Almost Lost My ACR today :(

[heftygts]

I just insured my 00' ACR yesterday and went on about a 50Mile cruise to look at some machinist tools to buy, upon arriving there my right rocker panel was on fire, fortunatly I have a fire extinguisher on board and was able to put out the fire and buddy came out with a garden hose to cool it down, If I happened to be in a desolate spot I don't know what might have happened cause the Cat and Rocker was Red hot and would have probably melted the panels away and burnt the car down...not too sure whay caused all the heat , maybe the cat is getting plugged...After I decide if i go through insurance or pay myself I think I am going to remove the cat and go straight through or get a hi Flow...any tips... til this happened I was in a second heaven winding through the curvy back roads to get there...

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[Allan]

Wow. That totally *****.




Get rid of the stupid cats.

 

[denniskgb]

Is that a supercharger set up i see there in the first picture? close call though

 

[ViperJeff]

Wow... that's crazy, real happy you saw it in time

 

[CWhiteRun]

Cut out those dumb cats. They cause way more problems than they are worth. Glad your car is ok.

 

[Bobpantax]

If you do have a supercharger (Paxton I assume), you are generating more heat through the cats ( Bigger explosion in cylinder - more heat ) and your calibration also may have been altered to eliminate or lessen the cat cooling protocol. Definitely go with high flow cats. Without cats, it will be much louder and smell. If it is not supercharged and your calibration has not been altered to eliminate the cat cooling protocol, something is wrong with the cat.

 

[heftygts]

Ya it is Supercharged Paxton Novi, ya I am pretty fortunate...first time driving it in quite a while

 

[SRToad4]

So glad I cut mine out as the first mod I did! Glad you're ok though.

 

[heftygts]

Thanks, what did you do to replace the cat's, straight tube...(stainless or steel Thickness?) did you wrap it or ...

 

[Nsane1]

Yes those stock cats are barely good enough for stock conditions. If you have some miles through them, they are less efficient. A High flow is a MUST. If you are not worried about emissions, then depending on the substrate (I think the 00s were metal substrate, which is a pain) you can hollow them out and then remount.

High-flows are better as they work with 02s (in most cases), but in either case you may need 02 sims to stop the CEL (or get a piece of electric tape like I do, that makes the CEL go away ).

Glad you caught it, as an added benefit, either of these changes will significantly reduce the foot/leg warmer effect of the cats in the cabin.

 

[heftygts]

lol..what is CEL and Sims...

but in either case you may need 02 sims to stop the CEL (or get a piece of electric tape like I do, that makes the CEL go away ).

 

[Stuntman]

Thanks, what did you do to replace the cat's, straight tube...(stainless or steel Thickness?) did you wrap it or ...

There are a lot of vendors that sell High Flow Cats or Cat Delete pipes:

http://www.roeracing.com/productcart/pc/High-Flow-Catalytic-Converters-c174.htm

https://theviperstore.com/Viper2_Products_Performance_Exhaust.htm

http://www.viperpartsrack.com/viper-exhaust/viper-exhaust-emissions


From there, you can knock down your side sill & cabin temps even further with either 1/4" or 1/2" Heat Shield Armor:

http://www.heatshieldproducts.com/automotive/exhaust-heat-shield-insulation/heatshield-armor

 

[Mopar Steve]

CEL = Check engine light

Sims are O2 simulators

 

[FlashFyre]

Where in Canada was it warm enough to go out for a drive, BC?

 

[Nsane1]

Sorry guys for my use of acronyms. Stunt, thanks for the links, very helpful, the delete pipes are very tempting, first time I've seen them.

 

[denniskgb]

Where in Canada was it warm enough to go out for a drive, BC?

i was thinking about the same thing, ironically

 

[vancouver-gts]

We can drive our cars practically all year around here. There wasn't even a trace of snow anywhere, local mountains are totally void of the stuff too.pretty bad for skiers though. You can check the local weather here on katcam,every 5 minutes, updated. http://www.katkam.ca/

 

[Camfab]

Something no one's talking about. The probability that the car is not tuned right and is the root cause of the problem. When you can't do the job right, blame the symptom.

 

[DrumrBoy]

Happy for you that the heat/fire didn't compromise the painted fiberglass pieces (or if it did the damage was minor). Sills are likely easier and cheaper to replace than a hood or door panel.

 

[heftygts]

Where in Canada was it warm enough to go out for a drive, BC?

I live In British Columbia (West Coast) Vancouver...it's been Sunny every day for a couple weeks...unlike back East...we are pretty lucky here for weather...but we do get our share of Rain...

 

[heftygts]

Happy for you that the heat/fire didn't compromise the painted fiberglass pieces (or if it did the damage was minor). Sills are likely easier and cheaper to replace than a hood or door panel.

The Body shop found me a Brand New Right side Rocker for $6000 pluss dollars and a Right Fender filler I suppose you call it...for $1500....Not sure what I am going to do about the Cats...deffinitly going to remove them...I dont care about emmisions and our (Air Care) inspection place is now not in Buisness....is there a Cat removal section that is sold...Thanks

 

[heftygts]

Something no one's talking about. The probability that the car is not tuned right and is the root cause of the problem. When you can't do the job right, blame the symptom.

Yes of coarse...I took it to my Buddy who is good with this stuff and he found the Passenger Pre O2 sensor was now right so he is replacing it...

 

[heftygts]

We can drive our cars practically all year around here. There wasn't even a trace of snow anywhere, local mountains are totally void of the stuff too.pretty bad for skiers though. You can check the local weather here on katcam,every 5 minutes, updated. http://www.katkam.ca/

Hey a Fellow Vancouverite...this is me www.westcoastalignment.com drop in some time...Cheers

 

[AZTVR]

The Body shop found me a Brand New Right side Rocker for $6000 pluss dollars and a Right Fender filler I suppose you call it...for $1500

Ouch !!!!!!!!!! I would call the 3 main guys that are known to deal in used parts if this was not going to be paid for by insurance. You still would be talking over 1000 USD though, I think.

 

[heftygts]

Ouch !!!!!!!!!! I would call the 3 main guys that are known to deal in used parts if this was not going to be paid for by insurance. You still would be talking over 1000 USD though, I think.

It's all good Insurance is covering it, I am trying to get them to buy the Cat Delete for me too (wish me Luck)...ha ha ha irregaurdless Cats are going to be history and might get a good buck from my Scrap Metal Dude

 

[steve e]

You transform your Viper when you get rid of the cats, rockers are cool to the touch, runs great, sounds great.

 

[heftygts]

I ordered some of this http://www.heatshieldproducts.com/automotive/exhaust-and-header-wrap/inferno-header-wrap
also I am going to get some 2.5" x 0.065 Stainless and do the Cat delete...I am not worried about emmissions just want to get rid of the heat and not catch fire again...not sure If I should be changing out the muffler or not...is there a good replacement one...