Performance Upgrades & Tuning Discuss general performance and tuning enhancements for your Mercedes-Benz.

Need SPECIFICS on Hi-flow Cataltyic Converter installation

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Rate Thread
 
Old Nov 26, 2005 | 07:04 PM
  #1  
King320's Avatar
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
03 C32 AMG
Need SPECIFICS on Hi-flow Cataltyic Converter installation

I hate ricer shops, i went to this huge tuning shop in town today to ask about this issue and the techs looked like they crapped their pants at the thought of even touching an MB. Those guys sure are scared of computers, simple minds for simple engines i guess. Anyways, to my question....

My cats are giving the traditional death rattle, its between 2-2.5K RPMs. The CLK 320 has 4 cats, two primary and two secondary. Two are round cylinders (the ones just after the manifold) , two are flattened cylinders (down between the round cats and the resonator).

Question 1) which are the primaries, which are the secondaries?

I have been hearing some rattling from underneath, i think its either going to be the heatshielding or one of the cats. If it is the cat, i want to replace it with a high-flow cat. I've heard this issue discussed here alot, but have never gotten a clear idea on what EXACTLY to do with the install.

I've heard of the following manufacturers making high flow cats for our cars, i dont want to spend more than $150-$200 a piece. Which is best?
1) Magnaflow
2) Random Technology (have heard that they were cheap and came apart easily)
3) Evosport (sells one, what brand is it?)

With regard to the install:
I've heard that one set of cats can be removed without setting off a CEL, and the other set can be replaced by high flow cats.
1) Is this true? Any other recommendations?
2) Which cats (primary or secondary) can i remove without setting off a CEL?
3) What sould be done with the O2 sensors to prevent a CEL or malfuctioning.

I'll post pics later of the stock setup so you can see what i'm talking about, thanks for the help.
Reply
Old Nov 27, 2005 | 01:19 AM
  #2  
King320's Avatar
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
03 C32 AMG
Pics to explain...

Here are the top (rounded) cats, O2 sensor location indicated by arrows.


Closeup and better angle of left side of first picture


Top O2 sensor of cat on the right.


Top 02 sensor of cat on left, also look at the note in red, is this a problem?


Other cats (lower, just before resonator). There were no other O2 sensors that i could find other than the ones before and after the rounded cats pictured above.


Seeing as how the first cats (rounded) are sandwiched between O2 sensors, im guessing these cannot be removed. Am I right? Which should be replaced with a hi-flow cat, and which should be removed? Right now my guess is that the big ones in the last pic are removable, but the round ones can only be replaced with hi-flow units.

Also, i took a rough measurement of the diameter of the piping, it looks like the circumference is about 7.5 inches so that would put the diameter at about 2.5 inches, can anyone verify this for me?

Last edited by King320; Nov 28, 2005 at 01:04 AM.
Reply
Old Nov 28, 2005 | 01:05 AM
  #3  
King320's Avatar
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
03 C32 AMG
Got the pics up, anyone out there have any ideas for me?
Reply
Old Nov 28, 2005 | 07:47 AM
  #4  
milllx's Avatar
Super Member
 
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 701
Likes: 0
From: north carolina
1998 honda civic lx
Originally Posted by King320
Got the pics up, anyone out there have any ideas for me?
I can't see the pics yet
Reply
Old Nov 28, 2005 | 08:24 AM
  #5  
robertus's Avatar
Member
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 135
Likes: 0
From: Brisbane, Australia
CLK55 AMG 2006 Cabrio, BMW M3 2008 DTC Cab new (M3 e46 SMG 2003 Cabrio Sold), BMW X5 tt Diesel 2008
You can remove the first set closest to the manifolds, leave other two on and leave all the sensors in place.

Last edited by robertus; Nov 28, 2005 at 08:26 AM.
Reply
Old Nov 28, 2005 | 11:03 AM
  #6  
E55AMG99's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,445
Likes: 3
From: WOT somewhere in the Bay Area
1951 Caterpiller D6
Originally Posted by robertus
You can remove the first set closest to the manifolds, leave other two on and leave all the sensors in place.
No. The set closest to the manifolds are the primaries and do all the work. They have a sensor before and after them to tell the ECU how to adjust the mixture. Removing them wil guarantee a check engine light. The secondaries are the ones that can be removed without triggering a CEL since there is no sensor after them.
Reply
Old Nov 28, 2005 | 11:10 AM
  #7  
milllx's Avatar
Super Member
 
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 701
Likes: 0
From: north carolina
1998 honda civic lx
E55AMG99... I LOVE your sig, about the soldier. Really good and true.

Sorry to hijack the threat King320...just had to recognize that sig.

Return to talk of catalytic converters now :-D
Reply
Old Nov 28, 2005 | 11:25 AM
  #8  
E55AMG99's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,445
Likes: 3
From: WOT somewhere in the Bay Area
1951 Caterpiller D6
Try these two threads for more info. Once you ignore the trolls, there is some great info for your project.

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/119722-race-cats-going.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/105259-my-tuning-idea-remove-cats.html


Originally Posted by milllx
E55AMG99... I LOVE your sig, about the soldier. Really good and true.
Thanks milllx but I cannot take credit for it. Father Dennis O'Brien, Chaplain in the United States Marine Corps wrote the poem which I paraphrased. The words and meaning are indeed very true.
Reply
MB World Stories

The Best of Mercedes & AMG

story-0

6 Mercedes Models That Did NOT Age Well (But Are Somehow Still Cool)

 Verdad Gallardo
story-1

Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun

 Verdad Gallardo
story-2

Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know

 Verdad Gallardo
story-7

5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve

 Verdad Gallardo
story-8

Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping

 Verdad Gallardo
story-9

10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Nov 28, 2005 | 03:40 PM
  #9  
King320's Avatar
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
03 C32 AMG
well, webshots has been a bust thus far, here's a link to the pics, ill keep seeing if i can get them to work on the thread, but this might just be easier.

http://community.webshots.com/album/512045984tHWjhC
Reply
Old Nov 28, 2005 | 04:01 PM
  #10  
King320's Avatar
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
03 C32 AMG
Wow, looks like victor ran into a LOT of problems. Think a simple 320 motor would cause as much drama about backpressure and exhaust flow capacity as the 55k? I'd hate to spend money removing these things only to find that it made the car slower and quieter, what would be the point of that?
Reply
Old Nov 29, 2005 | 04:24 AM
  #11  
mig888's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,175
Likes: 0
From: Socal
EVE
I believe when I spoke to Corey (of Kleemann) last about the issue of replacing catalytic converters he insisted that the role of the 02 sensors before and after the primary cat is just to test for the efficiency of the cat converter, that it actually works, therefore if you replaced the primary cat with a random tech cat, it would be just fine if you can weld on 02 bungs. The secondary cats can be removed.

flip
Reply
Old Nov 29, 2005 | 01:30 PM
  #12  
King320's Avatar
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
03 C32 AMG
Originally Posted by mig888
I believe when I spoke to Corey (of Kleemann) last about the issue of replacing catalytic converters he insisted that the role of the 02 sensors before and after the primary cat is just to test for the efficiency of the cat converter, that it actually works, therefore if you replaced the primary cat with a random tech cat, it would be just fine if you can weld on 02 bungs. The secondary cats can be removed.

flip
Did Corey say anything regarding loss of backpressure causing a loss of torque?
Reply
Old Dec 4, 2005 | 06:15 PM
  #13  
Ashkan's C43's Avatar
Super Member
 
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 821
Likes: 0
From: Irvine CA
c43
sry to jack, but I am also looking into replaceing my cats with some high flow or race cats, if I had 200 cell, would this pass ca smog test? would magflow universal obdII highflow cats work without setting off o2s, and I feel you for people not wanting to touch your cats, albert at tws was trying to explain to me how it would not work at all if I was try to do that, I really want high flow cats, to a 2.25 pipe to muff, not sure what I can do, and not sure if the c280 has the 4 cats or two, I think it is four, close enough to a clk320
Reply
Old Dec 4, 2005 | 06:52 PM
  #14  
E55AMG99's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,445
Likes: 3
From: WOT somewhere in the Bay Area
1951 Caterpiller D6
Originally Posted by Ashkan's C280
sry to jack, but I am also looking into replaceing my cats with some high flow or race cats, if I had 200 cell, would this pass ca smog test? would magflow universal obdII highflow cats work without setting off o2s, and I feel you for people not wanting to touch your cats, albert at tws was trying to explain to me how it would not work at all if I was try to do that, I really want high flow cats, to a 2.25 pipe to muff, not sure what I can do, and not sure if the c280 has the 4 cats or two, I think it is four, close enough to a clk320
For the amount of gain you "might" get, is it really worth the trouble?
Reply
Old Dec 5, 2005 | 01:03 AM
  #15  
Ashkan's C43's Avatar
Super Member
 
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 821
Likes: 0
From: Irvine CA
c43
I should gain quite a bitt, the cats are the most restrictive part of my cars exhuast system, and it does not seem to cost too much I'd be interested, around 600-700 for two race cats, a 2.25 pipe and a mag muff, seems fair to me, does anyone have advice?
Reply
Old Dec 5, 2005 | 02:35 AM
  #16  
E55AMG99's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,445
Likes: 3
From: WOT somewhere in the Bay Area
1951 Caterpiller D6
Originally Posted by Ashkan's C280
I should gain quite a bitt, the cats are the most restrictive part of my cars exhuast system, and it does not seem to cost too much I'd be interested, around 600-700 for two race cats, a 2.25 pipe and a mag muff, seems fair to me, does anyone have advice?
OK but how much? 10HP? 15HP? I'd be really curious to know what the cost per HP works out to.
Reply
Old Dec 5, 2005 | 03:18 AM
  #17  
King320's Avatar
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
03 C32 AMG
Originally Posted by E55AMG99
I'd be really curious to know what the cost per HP works out to.
HAHA, when it comes to MB tuning ^^this^^ should be the least of your worries. Its actually not that bad for the power, about on part with an eisenmann race exhaust (minus the sound of course) my only concern is if that power will actually show up.
Reply
Old Dec 5, 2005 | 05:08 AM
  #18  
Ashkan's C43's Avatar
Super Member
 
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 821
Likes: 0
From: Irvine CA
c43
well if I gained 15hp from cats a pipe and muff I would be happy, and the car should sound better, and correct me if I am wrong, but I think I should be saving some weight as well as having the car run better for it, so I believe it would be worth the gain, I'm not stupid and think this would add 30hp, I only have a I6, but I think 20hp could be gained on a v8, and maybe 15 if I am lucky for me, at least it will be light sound better, and have some better hp, and for me 15 hp is a lot, my stock is only 195, and I have done a few mods, and I'd like to think I have 200hp crank, prob not but it makes me feel better, so 10hp gain is 5% and 15hp is 7.5% that is a lot to me
Reply
Old Dec 5, 2005 | 10:03 AM
  #19  
E55AMG99's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,445
Likes: 3
From: WOT somewhere in the Bay Area
1951 Caterpiller D6
Originally Posted by King320
HAHA, when it comes to MB tuning ^^this^^ should be the least of your worries. Its actually not that bad for the power, about on part with an eisenmann race exhaust (minus the sound of course) my only concern is if that power will actually show up.
Reply
Old Dec 6, 2005 | 08:51 PM
  #20  
King320's Avatar
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
03 C32 AMG
Originally Posted by Ashkan's C280
well if I gained 15hp from cats a pipe and muff I would be happy, and the car should sound better, and correct me if I am wrong, but I think I should be saving some weight as well as having the car run better for it, so I believe it would be worth the gain, I'm not stupid and think this would add 30hp, I only have a I6, but I think 20hp could be gained on a v8, and maybe 15 if I am lucky for me, at least it will be light sound better, and have some better hp, and for me 15 hp is a lot, my stock is only 195, and I have done a few mods, and I'd like to think I have 200hp crank, prob not but it makes me feel better, so 10hp gain is 5% and 15hp is 7.5% that is a lot to me
Im kindof in the same boat, if you do it let me know how it goes. As for the weight saving thing you said, no way. MBs are heavy cars. Switching out your cats or even deleting them altogether isnt going to save you weight of any consequence.
Reply
Old Dec 6, 2005 | 10:25 PM
  #21  
Ashkan's C43's Avatar
Super Member
 
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 821
Likes: 0
From: Irvine CA
c43
I thought stock exhaust systems were heavy and restrictive, but i may be wrong, I mean I know I won't be saying 200 pounds, but I woud be very happy with 10-20
Reply
Old Dec 7, 2005 | 12:11 AM
  #22  
Dave OH's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,111
Likes: 1
R170
Originally Posted by King320
MBs are heavy cars. Switching out your cats or even deleting them altogether isnt going to save you weight of any consequence.
Not true actually... if you remove the secondary cats... you'll probably save 20lbs ish. I'm doing it next week so we'll see what happens.
Reply
Old Dec 7, 2005 | 12:24 AM
  #23  
Ashkan's C43's Avatar
Super Member
 
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 821
Likes: 0
From: Irvine CA
c43
so removing secondary cats and doing a straight pipe to a muff (which should be lighter than the muff already there) should save 30 pounds maybe?
Reply
Old Dec 7, 2005 | 01:18 AM
  #24  
Dave OH's Avatar
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,111
Likes: 1
R170
if you get a lighter muffler in combination with the secondary cat delete... 30lbs sounds about right... i'll weigh the secondary cats after i remove them.
Reply
Old Dec 7, 2005 | 04:53 PM
  #25  
King320's Avatar
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 1
From: Atlanta
03 C32 AMG
20-30 lbs might make a difference on the track, but i dunno what kind of difference you're going to see on the street. Thats roughly equivalent to me having or not having my bookbag in the car.

Dave, post PICS when you do yours. I think our setups are identical, which is the primary and secondary? Im assuming the first ones are primary since they're monitored by 02 sensors, are you replacing these with anything? Also do you think we're risking the same issues that Victor ran into on the E55?
Reply

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 


You have already rated this thread Rating: Thread Rating: 0 votes,  average.


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:55 PM.

story-0
6 Mercedes Models That Did NOT Age Well (But Are Somehow Still Cool)

Slideshow: Not every Mercedes design becomes timeless, some feel stuck in the era they came from.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-12 18:09:07


VIEW MORE
story-1
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun

Slideshow: Yes, Mercedes built manual cars, and some of them are far more interesting than you'd expect.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-02 12:36:58


VIEW MORE
story-2
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren

Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-29 11:19:28


VIEW MORE
story-3
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine

Slideshow: Before curves took over, Mercedes mastered the art of the straight line, and some of those shapes still look right today.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-25 12:05:49


VIEW MORE
story-4
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction

Slideshow: The 190E Evolution II shows how a homologation necessity became a six-figure collector icon.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-22 17:53:47


VIEW MORE
story-5
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know

Slideshow: Mercedes is turning one of its core nameplates electric, and the details show just how serious this shift is.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-21 13:58:06


VIEW MORE
story-6
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know

Slideshow: Faster charging, longer range, and a controversial steer-by-wire system define the latest evolution of Mercedes-Benz EQS.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-15 10:35:34


VIEW MORE
story-7
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve

Slideshow: These overlooked Mercedes-Benz models never got the spotlight, but they quietly delivered more than most remember.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-13 19:35:45


VIEW MORE
story-8
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping

Slideshow: A well-used 1991 Mercedes-Benz 300D with more than one million miles is now looking for a new owner, and it still appears ready for more.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-10 10:05:15


VIEW MORE
story-9
10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used

Slideshow: From bulletproof sedans to surprisingly tough SUVs, these Mercedes models proved that the three-pointed star can go the distance.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-08 09:55:49


VIEW MORE