1 flow. IIRC, it's better to have an independent setup similar to the OE setup, vs. a 2 to 1.

Can anyone elaborate or explain if my concerns are justified?

thanks in anvance.

Oh and to those suggesting I cut out the cat and put a straight pipe. Sure, that's the easier and cheaper method, but I prefer to hear the mechanicals of my engine (the way it was from stock). As opposed to hearing mostly exhaust drone.


The Magnaflow may still flow better and have the same or less backpressure. And you get the mandrel bent pipes, too

You can always email Magnaflow and ask them why they went with the 2-1 flow instead of independent like stock. If you do, please tell us what they say if they respond

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by KalapanaBlack
Bosal is junk. Walker and AP are, too. They are just cheap-o 1-2 yr aftermarket "solutions." Oftentimes fit poorly, too. May leak at flanges. If you don't care, Walker is pretty decent about honoring their warranty. IIRC it's 5 yrs rust-thru and 7 yrs internal.



OE is probably always the best choice for a cat - IF it's still made, and IF the absurd prices aren't a no-go. At least part of the reason for the price of OE cats is that there's pretty good precious metal content, which 100% dictates how the cat functions internally. And, of course, the fit will be perfect.

.

I've had a Walker cat, never again.

OE cats also need to pass CARB snuff as well - no sense for an automaker to make a different cat for CARB/OTC states. I think Trav advocated for CARB-compliant aftermarket cats since the catalyst loading in the washcoat is greater and needs to perform for 5 years or 50K.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted by nthach


OE cats also need to pass CARB snuff as well - no sense for an automaker to make a different cat for CARB/OTC states. I think Trav advocated for CARB-compliant aftermarket cats since the catalyst loading in the washcoat is greater and needs to perform for 5 years or 50K.


There are some cars that have different OE cats from the factory for CARB and non-CARB states. In fact, some of them are even physically different, such as the 5th gen Maxima.

In regards to the OP's BMW, Magnaflow makes a CARB-compliant cat at a fair price

 

[Anduril]

It's a 30 year old car. If there is no emissions testing, straight pipe it.

 

[PeterPolyol]

What I'd do is not what most people would do: find a nice used cat, preferably an OE unit (from any car) of suitable capacity and have that welded in.
I'd straight pipe it if I liked to stink like raw exhaust in the name of 140hp (headache days are over).
Absolute last ditch choices would be a brand new universal cat followed by a direct fit aftermarket piece.... and I mean very last choice if I couldn't at all find an original equipment cat in good condition anywhere in the world to weld in.

...and fix my oil burning/rich fueling issue permanently

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted by PeterPolyol
What I'd do is not what most people would do: find a nice used cat, preferably an OE unit (from any car) of suitable capacity and have that welded in.
I'd straight pipe it if I liked to stink like raw exhaust in the name of 140hp (headache days are over).
Absolute last ditch choices would be a brand new universal cat followed by a direct fit aftermarket piece.... and I mean very last choice if I couldn't at all find an original equipment cat in good condition anywhere in the world to weld in.

...and fix my oil burning/rich fueling issue permanently

Used cats are illegal in many places. Often, junkyards are not even allowed to sell used cats.

The CARB-certified aftermarket cats, the ones that are legal in California, are actually quite good and have a 5-year/50k warranty (non-CARB cats only have a 2-year/25k warranty)

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog


The CARB-certified aftermarket cats, the ones that are legal in California, are actually quite good and have a 5-year/50k warranty (non-CARB cats only have a 2-year/25k warranty)

But expect a big performance hit with them - I had Walker ones and the car ran not as fluidly as with OEM. If I had to do it again, Magnaflow.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by PeterPolyol
What I'd do is not what most people would do: find a nice used cat, preferably an OE unit (from any car) of suitable capacity and have that welded in.
I'd straight pipe it if I liked to stink like raw exhaust in the name of 140hp (headache days are over).
Absolute last ditch choices would be a brand new universal cat followed by a direct fit aftermarket piece.... and I mean very last choice if I couldn't at all find an original equipment cat in good condition anywhere in the world to weld in.

...and fix my oil burning/rich fueling issue permanently

You have different laws in Canada. In the US, it's against federal law to sell a used cat unless it's been certified/reconditioned or something to that effect and very few are so for the most part, people are stuck buying new ones. But the EPA lets them make new ones with less metal so they're less expensive, they still meet emissions specs, but they might not last as long as OEM, but by the time you need one, you probably don't have that much left on the car anyway. I think the fine is like 10k or something like that. I remember I was at a junkyard once and the guy on the phone was explaining why he didn't sell one. It'd have to be 10k to buy a used one because that's how much the fine was if he got caught selling one. That ended the conversation.