Found a cat I want to have a superbly-fitted angled-bung stainless downpipe built around. Any recommendations for a builder?

 

just find any exhaust shop that can weld

 

nah

 

I think any exhaust shop would do a good enough job for what you need...

If you don't want them (exhaust shop) to do it then go to a performance shop and have them do it...

 

Animal abuse is not condoned on this site!

Seriously though have you purchased said cat already? if not check out what ZZP and Modernperformance offer, both of their downpipes are amazing and come with backed dyno numbers, may save you some headache.

-Alex

 

I started looking at the cats themselves and wondering why pipe makers didn't give out with all the specs they had on 'em. Surely, they didn't make their decisions to incorporate those cats into their pipes without considering all those specs. So I tried digging around to see which cat makers were willing to share their specs. Not too many! And without the specs, I can't really tell why, but as a consumer, I favor openness.

 

I understand why they don't want to share. Someone could easily copy it just by reading it on the net. They don't want just anyone slapping together their stuff in the garage.

 

^this. you dont see beer makers giving out all there ingredients and ratios in there recepies and what not

 

The ingredients shouldn't be some kind of secret. Some exhausts have a 1-year warranty. So in an entire system, what piece of stainless pipe can only be expected to last a year? Answer: none. It's only logical that the cat is the weakest part. OTOH, this cat I found has a 5-year warranty. Sounds good! They stand behind it for 5 years, whereas a complete system maker that will only stand behind their system for a year is saying something about their faith in the cat they picked. Why the concern with the cat? After reading online about cat tickets running $500 to $1500, which is far more than the cost of the cat, why take a chance when I don't need to?

I enjoy the debate and all, but am really hoping to find few direct answers to my original question. And I don't need to know what the brand of cat they're using is, but being a smart consumer means I need to know how GOOD it is.

 

That is only a 2" in and out cat, and is way over priced. We can get you a metalic core 3" in/out for almost 1/2 that price. PM us...

 

Sorry, they're migrating stuff to their new server so they ended up with 3 sets of dimensions on the same cat. It's actually a 3" cat.

 

Still way over priced.

 

The brewmaster at Anheuser Houston gave us (a band) the grand tour once. He didn't at all mind telling us his ingredients (Bud was his favorite among his products, and rice is the most unusual ingredient in it). The real secret isn't the ingredients, which doesn't much vary in beer, but the knowledge, or craftsmanship, if you will. That's the same thing I'm looking for in a DP builder. Not looking to spy out secrets and sell 'em or whatever.

 

The reason why is because when people put on an exhaust, intake, etc. etc., and don't tune for it, premature cat failure can result. Answers to your original questions were given above. Go to one of the vendors on here and get a catted DP, or get the cat you want and go to an exhaust shop so they can weld it in. That cat alone is as much as a downpipe and within ten bux of most catted downpipes. So if you want to spend your money on a "5 year" warranty, go for it.

 

For nearly that price of that cat, he is 1/2 way there to get a fully welded ready to install Hahn cat con downpipe, which has awesome quality.

 

Yea I know but he wanted an answer... You gotta pay for custom... pbass if you want it get it, there are better options out there that all we are trying to help you with.

 

Appreciate all the suggestions and good deals, but I plan on keeping the car until there are no more parts available. I want to do a DP only once, and this is my current best guess as to how to accomplish that. Thanks again.

 

Do they smog in VA? Maybe go catless downpipe. A cat will just go bad after a while. That's just the way it is. After a while the platinum or palatium (spelling) will wear out. Every cat has them and they lose catalyzing efficiency over time. The only way to make it the last cat you every but would be to remove it.

 

There are alot of companies that sell hi- flow cats have you looked at these two companies?
Metal Cat - The Hi-Flow Cat - Arguably the world's best high flow catalytic converter
Random Technology

 

OK, what is meant by a "race" cat?

 

HAHA you put Anheuser and craftmanship in the same post...you are a funny man.

 

A cat is like a honeycomb of platinum plated metal. The honeycomb in a "race" cat is just got larger holes through the honeycomb to allow airflow. In my humble opinion, cats are horrible for cars. They kill fuel economy and a well tuned car doesn't need one. Basically what a cat converter does is heat the air and "cook" an oxygen molecule onto carbon monoxide. If your engine burns clean and hot you don't need a cat at all.