I have a set of RedStar GESi 300 CEL race cats, with heat shield. <3,000 miles on them, and no damage or anything like that. Perfect working order.
These were up there as the best investment I made with the car. I had completely decatted but I couldn't do it. The rasp, sound, and smell was too much for me. Getting groceries out the back involved my GF holding her breath, and she was not about that life. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the full decat sound. They seem to lose that refined character I associate with Mercedes and have a raspy, higher-pitched noise IMO, which is pretty much standard with any decat v6.
The race cats had little to no rasp and no smell (except for a minute on startup as the engine runs rich and the cats are cold.. normal for all cars), and sounded phenomenal. It was that perfect sound I was looking for which was basically a more raw, louder version of the original exhaust, with more turbo noise, and louder bangs and gurgles. It didn't have that "high pitch" or "tinny" sound I hear a lot with full decats. Volume-wise these are much louder than stock, but not as loud as full decat.
The other reason I upgraded was for performance and my concern I was approaching the limit of the stock cats. The stock cats are huge. They combine both primary and secondary cats into one unit. A stage 2 tune, especially with burbles, I was told by my tuner is not something you want to run for a long time on the stock cats.
My fastest time ever was on these race cats, I ran a 3.2 - 3.3. With stock cats I was running 3.5-3.7. With complete decats I ran a 3.3.
Finally, the heat shielding really helps with engine bay temps. I was running BMS intakes and the intakes sit directly above the cats...
TLDR:
Race cats aren't cheap. Retail these cost $2000.
I'm looking for $1200 + shipping. If local to SoCal I'll have a better price.
Thanks
These were up there as the best investment I made with the car. I had completely decatted but I couldn't do it. The rasp, sound, and smell was too much for me. Getting groceries out the back involved my GF holding her breath, and she was not about that life. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the full decat sound. They seem to lose that refined character I associate with Mercedes and have a raspy, higher-pitched noise IMO, which is pretty much standard with any decat v6.
The race cats had little to no rasp and no smell (except for a minute on startup as the engine runs rich and the cats are cold.. normal for all cars), and sounded phenomenal. It was that perfect sound I was looking for which was basically a more raw, louder version of the original exhaust, with more turbo noise, and louder bangs and gurgles. It didn't have that "high pitch" or "tinny" sound I hear a lot with full decats. Volume-wise these are much louder than stock, but not as loud as full decat.
The other reason I upgraded was for performance and my concern I was approaching the limit of the stock cats. The stock cats are huge. They combine both primary and secondary cats into one unit. A stage 2 tune, especially with burbles, I was told by my tuner is not something you want to run for a long time on the stock cats.
My fastest time ever was on these race cats, I ran a 3.2 - 3.3. With stock cats I was running 3.5-3.7. With complete decats I ran a 3.3.
Finally, the heat shielding really helps with engine bay temps. I was running BMS intakes and the intakes sit directly above the cats...
TLDR:
Race cats aren't cheap. Retail these cost $2000.
I'm looking for $1200 + shipping. If local to SoCal I'll have a better price.
Thanks
Member
what model GESI core these have on them? (should be stamped on them, i believe)
I cannot see anything stamped on them. If you mean on the outside, the pipes are covered in heat shielding so I can't see the actual "skin" of the dp. The manufacturer is RedStar Exhaust, and they're described as this:
- GESI UHO 300cpsi high-flow Metal Core Catalytic Converters. Rated 500-850hp each. Made in Canada. EPA certified for use on OBD2 vehicles (1996 and newer) 49 States.
Newbie
I would love to purchase this if its still available. I live in North Texas. 203-417-9210. I have a c450 amg and was looking for a catted version of Redstar's downpipe! If you can send me photos, thatd be much appreciated.
They’re still available. I will get some pics up this afternoon. PM me.
