Catalytic converter
There are millions of cars on the road in the United States, and each one is potentially a source of air pollution. Especially in large cities, the amount of pollution that all the cars produce together can create big problems. To solve those problems, cities, states and the federal government create clean-air laws, and many laws have been enacted that restrict the amount of pollution that cars can produce. To keep up with these laws, automakers have made many refinements to car engines and fuel systems. To help reduce the emissions further, they have developed an interesting device called a catalytic converter, which treats the exhaust before it leaves the car and removes a lot of the pollution.
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A catalytic converter changes poisonous gases to harmless carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, and water. In a simplistic way, the catalytic converter can almost be thought of as an engine of its own. The converter uses fuel and oxygen to "light off" its internal catalyst, which consumes a large portion of the gases flowing through the converter. The term Catalytic Converter covers the stainless steel box mounted in the exhaust system. Inside the cover is the catalyst, a ceramic or metallic base with an active coating incorporating alumina, ceria and other oxides and combinations of the precious metals platinum, palladium and rhodium. The base can be protected from vibration and shock by a resilient ceramic or metallic 'mat'.
Using its internal catalyst, a catalytic converter's job is to greatly reduce the level of harmful emissions in a car's exhaust. Namely, these are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen. All of these emissions are serious health and environmental hazards, plus they contribute to the formation of photochemical smog. Although a converter greatly reduces emissions, it does not eliminate them altogether. The other features to look for in a catalytic converter are heavy gauge construction (14 gauge), proper heat shielding around the converter, and "high flow" design. DEC cats meet these criteria and offer superior flow and lower sound levels than other aftermarket units.
High performance catalytic converters are manufactured to allow increased exhaust flow with their unique design and welding technique. They can be used as a 2-way or 3-way by simply removing the E.G.R. cap and can be used on either left side or right side applications. They feature complete stainless steel shells, which resist rust and provide for a long life. Put aside the cost issue and we'll still take a factory BMW catalytic converter over any aftermarket unit. For BMW E30 M3 & M5/M6 owners, especially those who track their cars, I'd still recommend the factory unit over the DEC unit below but expect to pay 3 times the price. However, for everyone else, DEC offers the best value (performance per dollar) of any catalytic converter on the market today.
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