When me and my dad were looking for a car, we test drove a Honda Civic and at the top of a little hill before we left, he stalled and jump started it. I thought it was the coolest thing ever!

That's why I tried it.

The reason they tell you not to bump start a car with a catalytic converter is because if unburned fuel gets to the catalytic converter and burns off inside it can damage it very badly.

The truth is though, out of all the times I've had unburned fuel get into the exhaust the only time I've ever had a catalytic converter burn up was on a car with a realy messed up ignition system. This car had completely destroyed contacts in the distributor cap. It missed so badly it sounded like a WW2 fighter plane after the engine was hit.

If you burn the catalytic converter in a car you will know it, it is the most discusting smell you will ever get from a car. It also sticks in your nose, All I could smell for the next week was burning converter.

Here is an interesting example.. They started the car 3 times by this way.

http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5 ... 1GP+200mph+record+attempt

Quote from ADX.14 :

Here is an interesting example.. They started the car 3 times by this way.

http://fifthgear.five.tv/jsp/5 ... 1GP+200mph+record+attempt

that basicly is an external starter motor,it does the exact same as a starter motor but externally therefore saving weight not having an onbard starter motor

Quote from james12s :

that basicly is an external starter motor,it does the exact same as a starter motor but externally therefore saving weight not having an onbard starter motor

no he is talking about the fact that they bumpstarted the car 3 times

Quote from DragonCommando :

the only time I've ever had a catalytic converter burn up was on a car with a realy messed up ignition system. This car had completely destroyed contacts in the distributor cap.

Distributor cap in a cat car?

Yes, it was an older VW jetta, They use a distributor and the canadian ones are fitted with catalytic converters.

Remember, Canadian Emissions standards are different. Every car has a converter in Canada.

Must have been one of those old 2-way converters - there's no way you can make a proper (3-way) cat work without a negative-feedback engine control system, which more or less mandates the use of solid state electronic ignition.

You can put a 3-way cat on any car with a computer, all the computer control need to know is the oxygen level in the exhaust so it can adjust the fuel level to keep it in the correct range for proper catalytic operation.

The catalytic converter will do its job regardless of what ignition system you use, you could even have one on a car that uses magneto-coil ignition as long as the engine is fuel injected. (my dune buggy will have a cat and has magneto-coil ignition with EFI)