Generation III External Engine LS1 | LS6 | Bolt-Ons | Intakes | Exhaust | Ignition | Accessories
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

cats clogged

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Feb 14, 2005 | 07:43 PM
  #1  
stangkillerWs6's Avatar
Thread Starter
Teching In
 
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Default cats clogged

i have a 2000 ta ws6 a4 and i went to the track a couple of months ago with my cats clogged and ran a 14 flat this week im finally going to take them off and put my borla exhaust on along with a y pipe what kind of a time drop should i see after this?
Reply
Old Feb 17, 2005 | 04:18 PM
  #2  
WILWAXU's Avatar
TECH Senior Member
20 Year Member
iTrader: (6)
 
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 14,378
Likes: 1
From: League City, TX
Default

depends on how bad they were clogged...
Reply
Old Feb 17, 2005 | 04:58 PM
  #3  
jimmyblue's Avatar
Moderator
iTrader: (11)
 
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 12,604
Likes: 7
From: East Central Florida
Default

Every time I hear somebody saying cats are clogged,
I suspect they've been fed a line of It's something
mechanics like to tell clueless people to get it on their
rack, like tire places that want to sell you a 4-wheel
alignment for your hard-link RWD car. Joe Greasethumb
can sell and bolt you on a new cat & O2 sensor and cash
your check, more likely than he can road-log, diagnose
and tune your car.

Yeah, you -could- clog them if you were pushing a lot
of chunks out the exhaust. But more likely it is some other
tuning problem masquerading. Or you burn a couple of
quarts of oil per change. Otherwise, where do said chunks
come from?

Now, an ORY will pick you up a little bit of HP over a catted,
plugged or no. But there's probably more to this picture than
that, says my gut.
Reply
Old Feb 17, 2005 | 05:53 PM
  #4  
NHRATA01's Avatar
TECH Fanatic
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
iTrader: (10)
 
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,802
Likes: 36
From: Dutchess, New York
Default

Clogging isn't unheard of, my '89 clogged the cat at 110k miles so bad it started overheat and melt the carpet (along with the car being a complete slug - more than an '89 V6 already was!). Took it off, turned it upside down and chunks of dust and the element came out. Though I'd be suprised that they're clogged on an '00 model year car though, unless the tune is way out of whack or its got a ton of miles.
Reply
Old Feb 17, 2005 | 06:33 PM
  #5  
Another_User's Avatar
TECH Addict
 
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,826
Likes: 0
Default

Time for kitty ex-lax?
Reply
Old Feb 17, 2005 | 07:41 PM
  #6  
GT Griller's Avatar
12 Second Club
20 Year Member
iTrader: (8)
 
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,689
Likes: 0
From: Hereford,Lubbock
Default

Mine were clogged and my gas mileage went down. it even sounded weird and i only have 48K on my car.
Reply
Old Feb 17, 2005 | 08:00 PM
  #7  
T23LS1's Avatar
Staging Lane
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 95
Likes: 0
From: Bedford, TX
Default

Take off the exaust and get a large screwdriver to punch out all the ceramic honeycomb, get some O2 sims, now your exaust flows great n you will still get inspected.
Reply
Old Feb 17, 2005 | 08:23 PM
  #8  
01350ss's Avatar
TECH Enthusiast
20 Year Member
iTrader: (18)
 
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 554
Likes: 0
From: central east coast florida
Default

Back in June of '04, with only 33,455 miles on the clock, my cats clogged up. This is on my 2001 SS. Before I was aware of the issue, my quarter mile times slipped lower every week. I was at consistant 12.8's and the last time I ran the car before the light came on, my best time was 13.7 with a couple 13.8's and 13.9's. Then the light came on for p0420 - catalyst deteoration. I brought the car in and recieved both cats free under warranty. That Friday, went back to the track and went right back to high 12's.
Also, being a certified L1 (emission certified) technician, I can tell you for a fact that cats will clog, at no fault of the current tune-stock or not. NO part is perfect including cat converters. Parts will fail, that is why we have parts stores and dealer parts departments. They will clog for various reasons including fuel used, area of the world where fuel is purchased from at the pump (northern regions will have many added chemicals in the fuel due to cold climate and emission reasons) type of plugs used, gap of plugs, any chemicals added to the fuel by owner (such as useless injector cleaner) condition of vehicle, maintained or not. ect.,ect.,ect.,ect......
Reply
LS1 Tech Stories

The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time

story-0

Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-2

Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!

