Great gas mileage gain!

[PriusHappy]

I live in California and own an '04 Prius. The gas mileage is already phenomenal as anyone in this forum would know, but I was looking to get more even more mpg out of it. I tried various different techniques to increase the gas mileage although nothing seemed to improve it significantly. The gas additives didn't seem to work and neither did putting in premium gas when I filled up. Messing around with my intake system only seemed to cause more problems than it was worth. I thought about the exhaust system and it didn't seem too restrictive except for the cat. That's when I decided to try removing the catalytic converter and putting in a test pipe. Since it's an OBD-II vehicle I had to use an O2 sensor simulator. Dude, removing the cat made a definite improvement. I gained about 4-7 mpg and I think it gave it a little more power too. I'd suggest trying this out if you're looking to get a little better gas mileage.

[rustin]

sounds interesting, where do you get the O2 sensor simulator?

Originally posted by PriusHappy@Jan 20 2006, 11:54 AM
I live in California and own an '04 Prius. The gas mileage is already phenomenal as anyone in this forum would know, but I was looking to get more even more mpg out of it. I tried various different techniques to increase the gas mileage although nothing seemed to improve it significantly. The gas additives didn't seem to work and neither did putting in premium gas when I filled up. Messing around with my intake system only seemed to cause more problems than it was worth. I thought about the exhaust system and it didn't seem too restrictive except for the cat. That's when I decided to try removing the catalytic converter and putting in a test pipe. Since it's an OBD-II vehicle I had to use an O2 sensor simulator. Dude, removing the cat made a definite improvement. I gained about 4-7 mpg and I think it gave it a little more power too. I'd suggest trying this out if you're looking to get a little better gas mileage.

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[PriusHappy]

Originally posted by rustin@Jan 20 2006, 12:58 PM
sounds interesting,  where do you get the O2 sensor simulator?

[snapback]194071[/snapback]

Check out this link for some info on it:
http://www.mkiv.com/techarticles/oxy...sor_simulator/

[Kiloran]

A catalytic converter treats the exhaust before it leaves the car and removes a lot of the pollution.

Removing it will significantly increase your emission of pollutants. <_<
howstuffworks.com - catalytic-converter

[PriusHappy]

I'll definitely put it back in before I have to smog it again. The way I rationalize it is that I use less gas, so I figure it balances things out.
By the way, I love www.howstuffworks.com

Originally posted by Kiloran@Jan 20 2006, 01:17 PM
A catalytic converter treats the exhaust before it leaves the car and removes a lot of the pollution.

Removing it will significantly increase your emission of pollutants. <_<
howstuffworks.com - catalytic-converter

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[Kiloran]

Originally posted by PriusHappy@Jan 20 2006, 01:21 PM
The way I rationalize it is that I use less gas, so I figure it balances things out.

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I think that, if this reasoning were correct, catalytic converts wouldn't exist.

[PriusHappy]

Would you rather have a car with great gas mileage or a car that is better for the environment? Think about how much better the gas mileage is, and I'm sure the emissions are still lower than big trucks and SUVs that do have a cat.

Originally posted by Kiloran@Jan 20 2006, 01:25 PM
I think that, if this reasoning were correct, catalytic converts wouldn't exist.

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[viking31]

Originally posted by PriusHappy@Jan 20 2006, 12:54 PM
I live in California and own an '04 Prius. The gas mileage is already phenomenal as anyone in this forum would know, but I was looking to get more even more mpg out of it. I tried various different techniques to increase the gas mileage although nothing seemed to improve it significantly. The gas additives didn't seem to work and neither did putting in premium gas when I filled up. Messing around with my intake system only seemed to cause more problems than it was worth. I thought about the exhaust system and it didn't seem too restrictive except for the cat. That's when I decided to try removing the catalytic converter and putting in a test pipe. Since it's an OBD-II vehicle I had to use an O2 sensor simulator. Dude, removing the cat made a definite improvement. I gained about 4-7 mpg and I think it gave it a little more power too. I'd suggest trying this out if you're looking to get a little better gas mileage.

[snapback]194069[/snapback]

If you gain 4-7 mpg without the catalytic converter then you are suggesting the catalytic converter is responsible for perhaps a 15% or so mpg reduction. That seems to be excessive. Can someone please confirm if the catalytic converter is actually responsible for a 15% reduction in mileage?

Rick

[Kiloran]

Originally posted by PriusHappy@Jan 20 2006, 01:36 PM
Would you rather have a car with great gas mileage or a car that is better for the environment? Think about how much better the gas mileage is, and I'm sure the emissions are still lower than big trucks and SUVs that do have a cat.

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I would rather have a car that is better for the environment.
My Prius already gets great gas mileage.

I don't believe you have shown any evidence that a Prius with its catalytic removed generates less emissions than the vehicles you cited.

Edit: Corrected spelling error.

[ScottY]

I would NEVER... repeat... NEVER scarify emission for couple MPG increase on my Prius. The Prius is designed for low emission. Great mileage is the side benifit.