Boricua3210

Since DE Day this keeps popping up after 30 minutes of driving now - so what are my options besides a fortune in buying new Cat Converters?
thanks for any advice,comments

fpena944

Go with an aftermarket option as those are thousands cheaper. Fabspeed, Cargraphic, and others are good ways to go. I went with a Fabspeed. Still pricey but much less expensive than stock and gives the car a good change in exhaust note.

Macster

What are the error codes?

On a related note I replaced the original converters on my Boxster with a pair of used one from a salvage business. $475/each. (Factory parts are over double that each.)

One Boxster converter was knocking a bit at cold start and buzzing at other times. (I thought it was loose heat shields, but it was the brick in the converter.) The converter worked good enough most of the time but once ion a while would generate a P0430 error code.

The new (used) converters were both quiet when I gave them the big shake test and after several thousand miles appear to be working just fine.

Buckeye911

Overall it depends if the car is running rich, annoyance due to CEL light, or you need to pass emissions. I needed to pass emissions and had a possibly bad cat. I just have dealt with this issue due to P0420 CEL code. Cheapest cat's were found online on partsgeek at ~$400-500. But I ended up using a sparkplug non-fouler and drilled with 1/2" drill. Installed in both downstream O2 sensors and conduced the FTP drive cycle. ECU was ready and emissions passed.

996_C4S

I've had two C4Ses and both had their cats go. First time I went with a Dansk cats; less expensive than OEM and perfectly adequate. Second time I upgraded to Fabspeed's X-pipe sport cats unit ... good price relative to OEM unit plus a slight hp gain and much better sound. I'd do the Fabspeed upgrade again (but it's holding up just fine).

dotframe

Mine went after about 15 track days. I went with Cargraphic high flow cats and could not be more satisfied with my decision! They even bought my old ones for a decent amount if I remember correctly.

Dennis C

My cats went out while they were still under warranty (the factory warranty is 80,000 miles or 10 years, as I recall) and so they were replaced with stock units. I'll probably be upgrading to Fabspeed X-Pipe units when my current cats fail.

chamilun

I'd look into dismantler as well. Find ones from low mileage car

G.T.

If you're not in CA and are not opposed to modifying your exhaust system, get universal 200-cell cats and have them welded in place of the original cats. It's an inexpensive, better-performing solution.

John D II

We offer conventional and X-Pipe style Hi-Flow cats for the 996. PM for menber discount pricing...

SWK6Cup

I have had the same "results." One cat was replaced under warranty (federal emissions) the one year later the other side went (also warrantied). Last time it was my dime. So, I did some checking around, Fabspeed, Cargraphic, I ultimately went with Brombacher. All the warranties were the same as Porsche, basically 2 years....one EOM cost as much as an aftermarket. So, now I have the high flow cats and x pipe, like the others have said. Along with the Fister D, and the exhaust, the sound is simply amazing!!!!! No CEL's runs like a champ. Hope this helps, GL.

Imo000

High flow means it has less material in it and it will not last as long as a OE that doesn't have a faftory flaw. There isn't a lot of majic in this. A coverter will flow more if it has less material for the gasses to go through. Most aftermarket cnverters have so little "brick" in them that they won't last more than 2 years in a DD car. They are cheaper because they have less precious metals (part of the "brick") in them. Keepnthisnin mind when deciding between an OE or OEM. A good used OE is better than a "high flow" OEM.

bernardbarbour

My car is currently register in a part of Georgia that does not require emissions etc. When my cat(s) go, I have been considering what mod would be best. My car has the factory PSE.

John D II

I have a very different view of this which I will share with the forum - Hi Flow cats improve the performance and sound of the car. An X-Pipe makes it sound even better. Both are great modifications and preferred by a very large number of enthusiats. Some like to keep it stock and that is fine, too, if that is your preference, but personally, I would never keep restrictive OEM cats on my personal car...Hi Flow cats are not cheaper, I can buy 600 cell cats for the same price as 100 cel cats, so cost has nothing to do with it. I agree the OEM cats are like putting a brick in your exhaust path - not a good performance option. We have many sets of our Hi-Flow cats that have been in use for well over two years of daily driving with no issues...In fact we have countless sets with over 50K miles and no issues...

garrett376

Not if the OP wants to track his car.

If you will be driving a 996 on the track with stock cats, they will quickly fail because the upstream catalyst "puck" will get blown out of its position and rattle itself into oblivion. The 200-cell fabspeed or speedtech ones above have a tapered design to keep the cells in place versus the stock cat's upstream "puck" which gets blown out of position in time. Driving at high RPM for extended periods (like on track) speeds the dislodging process along.