My check engine light came on about 3 weeks ago so I brought it into the dealership to figure out what the problem was. They told me that my driver side catalytic converter needed to be replaced. I went to a couple of other places to see if they were getting the same codes hoping it was just a sensor i needed to replace. I took my car to a couple of muffler shops where i live and they were not sure how to replace my converter due to it being from california and its emission standards. I live in WA state and for some reason the only people who know how to fix it is the stealership which wants $1300. There are so many mexicans that move up here from cali anyways you would think every shop around here has experience with these converters. I wanted to go catless but everyone says its a bad idea for my car and wouldn’t do it, I don’t know how to do it myself and even if i did i don’t have the tools for it. Is there anybody out there who has any suggestions?
Do you have emissions where you live and why would it be a bad idea?
You will get a deeper growl from the exhuast +1, you would get better performance +1, you never will ever have to deal with those god awful, huge, power robbing cats again +1
Only negative would be a little bit of a smell. Unless you have emissions. Then thats a different issue. JHM is releasing their dps soon and those are catless. I’ve been dying for months to get them, I know a few of us on here feel the same.
I ordered my CATS from LaBree in California and I live on the east coast.
It cost me $1100 for the pair delivered.
What car and engine/motor do you have?
JHM has a set for $1250. that are 2.5in and I hear are realy good. Good=NO PROBLEMS.
The LaBree CATS I got have the flex pipe part too low and contact my TRANS support a little.
http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h411/halo549b/5130ac84.jpg
http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h411/halo549b/868c8a12.jpg
Halo, those JHM ones are for the S4.
Thanks I removed it.
Labree used the S4 saddle to make mine and they just put the flexpipe too low.
Since I did not have the money and no one had a solution for me I left them and have not had the problem
fixed.
I am waiting on a R&D day go ahead from 42DraftDesign to bring my car in and have them done right!
2 months and still no word from 42Draftdesign. They say they have a heavy work load and have other
R&D stuf on the boards before me.
Still hoping it will be soon…
I have a 3.0 and no I don’t have to do an emissions standard where i live so i would be okay without them. the whole problem is nobody will gut them out because they said our cars are all computerized so they said my car would not run properly without the cats. But I heard the JHM ECU tune which i plan on getting, gets rid of the codes if you decide to strip them out (from what i understand). I’m just looking for an alternative from dropping $1300 at the dealership. Im just looking for a less expensive route. I heard high flow cats are decent but i really just want to go catless. Should i just keep looking for a place who knows how to put a cat in for cheaper or is it really that much more beneficial to run a straight pipe? And if I do decide to go straight pipe and i dont have the ecu tune right now will my car be able to run efficiently until i get the tune?
I would bet that your cats are not even bad, chances are its something else. I had the same problem awhile ago and I was told that cats rarely fail so I looked into it more and in fact my cats were fine. I forget what the problem was. What part of WA are you in? I know a few good shops on the eastside of Seattle in Redmond, WA that would be able to diagnose your car properly. Say you spend 500 on DP’s from JHM plus another 500 or so for the tune, and delete it and your check engine light remains. Then you’ve dumped 1000+ when problem wasn’t even for sure your cats. I think its important not to throw parts at these type cars hoping it will fix the problem, its a big waste of $$ that could of been spent on better things for your car.
I live on the east side of WA Tri-cities area. I almost wouldn’t even mind making the drive up there on my next weekend off and stay with some relatives if you know a place i could call that would do it for me at a good price and efficiently?
http://www.redmondeuropean.com/
Redmond European
18080 NE 68th St. Building E
Redmond, WA 98052
Phone: 425-376-2655
Fax: 425-556-4373
Email: service@redmondeuropean.com
Shop Hours:*
Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday: Closed
These guys are said to be the best in the Pacific NW. I’m sure they’ll be able to help you out.
And btw i went to 4 different places and they were all saying it was the same thing. I called audi back and they said that their computers are certain that it is the cat. and if it were something else it would say so. like a sensor or something.
Nice work these guys seem legit ill give them a call tmw morning. This is why i love audirevolutions so many helpful people. Do you live in WA as well?
I used to. I grew up in Redmond but i moved to Reno in 06.
I would still look into it, dp’s and tune is sick but the car for sure has to be running right first. Reg. Maintenence is key. Also unless you payed each of those shops to do diagnostics which runs about 90$ hr give or take. Then they were NOT diagnosing your car properly.
I know I own a S5 but the removal of my cats and the JHM tune was hard to believe it was real. Also keep in mind that the S5 cat is much better then the 3.0 cat.
I would suggest going jhm dps and keeping your dps for if you needed them later for emmisions. The JHM tune will keep the cel off.
Ya but how soon until the dp’s are released? And does anybody know what price range i would be looking at for them. Im 22 and im hoping to use my tax return for this and not blowing it on the bars haha
Lol. I have the same issue Taylor. Mine is bbk, tint, and full exhaust…orrrrr a 3 week trip to Thailand, Japan, Indonesia lol
I am about to throw on a straight pipe on my 02 a4 3.0 next week and i don’t want it to sound so obnoxiously loud. I was going to throw on some magnaflow 14851’s but will they just make my car sound even louder than it already will be? And will i have a ton of smoke coming out of my exhaust since im gutting my cats?
never mind did some research and i think im going to throw some resonated test pipes on with a street series magnaflows. after that JHM ECU tune here i come!
After 4 days of waiting to get my car back from the shop they finally figured out how to cut out my cats. the car was loud as f*** and like a riced out honda civic…so today after work i took it back to have them throw the center resonator back on it with my stock mufflers. it helped out a lot but it still has a little rattling noise thats going to drive me nuts. the guys who did the job said that if i threw on some aftermarket mufflers it would make it louder but i kinda want to try out the magnaflow 14851’s to see if it eliminates the rattling. can anybody answer this? or have any suggestions as to what mufflers i should put on?
^sounds more like you should be taking it to a different shop or get them to fix it right. A rattle is something loose or poor connection. The exhaust gasses in the muffler are not causing the rattle.