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Does Removing Catalytic Converter Affect Engine? (Explained)

Catalytic converter is one of the most important environment-friendly parts of the car. The primary purpose of the catalytic converter is to change the composition of the toxic gasses inside the car and turn them into non toxic gasses. 

Today, we are going to discuss and find out whether removing the catalytic converter can affect the engine or not. 

Does removing catalytic converter affect engine?

The removal of the catalytic converter can affect the engine through several mechanisms. Absence of a catalytic converter is known for improving the performance of the engine and decreasing the fuel consumption. Detaching the catalytic converter also enhances horse power of the engine.

Removing the catalytic converter has positive effects on the engine and negative effects on the environment. First of all, getting rid of the catalytic converter from your car can enhance the overall performance of your engine.

An engine is able to produce more horsepower when it does not have a catalytic converter attached to it. Moreover, removal of catalytic converters can also decrease the fuel consumption of the car most of the time. 

But driving the car without a catalytic converter can cause environmental damage by increasing the amount of carbon emissions in the form of unfiltered exhaust gasses. 

Driving without a catalytic converter can additionally cause penalties for the driver for breaking several road safety and environmental laws. It is better to contact a mechanic and check the local state laws before removing the catalytic converter.

Can an engine run without a catalytic converter?

It is believed by automobile experts that an engine is able to run without a catalytic converter

The primary function of the catalytic converter is to convert the toxic exhaust gasses and turn them into non toxic gasses before your car dumps them outside using the exhaust pipe. 

So the function of the engine is not dictated by the presence of a catalytic converter. But it is not legally permitted to run an engine without a catalytic converter. Because you are endangering the environment by emitting unfiltered exhaust gasses. 

The exhaust gasses need to be filtered through the catalytic converter. 

Running the engine without a catalytic converter can make you face legal troubles in many states of America. So it is technically possible to run an engine without a catalytic converter. But it is not approved by environmental and legal laws. 

If your catalytic converter becomes faulty for some reason, then you should replace or repair it immediately instead of driving without one. 

What happens to a car engine when you remove the catalytic converter?

There are a lot of things that happen to a car engine as a result of the removal of the catalytic converter. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them.

Betterment of emission process:

The catalytic converter is tasked with filtering the exhaust gasses before the exhaust pipe releases them outside. But a catalytic converter is not an easy part of the engine for exhaust gasses to pass through. 

That is why the exhaust gas emission process is very slow when the catalytic converter is attached to the engine. 

But as soon as you detach the catalytic converter from the engine, the exhaust gas emission process becomes smoother than before. But the exhaust gasses coming out of the exhaust pipe without a catalytic converter to filter them are not safe for the environment. 

Betterment of combustion process:

If you remove the catalytic converter from the combustion chamber, then the combustion process benefits as a result. Because the combustion chamber has more space to produce more horsepower by utilizing the fuel and air in the best possible way. 

The output of the combustion process increases significantly when the catalytic converter is removed from the engine. Removing the catalytic converter from the engine helps you to capitalize the combustion process in a better way. 

Betterment of fuel economy:

When the catalytic converter is successfully removed from the car engine, your engine needs less fuel to produce the same performance. This means you can get overall better performance from your car using the same amount of fuel. 

This benefits the fuel economy of the car significantly by cutting down the fuel consumption of the engine. 

Betterment of engine performance:

Catalytic converter takes a toll on the performance of the engine by creating a lot of back pressure. This back pressure reduces once you remove the catalytic converter from the engine. 

Removal of the catalytic converter helps the engine to produce more horsepower with the same amount of fuel and air.

Betterment of engine heat:

Without the presence of a catalytic converter, the exhaust gasses can emit out of the exhaust system easier than before. This has a direct impact on the heat of the engine. 

The operational heat of the engine decreases significantly when the catalytic converter is removed from the engine. 

Improvement of exhaust sound:

The quality of the exhaust sound improves once the catalytic converter is removed from the engine. Catalytic converter somewhat decreases the exhaust sound by acting like a muffler. But the original exhaust sound can be experienced if you get rid of the catalytic converter. 

Increased gasoline options:

The important thing to remember here is that you can not use anything other than unleaded gasoline in the engine when the catalytic converter is attached to it. 

But removing the catalytic converter gives you the option of using leaded gasoline too which improves the performance of the engine.

Does removing your catalytic converter add hp?

According to automobile experts, removing the catalytic converter has the potentiality to add more horsepower(hp) to the engine of the car. There are a lot of valid reasons behind this mechanism. 

First of all, the catalytic converter takes up a big chunk of space in the combustion chamber. When the catalytic converter is removed, the output of the combustion process increases along with the horse power. 

The flow of exhaust gasses out of the exhaust pipe also increases as a result of the catalytic converter being absent. It is harmful to emit exhaust gasses without a catalytic converter, but the speed of exhaust gas emission is faster when there is no catalytic converter in the engine. 

It is believed by some experts that removing the catalytic converter can add fifteen horse power to the engine on an average. The improvement of the horsepower also is dependent upon the size of the engine and other crucial factors. 

Does removing catalytic converter improve performance?

There are two sides of the coin when it comes to the catalytic converter improving the overall performance of the car

First of all, you are going to cause damage to the environment by removing the catalytic converter because it helps your car to purify the exhaust gasses before they are dumped outside. 

On the other hand, removing the catalytic converter has been known for improving the overall performance of the car. 

The combustion chamber is benefitted by the removal of the catalytic converter as it can complete the combustion process more fruitfully without a catalytic converter. 

If the catalytic converter is removed from the engine, it can also affect the fuel economy of the car positively as less fuel will be needed to conclude the combustion process. So removing the catalytic converter can potentially enhance the performance of your car on many fronts. 

But it should not be removed because of environmental damage. 

Does removing catalytic converter affect gas mileage?

The removal of a catalytic converter can potentially have both negative and positive impact on the gas mileage

If you have driven your car with a catalytic converter for a long time before removing it, then the engine control unit will find it difficult to maintain the optimum air and fuel mixture in the combustion process.

Removing the catalytic converter can cause the engine control unit confusion and increase the fuel consumption of the car significantly. 

On the other hand, removing the catalytic converter can often decrease the fuel consumption of the car because of an enhanced combustion process where a lot less fuel will be needed. 

If you want to drive without a catalytic converter, then removing it when the car is new is the best option. Because deciding to remove the catalytic converter on an old car can increase the fuel cost of the car. 

Will removing catalytic converter cause check engine light?

Removing the catalytic converter can definitely cause the check engine light to turn on. The reason behind this is the presence of oxygen sensors in the exhaust system. 

The oxygen sensors work together with the engine control unit to let it know about the absence of a catalytic converter and cause the check engine light to come on. 

Final Thoughts

Removing the catalytic converter can affect the engine by increasing the speed of exhaust gasses passing through the exhaust system. The combustion process of the engine also gets affected due to the removal. But removing the catalytic converter can land one in legal troubles.