[Rony316]

Hello,

Has anyone successfully used the mini cat from Big Daddies Garage. Do we need the angled one or is the straight one fine for our vehicles?

[Er1c]

interested to know if anyone has gone this route also. i want to do a down pipe upgrade but i have yearly emissions inspections in MA.

[Rony316]

I will be installing mine this weekend. Hopefully I bought the one that fits. Also in MA. Will update when I pass inspection at end of month

[Er1c]

cool, which Down pipe do you have? Did you go with the angled spacer and mini cat or just the mini cat?

[Rony316]

I already have VRSF and went with the straight mini cat. Fingers crossed.

[jmwilson125]

Originally Posted by Rony316

I already have VRSF and went with the straight mini cat. Fingers crossed.

I tried the er high flow do and got a cel, then I tried a normal spacer and still had a cel, then I tried a 90 degree spacer still a cel, then I tried splicing this little cel delete module to my 02 sensor wires and still got a cel. I have since given up and do the worry about it.

I have heard of the mini cat working for some guys though. I think there may be a couple from guys who had success. By the time I discovered these were an option I had already given up.

Best of luck, let us know how it works out.

[Rony316]

The goal here is not to completely eliminate check engine light, as I have a JB4 for that. The goal is to drive conservatively enough with the mini cat in to clear emissions just for inspection. Would be cool though if it works all the time.

Will let everyone know hopefully after this weekend

[Sail Boat]

Originally Posted by Er1c

interested to know if anyone has gone this route also. i want to do a down pipe upgrade but i have yearly emissions inspections in MA.

FWIW, I failed MA emissions back in college (2012) when I had a Forester with a Cobb catted downpipe. At the time, this was a very high quality piece.

With the exception of 25+ yr/o cars (obviously), practically everyone I know here in VA change their tunes and downpipes to stock prior to emissions testing - some have become pretty smart about it and have VBands installed on the DP inlet and outlet to make the switch simpler. The one or two that don't claim to "know a guy".

I guess just buy what you think is best but keep your OE parts to switch in and out. Otherwise, you can make pretty great power on the stock DP... I say save the $600+.

[frenchfry675]

Originally Posted by Sail Boat

FWIW, I failed MA emissions back in college (2012) when I had a Forester with a Cobb catted downpipe. At the time, this was a very high quality piece.

With the exception of 25+ yr/o cars (obviously), practically everyone I know here in VA change their tunes and downpipes to stock prior to emissions testing - some have become pretty smart about it and have VBands installed on the DP inlet and outlet to make the switch simpler. The one or two that don't claim to "know a guy".

I guess just buy what you think is best but keep your OE parts to switch in and out. Otherwise, you can make pretty great power on the stock DP... I say save the $600+.

They are vbands but it sucks switching them back and forth. I switched back a couple months ago and messed with the vband at the turbofor 2 hours trying to get it on. It was a royal pain. I miss the good old days of the angled extensions.

[Er1c]

Originally Posted by Rony316

The goal here is not to completely eliminate check engine light, as I have a JB4 for that. The goal is to drive conservatively enough with the mini cat in to clear emissions just for inspection. Would be cool though if it works all the time.

Will let everyone know hopefully after this weekend

Any luck?

[Rony316]

Just installed it today, cleared the code, and drove around a bit. Nowhere close to having driven enough to take an O2 reading. Pretty sure I didn't get one of the vbands on right as it's vibrating now. Gonna adjust in the morning and will update everyone if CEL comes on or not.

Update: 300 miles later. No check engine light.

[Er1c]

Thanks for the update man! That’s great news for us folks with yearly emissions that want to go catless. I plan to follow your route with the vrsf catless and the big daddies mini cat.

[Rony316]

Different topic entirely, but going back, I would've rather gotten a DP with the OEM bracket instead of the free floating VRSF. Put too much stress on mid pipe which caused vibrations and rattles.

[Er1c]

Originally Posted by Rony316

Different topic entirely, but going back, I would've rather gotten a DP with the OEM bracket instead of the free floating VRSF. Put too much stress on mid pipe which caused vibrations and rattles.

Good to know! Will look into alternatives.

[Bmw.Fan]

Originally Posted by Rony316

Different topic entirely, but going back, I would've rather gotten a DP with the OEM bracket instead of the free floating VRSF. Put too much stress on mid pipe which caused vibrations and rattles.

Minicat still good? Was going to order one soon.

Thanks!

[Rony316]

Still good. No codes after the initial delayed O2 response. All sensors still read ready. No tune to cancel CEL either

[Bmw.Fan]

Originally Posted by Rony316

Still good. No codes after the initial delayed O2 response. All sensors still read ready. No tune to cancel CEL either

Awesome, order placed. Was also worried it wouldn't fit but you are the living proof I needed to pull the trigger.

Just for clarification, you got the regular straight one right (the only one they sell for 50 bucks)?

[MadOzodi]

Originally Posted by Bmw.Fan

Awesome, order placed. Was also worried it wouldn't fit but you are the living proof I needed to pull the trigger.

Just for clarification, you got the regular straight one right (the only one they sell for 50 bucks)?

Not sure if you've purchased one, but the Mini Cat CEL Fix only comes as a straight version. The Angled CEL Fix and Straight CEL Fix don't have the integrated catalyst honeycomb.

[MadOzodi]

Originally Posted by Rony316

Still good. No codes after the initial delayed O2 response. All sensors still read ready. No tune to cancel CEL either

Installed Big Daddy Mini Cat yesterday and now I've got the P0139 code.

Rony316, ballpark how many miles before your "initial delayed O2 response" went away?

[Rony316]

After I cleared it the first time, it never came back

[MadOzodi]

Cleared codes, disconnected battery for a few minutes, P0139 came back after 48 hours or so.

The Big Daddy Mini Cat really stretches the post cat O2 sensor wires when used with the Wagner catted DP.

Stock DP going back on this weekend for emmissions. *SIGH*

[Rony316]

How are you not passing emissions with catted dp? Also, you should still pass with delayed response code