Hot side sills

[Diablo Joe]

Ive switched to high flow cats,wrapped the cats with header wrap,and painted the inside of the foil cover with black header paint and my side sills are still hot.Any suggestions beside hacking off the cats?

Joe

edit-Ive also installed the side sill vents in the rear.

 

[Diablo Joe]

If I put my hand where the cat is located after spirited driving I can only hold it there a few seconds.Anywhere else is fine.

Joe

 

[GTS Bruce]

Get rid of the cats.My car running without cats is as significant to the atmosphere as me taking a leak in lake Erie. Bruce

 

[Ron]

<FONT face="Comic Sans MS">I would think a reflective paint would work better than a black paint. Additionally, the VHT paint should be used underneath the side sill insulation, not over it.

Lastly, I've always been told not to wrap the cats. Could overheat them and perhaps cause a fire.

I'd measure the actual sill temps and compare to a stock Viper to see if you're making progress. Then find out at what temp the exterior side sill paint becomes damaged. If you have a decent variance, no worries.</FONT f>

 

[Ulysses]

What brand hi-flow cat did you go with and what size?

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by GTS Bruce:
Get rid of the cats.My car running without cats is as significant to the atmosphere as me taking a leak in lake Erie. Bruce

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good point Bruce. Where do people think it all goes anyway?

 

[MadMaxx]

Gut the cat or remove it.

Are you running rich? when I was having trouble with my plugs, the passenger bank was running SUPER HOT due to the unburnt fuel clogging the cat and exploding.

James

 

[Diablo Joe]

James,

Thats what I was thinking but I just replaced plugs and wires and the car "seems" O.K.

Ulysses,
The cats are the Sean Roe Hi Flows.I can tell they are flowing well because I can feel the exhaust hit my leg from 3 feet away from the tailpipe at idle.Where can I get something to measure the temp?

Joe

 

[MadMaxx]

I'd still say your running rich... how old are the o2s? I need to replace mine soon

James

 

[pauls]

O2 sensors need replaced? If they don't throw a trouble light why would they need changed?

 

[Diablo Joe]

I have a VEC controller so Ill lean it out a bit tonight and see what happens.

Joe

 

[grayman]

I agree. Cut out the cats and get rear O2 sensors. My 00 GTS side sills run ambient temp, sounds great, no problems.

 

[Ron]

<FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Many digital multimeters have optional temp probe.

Also, for less than $100 you can get an infrared non-contact temp sensor. Any HVAC dealer would have it.</FONT f>

 

[silverviper]

I'm just curious how well (or if) you pass smog tests without cats? Or is this just a concern in CA?

 

[ggc]

GTS Bruce: No wonder Lake Erie has taken on a yellow tint.

SilverViper: I can tell you from experience that if your area requires emissions checks, you will likely not pass HC. I tried everything, but could not pass until I put cats back on. I used Random Tech high flow cats from Parts Rack and I passed with flying colors. The sills are a bit hotter than they were with no cats, but I had no choice. I can hold my hand on the sills as long as I want. Sounded better with no cats and my headers liked it better too.

 

[shifter]

I have Roe's hi flow cats and a Borla cat back with stock headers. My sills get very hot, have to pull hand away from cat area after a spirited drive. I put some holes in front of the sill in the wheel well and it helped a bit, but the sills are still hot.

I just try not to touch them 'cause I know they are hot.

I also don't think it's a good idea to wrap the cats. It will lead to premature disintegration of the cat and could cause the ceramic to crack off in pieces and add a restriction, making the cat run even hotter.

 

[Diablo Joe]

Ok,today I tried to zero out the VEC and guess what....It still shows its running rich.Whether Im on light throttle or full throttle its lighting blue.Does this sound like O2 sensor problems? The car only has 9K miles.

Joe


edit- After driving today I couldnt hold my hand on the sills longer than 1 second. Were talking hot. Im going to look into the cooling fan idea for the sills.