Running with downpipe disconnected?

[anarchyx34]

I think I've narrowed my inability to make boost to a clogged cat. I'd like to drive the car with the downpipe disconnected to see the difference. However I dont want to risk damaging anything near the pipe opening with hot-ass exhaust gases (my DP mounted EGT regularly shows 1200 degrees WOT). I dont plan on running like this for long, just around the block a few times. I just dont want to melt-burn anything. Think I'll have a problem?

[mx6GT91]

I dont think the gasses would be a problem. I drove my car for about 3weeks with open downpipe (broke off after flange)
Plus a little backfireing. Yes I was worried but Im fine, as is my car.
It sounds kick ass too!!!!! Constant turbin spooling
Ohhhhhh I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr.JasonBH]

haha.
Just remove the cat.
I did it in mine, it bolts on easily, then throw a straight pipe on it =D

[SixSick6]

If you're going to do anything, replace your cat with a straightpipe. Here is a write up I did for Mazda_MX6_Turbo on WHY you shouldnt run an open downpipe:

Every poison has a particular trait that causes it to be poisonous. In the case of carbon monoxide, the trait has to do with hemoglobin in the blood.

Hemoglobin is made up of complex proteins that bind to iron atoms. The structure of the protein and its iron atom causes oxygen to bind to the iron atom very loosely. When blood passes through the lungs, the iron atoms in the hemoglobin bind to oxygen atoms. When the blood flows into areas of the body that are lacking in oxygen, the iron atoms release their oxygen. The difference in oxygen pressure in the lungs and in the parts of the body needing oxygen is very slight. The hemoglobin is very finely tuned to absorb and release oxygen at just the right times.

Carbon monoxide, on the other hand, binds very strongly to the iron in hemoglobin. Once carbon monoxide attaches, it is very difficult to release. So if you breath in carbon monoxide, it sticks to your hemoglobin and takes up all of the oxygen binding sites. Eventually, your blood loses all of its ability to transport oxygen, and you suffocate.

Because carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin so strongly, you can be poisoned by carbon monoxide even at very low concentrations if you are exposed for a long period of time. Concentrations as low as 20 or 30 parts per million (PPM) can be harmful if you are exposed for several hours. Exposure at 2,000 PPM for one hour will cause unconsciousness.

basically:when people inhale carbon monoxide, the toxic gas enters the bloodstream and replaces the oxygen molecules found on the critical blood component hemoglobin, depriving the heart and brain of the oxygen necessary to function correctly. Carbon monoxide mimics the behavior of oxygen while withholding its benefits. It combines with hemoglobin in the lungs, and is then transported throughout the body. However, rather than feeding the body’s tissues it starves them instead. Sensing the body’s need for more oxygen, the victim’s heart rate increases to pump more blood to the body’s organs. If a person continues to inhale CO, he or she faces the risk of breathing difficulty, cardiac trauma, brain damage, coma and even death.

OPEN DOWNPIPE IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOL

[MSGT-R]

Damian, what did you eat today? All of your posts are cerebral....

[anarchyx34]

Well, like I said, I wasnt going to drive around forever like that. Just a few times around the block with the windows open. Besides, I've worked in an automotive shop for years, during the winter with meatheads who dont like to use exhaust hoses when they have cars running. I'm not dead yet

[MSGT-R]

So take the "cheap" route for now; knock the stuffing out of the cat and put it back in.

[SixSick6]

Originally Posted by MSGT-R

Damian, what did you eat today? All of your posts are cerebral....

I know all of this medical mumbo jumbo, I just usually don't admit it

[MSGT-R]

But Doctor.... it was the excessive strain that made him go Postal....(or was that Medical?)

[SixSick6]

Originally Posted by MSGT-R

But Doctor.... it was the excessive strain that made him go Postal....(or was that Medical?)

Thats what The Lounge at work is for, there is always free food, and people are always watching movies

[MSGT-R]

Originally Posted by SixSick6

Thats what The Lounge at work is for, there is always free food, and people are always watching movies

Like Debbie Does Dallas....

[crusty]

So Six, does that mean I shouldn't stop at traffic lights,

"But Officer, I was concerned about my Hemoglizzle shizzle levels!!!!"

[SixSick6]

Originally Posted by crusty

So Six, does that mean I shouldn't stop at traffic lights,

"But Officer, I was concerned about my Hemoglizzle shizzle levels!!!!"

No because driving without a cat is illegal in most places anyways, nevermind an open downpipe. Even places that don't require a cat or smog require you to have a a functioning exhaust.....for your own safety

[anarchyx34]

Originally Posted by MSGT-R

So take the "cheap" route for now; knock the stuffing out of the cat and put it back in.

Well I'd like to verify that that's the problem first, instead of ruining a functioning cat-converter.

[MSGT-R]

If it smells like rotten eggs out the tailpipe, its the cat starting to loose its affectiveness. If you take it out and look down the center, you are only supposed to see "honeycomb" and light shining through (it can still be making the smell). A melted cat will be evident..