<p>Try breathing-out through your nose whilst half pinching your nostrils. This is akin to what your engine has to do to get exhaust gases past a catalytic converter! This obviously has an impact on the car's performance. It is a simple matter to replace the cat with a de-cat pipe.</p>
<p>It should be noted that the S14a has a second smaller cat in the downpipe from the turbo and a replacement pipe is available for this too.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;">WARNING! Running an S14, S14a and S15 without a catalytic converter is NOT illegal in the UK. However, not passing emissions testing is, and it is unlikely to without a cat fitted.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;">The S14, S14a and S15 all require different sized de-cats. Ensure you have the correct size!</span></p>
<p align="left">&nbsp;Ideally, you need a trolley jack to gain adequate access to the cat. The job should take about ten minutes, so long as your rusted bolts don't shear! You will need a 10mm and 17mm socket and, of course, a de-cat pipe. Depending on the condition of the existing gaskets, you may need replacements.</p>
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<p align="left">Using the 10mm socket, remove the four bolts holding the cat shield on. Next, remove the four nuts on bolts holding the cat to the system (Figure 1). Be careful of failing rust! You can now carefully remove the cat from the system.</p>
<p align="left"><span style="display: inline-table;" class="wf_caption"><img src="images/guides/decat1.jpg" alt="Removing the cat" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; margin-top: auto; margin-bottom: auto; border: initial initial initial;" height="NaN" width="100%" /><span style="max-width: 512px; text-align: center; display: block;">Figure 1 - Removing the cat</span></span></p>
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<p align="left">Figure 2 shows the removed cat. Be sure to keep this safe. You will need to fit it back on for the MoT road test each year! Coat the bolts in WD40 to reduce further rusting.</p>
<p align="left"><span style="display: inline-table;" class="wf_caption"><img src="images/guides/decat2.jpg" alt="The offending moggy" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; margin-top: auto; margin-bottom: auto; border: initial initial initial;" height="NaN" width="100%" /><span style="max-width: 512px; text-align: center; display: block;">Figure 2 - The offending moggy</span></span></p>
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<p align="left">Figure 3 shows the shiny new de-cat pipe replacement.</p>
<p align="left"><span style="display: inline-table;" class="wf_caption"><img src="images/guides/decat3.jpg" alt="De-cat primed and ready" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; margin-top: auto; margin-bottom: auto; border: initial initial initial;" height="NaN" width="100%" /><span style="max-width: 512px; text-align: center; display: block;">Figure 3 - De-cat primed and ready</span></span></p>
<p align="left">&nbsp;</p>
<p align="left">Check the gaskets and replace if necessary. Now bolt the de-cat pipe into the gap in the system using the four bolts provided. That's it.</p>
<p align="left"><span style="display: inline-table;" class="wf_caption"><img src="images/guides/decat4.jpg" alt="De-cat in place" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left; margin-top: auto; margin-bottom: auto; border: initial initial initial;" height="NaN" width="100%" /><span style="max-width: 512px; text-align: center; display: block;">Figure 4 - De-cat in place</span></span></p>