Hi everyone,
As you might have noticed, lean burn Honda cars like the Civic VX and HX have a very short exhaust manifold with the catalytic converter mounted very close to the engine.
Supposedly this will help it warm up faster and reduce NOx emissions. However I am told this manifold design constraints power and they do have a tendency to crack, I can only assume due to excessive heat generated by the catalyst.
My question is, do you think this manifold design is integral to the potential of the car in terms of FE and that if I change it for a more performance oriented setup my mileage will suffer? Or, on the other hand, do you think I'll gain power at low revs and thus be able to drive with less throttle and improve my numbers?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.
