So, my CNT catted downpipe (from Cygnus Performance) arrived yesterday (Friday). I did NOT know it was coming and was fortunately home when it arrived.
Notice the placement of the cat. I’m not sure I’m liking it’s position, because there have been complaints that the cat has melted the passenger-side CV boot, spilling CV grease everywhere (and at least a few instances of that grease catching fire from the cat’s heat). The cat is big enough that it is less than an inch from the CV boot. This isn’t the only brand that places the cat on the neck of the DP…Invidia does it, as well as a few other brands.
So, I’ve three options to mitigate the heat of the cat from causing damage:
- Fabricate some type of heat shielding (doesn’t necessarily have to be a metal shroud-type of shield).
- Heat-wrap from the top of the neck to the bottom (wrapping the cat as well, since the cat is the main cause of the heat damage).
- Get a DP that has the cat near the tail.
Yes, heat-wrapping the cat can cause the cat to fail, but I’ve asked on IWSTI if anyone has ever had a cat fail because it was heat-wrapped…I got no answers. I’d rather not heat-wrap the cat but I might not have a choice if I can’t find or fabricate a shield, because I’d rather melt the cat than melt a CV boot and damage the axle ($600 to replace) or even cause a grease fire. I could also just sell the DP and use that money to get a better DP…I’d need $300 extra, though. The CNT is priced at $369, which undercuts the higher-priced DPs with lower mounted cats by a good bit ($100-$250 more). What I’m more than likely going to do is use the CNT (heat-wrapping the vertical part) and start putting money aside to get a Cobb catted DP when the CNT fails.
I’m also going to probably reinstall the stock mufflers. Why? Because, with the CNT DP, the current setup is going to be pretty loud (we’ll see). My current setup consists of an axleback muffler delete system. Without some type of muffler, the car will more than likely be loud since aftermarket DPs tend to be higher diameter and less restricting (the stock DP has two cats, I believe, which would probably help in masking sound). I’ll run the stock mufflers until I can come up with an alternate solution (I very much want Nameless muffler replacements, but they’re around $400, much more than my Nameless axleback deletes).
My Cobb AP v3 also arrived. I purchased from Amazon.com and found cheaper pricing than at online tuning shops. They typically sell them at $650, but I got mine for $639 and used the different for faster shipping…note that SKOOT LLC is selling them for $624, which is even cheaper than when I bought mine 2 weeks ago.
The AP is very nice…it should be, for $600+. It is built well and comes with a good bit of accessories: a USB cable for connecting to laptops to get map and firmware updates; a OBDII cable, a blue faceplate, a quick start guide, a mount, and two Cobb stickers….oh, and a case.
The unit itself has a screen that’s about the same size as an iPod. It offers virtual gauges and you can configure it to show between 1 and 6 of them. It also datalogs, displays any trouble codes, has launch control options, has a configurable shift light, and has Cobb’s off-the-shelf tuned maps for specific mods and fuel configurations. The unit can be used while driving but isn’t required.
Now the only differences in capability between the v2 and v3 models is that with the v3 you can have more than one gauge up and running. If you’ve a budget, you can still buy the v2 models…they still log data and can do pretty much everything the v3 can do. If I really wanted to cut the budget, I could’ve just searched for a used v2, which I’ve seen as low as $350.
I’m still awaiting other parts to arrive, but I’ll begin to work on the heat-wrapping of the CNT this week and post pictures when I’ve finished.
