Sounds like things changed for 2005 for OBD2. It may have been on the brink of approval when I was in the market for a new cat. I guess between the time you were nailed and I was nailed things have changed. On my ticket the cop marked non-correctable. Yours must have been the opposite. Oh well, I paid with my credit card anyways and then called my credit card company 2 days later and disputed the charge and had it reversed.

 

I didn't think the zex kit caused the cat to fail, I thought maybe the nitrous has the engine out of tune. I'm not questioning your setup, I know your the nitrous guru around here.

If your going to order from Kteller.com be very specific on the specs for the carsound converter. I've ordered from them in the past and actually got a carsound that was to short and had the incorrect flanges. Not to take anything away from Mike because I think he's a good guy.

There's another "Mike" over at http://www.ipsracing.com that does a very good job. Just to throw another option out there. It's probably more than you want to spend though.

 

You can go the low budget way and get a used OEM exhaust system from a dismantler. Just keep it around for smog purposes. I've got a spare stock exhaust for my car just for that purpose.

I don't know where in So-Cal your at, but if your near the San Fernando valley, check out Precise Auto parts 818-896-5007 talk to Alex. If they don't have what you need, ask em to run it on the parts locator for you. Parts locator connects all the junk yards in the So-Cal area.

These guys get people coming in there for stock exhaust system all the time. Always due to smog certification or a fix it ticket. Used OEM systems on OBDII don't start to go bad unless the car had mods or a lot of miles.

But I've seen cars pass smog with stock OEM exhaust systems with 250++ miles.

 

I've already measured the length of the stock cat. I had problems in that regard too, lots of misinformation on cat lengths between manufacturers/retailers...so I took it into my own hands. I'll check out the other Mike.

I'd rather make sure that it's perfect and brand new. Too many things can go wrong with a cat, whether its the catalyst breaking loose from impact, or the cat getting clogged poisoned from running rich, or from oil/coolant.

I think I know what caused my problem. When I swapped my new head/timing belt on, the seals on the valve cover that seal the spark plug holes weren't seating properly. I went to check my plugs one day, and each plug hole had oil in it up to the top of the plug....and it probably drained in, and then went out the exhaust raw...poisoning/clogging the cat. Either that, or the bottom out I had at 60+ when I put a hole in my muffler.

 

One thing to concider is that the cat only works when it gets hot, so make sure you drive the car for a while before the test. I had an old prelude that failed CA smog and the guy said to drive it 10 miles down the freeway and back so I did and then it passed just fine.

Scott

 

What did your oem cat measure at? I'd like to know if there's a size difference between the coupe and sedan. I'm thinking the difference in size is at the B-pipe. The cat length off my 2000 LS sedan was 18'.

I'm guessing your cat length is about 17.5'.

 

Oh I definitely had it warmed up nicely. It failed miserably, so the only option is the cat is non functional.

It was 17-5/8".

 

I'd would make my helpful comment but he said "stealership"....
I guess I'll go look around on some better Honda forums now

 

The truth hurts sometimes doesn't it. :chuckles:

 

Aww, did I hurt your feelings?