This is just a query to all those that have RT Cats-

if you have time, please check your spark plugs and post the color of them around the plug heads...

over the weekend we pulled the plugs on a Z before he went in for an ECU reflashing to see if the rumor was true. the Z had cams, nismo intake and nismo exhaust and the RT cats.. although the other mods *might* have caused the plugs to turn white... we're still suspecting its the cats.. since this is the second or third case we've seen on RT cat owned vehicles...

here's a couple pict of the plugs... kinda of a bad angle-- the back of the plugs were fairly white..







just wanted to see if this was another fluke-

please check if you have time..

thanks--

Cheston

 

I just want this thread to be updated often as my next mod after my Plenum comes in will be some sort of cat pipes.

 

Which would be a recipe for "super lean." Has Technosquare perfected the I/P/C/H/E flash yet? Last I heard it was still lean in the middle RPMs. I can't get my motor parts until I know there is some way to let them run right.

 

Why is the report that Richard's plugs wer black? That still has me confused and I made a lenghty post of this. Cheston I will be pulling my plugs soon and posting a pic here. I am finnally switching form the stock plats to coppers and installed the RT's after flash about 500 miles ago. I will check and post a pic.

Anti Seize, are people using it on plug changes?

I will be a good test because I was 12.5 on a 3k mile engine then blown with SCer and flashed to that 11.5 , then added RT's and have about 500 miles on them.

I am buying a larger fuel pump and going to 9 lbs then coming down for a reflash anyway.

See you soon.

 

can someone explain to me how it is possible that cats can cause an engine to run lean?

 

thats my plug from my car. i was a little surprised to see my plug that white. although it could be the RT cats as TS suspects, i also think the nismo cams have a play in the appearance of that spark plug. cant believe i was running w/ that lean setup for so long

anyways, had the TS ecu flash this weekend (thanks guys at TS for squeezing me in on a saturday). i was running lean in the upper rpms, and thats where i felt a little power increase after the flash. rest of the power band felt about the same.

today i was able to get on the gas and did notice a cackling noise @ 6k+ rpm a couple times. that doesnt sound good either (could be detonation??). i'll see if i notice any more cackling noises in the next couple weeks.

i guess i should plan a spark plug change soon. its gonna be a pain to get to those plugs in the engine bay any recommendations for spark plugs?



kv

ps. cheston, hope yor brake setup went smooth



edit: i also have nismo headers

 

H-Flow cats allow exhaust to exit quicker therefore this allows air to come in quicker. Unfortunately our ECU does not learn at WOT and adjust fuel flow accordingly. It goes with a set fuel map no matter what. Therefore more airflow is not really a good thing for us. I think the Crawford plenum is such a good mod because it doesent really give a lot more airflow but it evens out the airflow and ensures all cylinders get the same amount.

I dont get this either! What happens when someone owns a Z in Denver Colorado? Does the car run super rich at WOT because of the thin air?

Seems like the goal of Nissan was to prevent mods on our Z!

 

I'm still running in the mid to low 14's (A/F) between 2900 & 4200!! My ECU has been to TS 3 times and will go back for a 4th time this week! I will check my plugs today ( for the person that asked - you can do it in about 30 mins ) and see if they also show lean! My car was run pretty hard ( Doug,Chris,Adam) this weekend, so I'm curious!

 

I always wonder why people never bring up LEAN and TEST PIPE in the same sentance...

Do the people with TEST PIPES worry so much about this as well?

 

I would think so but my question is since the O2 sensor does not trip a CEL with no cats, does it read a different reading (uncatalyzed) and make the necessary adjustments where a high flow cat is still catalyzing the exhaust and the O2 sensor reads this and does not report a change in emmission although there is a change in airflow.

 

I think this is the function of the ECUs adjustability/adaptability. I doubt they intentionally programmed the ECU to negate mods but it may very well be a byproduct.

 

We need Mr Twisted in on this thread.
His Z was running lean after the RT Cats install.
He had his ECU set up by TechnoSquare specially to correct this.

I dont remeber all of the details so lets get his 2 cents on this.

Hey TWISTED !

 

Hey Jason-

This is the same thought process too. but of the cars that had test pipes, their plugs were fine.... we're just wondering how RT designed the interior of their pipes..





K-
yea! brake install and rear fender roll went great- ran out of time tho for my sways
-C

 

I'm at mid to low 14's all the way through the band after RT install. I'm driving to LA on Friday to have TS take a look and reflash.

 

If more air flows in, the mass air sensor should read that and fuel added accordingly - whether the extra air is from colder weather, lower altitude (higher pressure), or mods. If that is not the case, then Nissan is about 10-15 years behind in electronic engine control!

 

Exactly. . . those preset air/fuel maps at WOT aren't any different for a Z sold in Denver, CO than they are for one sold at sea level . . . and the differene in total oxygen content of air approx 1 mile up is considerably less than the additional oxygen supplied by a CAI, cat-back exhaust, or even, high-flow cats.

 

hey Jason: Didn't you dyno your car after the RT cat install? How's your AF reading? Thanks.

 

If the ecu is following a static fuel map then it would have to be adding more fuel for increased flow. Otherwise no one would be making any power from ANY mods.

In any case... for the sake of argument... let's say the cats do lean the mixture. They aren't going to lean it out enough to be anywhere near a problem. So far as I can tell, everyone who has reported a lean condition with these cats also has various other mods. (such as TT or SC) My problem is: why would someone with heavy mods look to the cats as a potential cause for a lean running condition when there are various other, more likely, places to look?

If I'm wrong, and it is common, or likely, that cats would cause an engine to run lean... just tell me and I'll stand corrected, but I for one have never heard of that before I started seeing these 'RT Cats runnning lean' threads. (Funny how it's always RT too.)

 

I have the RT hi-flow cats and I ran very lean, according to Tadashi, until he flashed my ECU. Now all is well.

 

Ahhhhhhh So you will run Lean with the RT cats.

Looks like the ESU is a must with the RT cats mod.