Sports Cats

[Philuk 0]

Now i kno that miltek are pretty much the best for em but has anyone used one of these?

 

or heard anything about the company that make them??

 

http://www.sportcats.co.uk/product_info ... 21dbfb0a5f

[Kevin Bacon 5]

15hp gain :lol:

 

FWIW, I had a Milltek sport cat a few years ago and failed the MOT on emissions. It's cheap junk. Just stick with the OE cat or import a Magnaflow.

[Critical_Mass 10]

I dunno, i've got one fitted now, but yeah 15bhp is more then optimistic. Passes MOT just fine. Infact if i recall correctly the emissions were lower since fitting it then with original CAT.

 

I paid £100 quid for it off here, but not sure i'd pay £200 odd brand

 

Kev, do Magnaflow do a sports cat then?

[Kempy 0]

de cat + good)friendly MOT tester = Win

[swiftkid 1]

You still not got your sports cat phil?!

 

Anyone heard of, or had any experience with supersprint sports cats?

[16VG60 1]

I have had Milltek sport cats fitted on all of my cars that so required a cat to be fitted and have had very good service and no MOT emissions issues whatsoever. Furthermore I have fitted Milltek sport cats to a huge number of VAG cars from Golfs to RS6 and allways seen improved performance and compliant emissions. I'll let Kev have a good rant now :-).

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Not at all John. I have nothing more to add (about Milltek) :D

[GlosterOx 0]

Kev, do Magnaflow do a sports cat then?

 

This is their UK agent, I have enquired if they do one for the VR6 and they are going to get back to me:

 

http://www.magnaflowstainlesssteelexhau ... series=294

 

Ian.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Cool, I didn't know Magnaflow now had a UK outlet, nice one!

 

I was thinking more along the lines of this one - http://www.magnaflow.com/02catalytic_co ... rsal=33006

 

Or this, which is basically a Magnaflow - http://www.gt3turbo.com/Merchant/produc ... t=0&page=2

 

But those little stumpy ones should work OK.

 

I prefer the OE style ceramic cat cores, rather than the metallic type personally as they smell more 'catty' than metallic ones :D

[Critical_Mass 10]

Probably a daft Q and feel free to shoot me down. but they do come with flanges right?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Nope, they need to be welded one.

 

This one is already V banded for you - http://www.gt3turbo.com/Merchant/produc ... t=0&page=2

 

And trust me on this, V band is MUCH, MUCH better than normal compression seal (clamp and paste).

 

That one is normally used on big V8 trucks in America and I use it on my VR6 Turbo, so it has loads of flow. Doesn't affect the performance of mine at all. I've been very happy with it. 18 months of hard boosting and the ceramic core is still in perfect condition.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

And Clampco V Bands are second to none - http://www.clampco.com/products/v-band.asp

 

I realise some folk are now probably thinking, what the heck are V bands? :D

 

OK, Instead sliding one pipe inside another and crushing them together with a U shaped clamp (with some paste to help it seal), you can use 2 rings secured with a clamp.

 

You don't need any paste, you can break and remake the seal at any time with a simple hammer tap, and you can replace sections easily and cheaply - typically replacing a cat with a bypass pipe, which can be done at home instead of needing a ramp, a blow torch and lots of swearing. Anyone that's tried to seperate a traditional exhaust joint after a few years will testify to the nuiscance it can be!!

 

As ever, pictures tell the full story.....

 

 

[Critical_Mass 10]

I realise some folk are now probably thinking, what the heck are V bands? :D

 

I was, until i googled them :lol:

 

But i agree they look a hell of a lot better then the conventional clamps. So do you just weld the rings on each part of the exhaust as per first pic?

[CazzaVR 0]

Got a 100cel Jetex sports cat/downpipe on my vRS, and it made a big difference, especially to the mid-range torque. But that's on a 20VT. Wouldn't expect much from a N/A VR6 TBH. I'd go for a decat.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

So do you just weld the rings on each part of the exhaust as per first pic?

 

Exactly that sir!

 

I'll be honest, the clamp sets (2 rings and 1 clamp) aren't cheap, approx £30, and you need 1 set per section that you want to add / remove, but if you're planning on keeping the car a while they are so much nicer for maintenance.

 

If you fit a cat that is say, 500mm long, a 500mm section of pipe and a clamp set is a cheap decat and a peice of p1ss to swap over :D

 

If you're going to the trouble of welding up a new custom exhaust, you may as well go V band from the start, but if you're buying a complete 'off the shelf' with normal joints, it may be harder to cost justify.

[Critical_Mass 10]

Yeah exactly. I hate having to seperate the exhaust that has normal clamps, its especially difficult when the cars only jacked up on stand and not on a proper ramp, those would make it so much easier? Plus no chance of blowing from the joints, right?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah the V band rings are machined flat, so you get a nice seal :D

[dannyboy 0]

i can say that they are brillant but a tad expensive. They are used alot on the vehicles i work on exhaust and inlet. they are quite popular on turbo exhaust fittings

[Philuk 0]

so on my manifold where i have had a 3 bolt flange welded on i could just have these vbands put on and then then have done. does that cat go thru mots ok for you kev??

[Critical_Mass 10]

Yeah you'd have to get the flange removed and a band welded on the downpipe and cat.

[buttles 0]

I've found you need to be quite careful when joining them that the flanges are mated up properly. The clamp doesn't centre the join very well and will tighten wherever you have the flanges. This can lead to reduced seal area. The mating faces in aircraft a/c pipes have a conical seal which engage in cut rings. I'll stop now as I'm boring myself. (Stuck in Shannon as not able to get into Heathrow yesterday)

[dannyboy 0]

i love airports....not

[dannyboy 0]

the v-bands self center the flanges as you tighten them up.never had probs with flat flange ones.except when your working at 3am in freezing cold,p!ssed wet through,in the middle of nowhere,changing red-hot pack thats blown up.

[buttles 0]

They self centre to a point but I have had a variety of results! Not had an Irish Guinness for a while so not too bad and weather is ok

[dannyboy 0]

im not going home to ireland this year so no decent guinness for me :lol:

 

Weather ok in ireland? :scratch:

do you mean its raining,sounds more like the normal one :grin: