FYI - ETD has 2.5" Metal Core Bolt on cats
 

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you guys know ETD just released 2.5" bolt-on metal cats for the 1.6 and 1.8. I ordered mine last week and I think they appeared on their website a few days ago. $200 is much less than buying a universal and having it custom made.

http://etdracing.com/miatacat.html

:dunno: think I paid $50 for mine and welded some flanges to it

He's had them for a good while now. The carsound magnaflow 3" spun metalcore 350 cell cats are like $85 from performance peddler. The tubing would be like $5-10 and flanges would be like $10 a piece in stainless unless you have the hookup.
Fair pricing for fabrication I guess. Can't beat the joe blow muffler shop jobs though.

Sure yours was metal core?

No
Not sure it was as high as $50 either :giggle:

They had the 2.25" for awhile, the 2.5" is new. Cheapest I found for a universal metal core was $120.

Metal core isn't the only criteria that matters.

You also care about cells per inch. 200 cells per inch is decent. 300 does not impress me at all.

How many cells also determines if you can pass smog or not. I think 300 cell is a good average. 200 cells might have a hard time passing smog in CA, even with an ODBI.

For someone looking to buy a simple, off-the-shelf cat that will mate with their shiny new 2.5" downpipe and Enthuza exhaust, it looks like a decent deal to me. OTOH, Ben's right- for the DIY'er who can weld stainless or isn't afraid to track down a non-chain exhaust shop and say "Make this fit into that", regular ceramic-core cats are $50 - $60 all day long, and Magnaflow P/N 59956 can be found for $80 - $100. Granted, we're not talking about a huge savings over the ETD price- maybe $50 if you're really clever at parts procurement and make friends easily. Depends on how cheap you are, I expect whether one makes sense over the other. I kinda liked the idea about the Y-pipe and the two staggered cats.

As to 200cpi / 300cpi, the whole point of installing a cat in the first place is to pass emissions, right?

Racing Mazda has the 3in for $150.

uh...that's not a spun metal core cat.


http://www.team-integra.net/sections...p?ArticleID=24

I've got the last metal cat in the world sitting in my garage. Just need my welder back.