Decat Exhaust Explained – Complete Guide

A Decat exhaust is a straight pipe that replaces your car’s catalytic converter. The removal of a car’s catalyst is favoured among car enthusiasts and tuners as it is an easy method to increase horsepower and engine performance.

However, understanding how decat exhausts work and the process that your car goes through is essential before making any decisions. This article explains decat exhausts and how they work.

How Do Decat Exhausts Work?

Most modern cars come with factory-installed catalytic converters. Their job is to convert gaseous waste into a less potent version. However, this process obstructs the flow of gases from the engine to the exhaust pipes, creating back-pressure. As a result, the horsepower and performance of your car suffer greatly.

By removing the catalytic converter and replacing it with a decat pipe, exhaust gases flow much more swiftly, creating less back-pressure and improved throttle response. This has made decatting extremely popular among petrol lovers.

Decat Exhaust Risks and Workarounds

Despite the seemingly endless benefits that decatting offers, there are a few risks for your car that need to be considered. With no back-pressure and fast-flowing gases, the turbo will allow more air into the engine. This will result in an imbalance between the air and petrol mix, upsetting the engine. 

Several newer models have an engine management system that will try to recalculate the changes to compensate for the imbalance.  However, the increased airflow is likely to turn the fuel mixture lean – meaning too much air with too little fuel. This can result in the engine overheating and causing engine failure.

To save your car’s engine from damage, it is recommended to have your vehicle’s engine management system reconfigured so that it could take the excess airflow into consideration. Your engine can benefit from a reconfiguration in several ways such as:

• Correct air to fuel mixture and less risk of having a lean mixture. 
• More efficient engine and increased bhp.
• Higher top-end power

The Bottom Line

Decat exhaust pipes can offer several benefits for your car ranging from higher bhp to improved throttle. The wide range of advantages that decatting offers have made it quite popular among petrol lovers and tuners. However, it is recommended to use your decat vehicle for more off-road runs. The process may offer a few drawbacks, but they can be solved with a simple engine management system remap.

Get your decat exhaust pipes today from Turborevs and take your car’s performance to the next level.