 
story-3

Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

10 Camaros You Should Never Buy

 
story-7

10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

Five Reasons the Camaro Was the Most Pivotal Player in the Pony Car Wars 2.0

 Brett Foote
story-9

10 Reasons the LS7 Is GM's Most Extreme Naturally Aspirated V8 Engine Ever

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Feb 17, 2005 | 09:16 PM
  #9  
Another_User's Avatar
TECH Addict
 
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,826
Likes: 0
Default

Originally Posted by 01350ss
Back in June of '04, with only 33,455 miles on the clock, my cats clogged up. This is on my 2001 SS. Before I was aware of the issue, my quarter mile times slipped lower every week. I was at consistant 12.8's and the last time I ran the car before the light came on, my best time was 13.7 with a couple 13.8's and 13.9's. Then the light came on for p0420 - catalyst deteoration. I brought the car in and recieved both cats free under warranty. That Friday, went back to the track and went right back to high 12's.
Also, being a certified L1 (emission certified) technician, I can tell you for a fact that cats will clog, at no fault of the current tune-stock or not. NO part is perfect including cat converters. Parts will fail, that is why we have parts stores and dealer parts departments. They will clog for various reasons including fuel used, area of the world where fuel is purchased from at the pump (northern regions will have many added chemicals in the fuel due to cold climate and emission reasons) type of plugs used, gap of plugs, any chemicals added to the fuel by owner (such as useless injector cleaner) condition of vehicle, maintained or not. ect.,ect.,ect.,ect......
Is there a good way to tell, other than timeslips?
Reply
Old Feb 17, 2005 | 09:23 PM
  #10  
GT Griller's Avatar
12 Second Club
20 Year Member
iTrader: (8)
 
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,689
Likes: 0
From: Hereford,Lubbock
Default

Ur SES light comes on. and u can have the car scanned.
Reply
Old Feb 18, 2005 | 08:37 AM
  #11  
Another_User's Avatar
TECH Addict
 
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,826
Likes: 0
Default

Originally Posted by GT Griller
Ur SES light comes on. and u can have the car scanned.
I would imagine your cats are rediculously clogged by then. I was thinking more like how to tell if they are clogged enough to affect performance.
Reply
Old Feb 18, 2005 | 08:40 AM
  #12  
silver30th's Avatar
TECH Resident
iTrader: (13)
 
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 879
Likes: 0
From: Lincoln, NE
Default

my cat on my 93 clogged, car ran like complete $hit. it hardly wanted to shift, barely kept itself running, no SES light though. gutted it and it ran like a champ!
Reply
Old Feb 18, 2005 | 09:40 AM
  #13  
GT Griller's Avatar
12 Second Club
20 Year Member
iTrader: (8)
 
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,689
Likes: 0
From: Hereford,Lubbock
Default

My SES light came on so i hollowed them out and got some sims. I now i just got rid of them period.
Reply




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:18 PM.

story-0
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph

Slideshow: A modern Camaro transformed into a retro icon, this limited-run "Bandit" build blends nostalgia with brute force in a way few revivals manage.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-21 13:57:02


VIEW MORE
story-1
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked

Slideshow: Cadillac didn't just crash the high-performance luxury vehicle party, it showed up loud, supercharged, and occasionally a little unhinged...

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-16 10:05:15


VIEW MORE
story-2
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!

Slideshow: Top ten most powerful Chevy trucks ever made

By | 2026-03-25 09:22:26


VIEW MORE
story-3
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP

Slideshow: Hennessey has turned the Silverado ZR2 into a 700-hp off-road monster with supercharged V8 power and a limited production run.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-24 18:57:52


VIEW MORE
story-4
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes

Slideshow: A one-off sports car that looks like a vintage Italian exotic-but hides a C6 Corvette underneath-just sold for the price of a new mid-engine Corvette.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-23 18:53:41


VIEW MORE
story-5
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power

Slideshow: A heavily reworked 1972 K5 Blazer swaps its off-road roots for a low-slung street-focused build with modern V8 power.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-09 18:08:45


VIEW MORE
story-6
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy

Slideshow: There are thousands of used Camaros on the market but we think you should avoid these 10

By | 2026-02-17 17:09:30


VIEW MORE
story-7
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die

Slideshows: Which one of these myths do you believe?

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-01-28 18:10:11


VIEW MORE
story-8
Five Reasons the Camaro Was the Most Pivotal Player in the Pony Car Wars 2.0

The world was a better place when it was still around.

By Brett Foote | 2026-01-23 09:20:37


VIEW MORE
story-9
10 Reasons the LS7 Is GM's Most Extreme Naturally Aspirated V8 Engine Ever

Slideshow: The 7.0-liter LS7 was designed for absolute cutting-edge performance.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-01-07 18:36:00


VIEW MORE