With emissions standards becoming stricter, it is a challenge to keep many high horsepower cars on the road. Sure, methods exist for beating the system but it can catch up with you and the consequences can be dire. A car that doesn’t meet emission standards criteria with road-side testing equipment will have its plates pulled off until it can meet OEM specifications. In California, officers can issue a ‘back-to-stock’ ticket where your ride will have to be recertified by the California Air Resource Board (CARB). If it fails, it will never be plated in California again.
Advances in high-flow catalytic converted technology has meant that high-horsepower cars and be just that, high horsepower! Some horsepower is sacrificed in the process, but these cars can be tuned to pass emissions and stay street-legal. A combination of tuning, premium gas and working emissions systems means that you can have the power and meet the legal requirements, but how much are you leaving on the table?
There are distinct performance disadvantages to running cats. You can not run leaded race fuel or you will render them useless very fast. Cats will also become damaged if a massive backfire occurs, which for some cars like our Project GT-R is a daily occurrence. The flame will literally blow apart the cells in the cat and it will look like a war-zone when you take the system apart. Then there is the preference of sound, wouldn’t it be create to uncork the performance and sound on special occasions off-road?
Back in the day, drag racers used to unbolt their pipes before the cat to let their fiery turbo motors breathe and spit flames. The practice was dangerous though as it was clearly seen the exhaust was bouncing against the track! Other road racers were dropping their exhausts in the pits to reduce back-pressure and bypass restrictive cats, mufflers and resonators. The time consuming process upped the horsepower and dropped a few pounds, but the process was a nuisance just to produce a few extra horses.
Summit Racing has the solution. Although not new by any stretch, exhaust cut-outs have been around for years. First, there were blocking plates that could be unbolted to divert the exhaust to atmosphere just before the cat. As time went on, cable-operated butterfly valves became available before more advanced systems came out that sealed better and were electronically operated. Summit Racing has one such unit. The advantage here is that it is very affordable versus some of the competing products on the market and if you run a V6 or V8 you can get a deal on a pair and save $50!
The cutout is a simple piece of engineering. It is a 6061 T6 aluminum housing drilled to interface with a 3-bolt flange. A competent exhaust shop will be able to weld a 3-inch dump pipe just for the cats out of the same material your exhaust is made from and bolt it on. Of course, the Y-pipe dump should be facing downward so that fumes and flames are directed toward the road away from the cabin.
* CNC 6061 aircraft aluminum bodies
* Stainless steel butterfly plate & shaft
* 6061 aircraft aluminum motor plate
* High-torque DC gear-driven motor
* Gears made from high-temp steel for long life
* Illuminated toggle switch
The butterfly valve is a stainless steel plate that seats securely against the housing to seal against leaks. The power and control leads are sent to the cabin where the supplied switch is mounted. Tap into any existing 12V power supply to activate the high-torque gear driven motor. One touch opens the dump 100-percent and the instant growl of the motor is very apparent. Step on the gas and the menacing sound of your car is unleashed for the track. Hit the switch again and the fumes channel back into the exhaust where they are processed by the catalytic converter and muffled by the rest of the system.
With the Summit Racing Electric Exhaust Cut-Out you truly can have power and legal operation at the touch of a button. We have seen people get really creative with screamer pipes and secondary side-exit exhaust using these units.
Source:
Summit Racing
Summit Electric Exhaust Cut-Out
www.summitracing.com
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