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Here's what I'm thinking:
Florida has stopped doing annual emissions checks on vehicles now. Only a few cities were doing it last year, and they've all stopped. I think it's a shame, and I see more cars out there belching clouds of stench, but that's the new law.
So... I'm thinking about how much better my turbo Beastie would run if it didn't have that catalytic converter blocking the exhaust pipe. (If my lovely wifey, a rabid environmentalist, catches me writing this, my butt's in a sling!) Here's my question -- which I'd like to throw open for a little debate. Please feel free to attack me for being a heretic if you like.
Should I gut my cat? I know some people have done it. A friend of mine, another engineering geek like me, says it's not a good idea, because the resulting hollow resonating chamber then sends weird pressure waves back to the turbine. He says I should just replace it with a straight piece of pipe.
The straight pipe approach seems logical to me. I don't know if I agree with his resonant pressure wave theory, but the straight pipe seems more elegant. The thing is, I seriously doubt I can find a muffler shop who'd perform this little operation for me. I'm sure they'd all be afraid of losing their licenses or getting arrested by the Green Police or something. Of course, money talks... and I might find some shady back-alley shop run by the Mechanic's Underworld who'd entertain such work. For a price, of course.
Then again, as long as I'm thinking along those lines, maybe I should fit a whole new exhaust system. A European one, without the cat. Everything I've seen advertised from the SaabNet sponsors is "cat back" systems. Does anyone make one that will connect from the turbo downpipe and replace the cat with a straight section? That'd be the ticket for me! I wonder if I could order one from overseas? Shipped in a plain brown wrapper, of course.
Last topic -- how does everyone feel about the worthiness of this endeavor? Will the performance gain justify the mod? Will my laughter at the newfound power from my engine ameliorate the pangs of guilt I'll feel for all the wheezing and gasping bunnies and flowers I leave in my dirty exhaust wake? What do y'all think?
Lost in thought,
- = M = -
, Wed, 10 Jan 2001 15:06:18
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