The FVD cat bypasses went in Saturday. They are nice, light, shiny stainless affairs. The rest of the underside of my car now looks tacky.
The car sounds a little bit more pissed-off on the cold start.
Other than that, it sounds the same. Maybe a teeny bit louder, but not much. My neighbors probably won't complainseeing as they are already deaf from my squeeky brakes. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
The boost comes on much sooner and with less throttle. The big bump I used to get at 4500 when the varioram and the GT2/street hybrids all kicked in at once has been replaced by a smooth rush of power from about 3000 on up.
No drivability issues and, as yet, after 4 driving cycles, no check engine light.
Der Schatz-Meister told me that my FVD ecu may have been programmed to cope with this setup, so YMMV.
Daddy likes.

 

Yep, they shut the check engine light off. Notice it doesn't come on when you just have the key in the "on" mode <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

 

Stephen:
I just ran outside to check: The CEL actually does light up when the key is in the "on" position. The CEL also seems to function normally, as it came on flashing two weeks ago, causing me to regress to the womb.
Mike told me that the CEL may or may not come on with the bypasses depending on what-all settings my particular ECU was programmed to.

 

Scott,

You gotta help me out, buddy. I bypasses the mufflers, and picked up some HP, but my wife HATED the sound. You know what they say "A happy wife; a happy life". So I can't do the muffler bypass thing. But I'd like her to hear (maybe ride in) your car... if the sound is quiet enough for her, I may be able to swing it. I'll fight the CEL issue when I get there. What do you think?

I installed the thershold plates plates I got from Stephen at Imagine Auto. Yes, almost doofus-proof. Look pretty good, I think.

 

Steve: Your wife called and said I was not allowed to play with you any more. <img border="0" alt="[crying]" title="" src="graemlins/crying.gif" /> Also, you are not allowed to drive my car ever again.
Seriously though of course I'll take her out in it. It's probably quieter than your car with the aftermarket exhaust that you have.

 

Scott...

How much were the FVD cat bypass pipes???

 

Jeff: Uh yes, this is the down-side to the FVD solution. $1860. I know I probably could have gone a cheaper route, but I wanted to keep with the overall quality of mods that Mark initiated when it was his. Also I get great service and support from Mike Schatz.

 

Thanks Scott... My philosophy is mostly "you get what you pay for.."..

I looked at the Cargraphics cat bypass and they were about the same price too..

Would it be that hard to get a machine shop cut open my existing cats and remove the "cat" portion???

 

Has anyone out there simply gutted the cat pipes? I have the cargraphic cat pipes and my car responded similiarly to what Scott describes. The cargraphic pipes are also pricey though.

 

Is there any truth to the rumor that the Calif Hiway Patrol is doing "spot smog checks" with portable dynos? If so, a gutted cat or even a cat bypass that "looks" stock, while it might not pass smog, would at least prevent you from getting the big penalties of running an obvious bypass pipe. This is starting to scare me a bit. If you gut your cat, and don't pass smog, you've got to find someone to loan you a stock cat pipe, to use until you pass. Damn these guys.

 

Steve, You're not suggesting that I drive on the STREET with bypasses are you? That would be wrong. I'm shocked and somewhat hurt. Of course they are only for when I go to the track.
Some people.....

 

Scott,

I'm very sorry to have offended you.I know that you would never exceed the speed limit either. You are a very sensible person, and would never do anything illegal. That radar detector of yours is just a reminder to slow it down to the speed limit. But lets take a hypothetical case when you forget to remove the bypass after a track day...
are they really doing spot checks?

 

ScottMellor wrote:
The big bump I used to get at 4500 when the varioram and the GT2/street hybrids all kicked in

Scott what sort of varioram system does your car have ??

 

Steve,

The CHP does run random spot smog checks. A guy that works for me had his wife pulled over in Sacremento a couple of months ago in her Miata and run through the check on the side of the highway. She passed so I do not know the penalty for failing. Other than this incident, I have not heard of any other person being stopped for a check.

The quick change aspect of the pipes and cats is why I went with the Fabspeed alternative (this plus the fact that my cats are fully intact). This solution saves a LOT of money even with installation over the FVD pipes. Second, there are literally two screws on each side that allow you to pop out the pipe and pop on the cats. When I take the car for smog in 2 years, it will be a 10 minute job to get it back where it will pass. Yes I am sure that it will not be as pretty as the stainless FVD solution, but I am OK with that. I pick up the car Friday and will let you know how this alternative sounds.

 

TB993tt: TT's do have varioram don't they?

Steve: No idea about the spot checks.