I was just under my 97 SE 5sp for the first time in a while, and the pre-cat (the fat part of the y-pipe) is dented in at least 1" deep about 4" across.

- will this pass emissions inspection next spring?

- I don't care much about performance since this is my slow car, but would it be a bad idea to put on a used stock part or just go aftermarket? Anyone got a used stock y-pipe?

Dave

 

go aftermarket! Budget Y-pipe is only ~$180. And the gains would be nice....but i'm sure you could find a used y-pipe somewhere in the "for sale" section of the .org

 

Meh, $180 isn't much for a car mod, but I'll bet some people are practically giving away old y pipes. If I blow $180, it'll be twice that for a new radiator on the RX7

 

Will the dent make this fail visual of emissions inspection?

Can it lead to a clogged pre-cat?

 

Are you sure it's not the MOLDED heatshield portion?

No I doubt the inspection will look that closely to fail a visual due to that reason alone.

If the precat IS damaged (on the inside) it MAY clog up...

 

The dent is really 1" deep - and the heatshield wasn't spaced 1" from the internals, I'm sure of that. Last week I was driving at night after some really heavy rain, and ran over a few chunks of debris. One hit REAL hard on the underside - I was hoping it hit frame, but now I don't think it was the case.

I think I'll try to get a used one and put it on in the spring before inspections.

Dave