Leave my end alone Xavier! As many members wrote, poke something inside the cat converter after you remove it to open it up. Basically killing it by making it useless for what it was desgned for. At least you will not have the restriction and the little your Kia pollutes won't end the world. Surgically speaking, a colonoscomy on the Kia.
I have been meaning to ask. Will doing this affect my fuel economy? Another little curiousity about my car... It gets better mileage when loaded. Each time we moved and now with 14 gallons of water and my tools in the trunk, with extra weight in the car it gets better gas mileage then when it is empty. Why/how is this?
Depends on the type of travel, on the highway it would make sense because of the laws gravity and weight combined with inertia would make a heavier vehicle stay in motion with less energy. In stop and go traffic I have no idea how it would get better mileage. Did you hollow out the catalytic yet?
Hollowing out the cat will make a HUGE difference in the mileage, especially when you are comparing it to a clogged one, not one that is actually flowing as designed. The other thing to consider is WHY it clogged in the first place. The most common cause is that the O2 sensor(s) are either dirty or worn out. That causes the car to run rich, which causes the cat to plug from carbon. No matter what else you do, change how ever many o2 sensors you have, and you should see fuel economy and performance (such as it is) rebound nicely. These sensors can account for a 30% difference is fuel consumption.
WOW 30%! I might end up getting new O2s anyways. On Rockauto I can get both of them for the price of 1 locally. I dont know when but we have to sell the car before we move.
Sadly your Kia was telling you it was sick when the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT came on. Had you listened to the poor Kia and changed the O2 sensors you would haved saved money on fuel and the cat converter would still be happy. By gutting out the cat you should see an increase in fuel mileage. By replacing the O2 sensors you should see even more increase in fuel mileage. By keeping your foot off the floorboard with the pedal under it you should also see an increase in fuel pileage. A well tuned Kia is a happy Kia!:banana: You can not get a better fuel mileage with any vehicle that is carrying extra weight unless you are going down a steep hill or maybe a cliff!
Just know gutting the catcon you won't get the check engine light off until you replace it with a high quality replacement. You'll get an efficiency code. The cheaper ones last about 5,000 miles then throw the same efficiency code as not having one. I had a manifold catcon plug on me before.. car would all the sudden cut out and puke and buck to a stop and not restart for a bit.. it was 80% plugged. I didn't notice a fuel change though.. 39mpg restricted and 39mpg gutted.. although it did have more power on hills. Had to replace the manifold tho to pass inspection. Keep that in mind if you sell it or move somewhere that requires emission inspections
The number of hollowed at catalytics in Utah is insane, if the car will pass in its emissions stardard the only thing they do is a visual inspection.
By what Ive just read the cat was bad when I got the car. I dont have time to text all that has happened and been done to this car since we got it in 2010...
