iCAT

[marcusgunby]

Key Benefits
More power
Fuel savings
Reduced emissions

from the website-this is factually wrong, you get less power not more-2 lots of independant tests show this, as for fuel and emissions well i dont really care much for those on my 2 smoke and the price is way out there to get better economy and emmisions, someone show me proof it does anything and i might change my mind.

 

[DougRoost]

I agree...a fresh spark plug and good jetting is a better and much cheaper way to go.

 

[DougRoost]

icat a catalytic converter?

BTW, not sure if anyone else dinged MikeeeP on this, but nobody designs an ignition device to be a catalytic converter. It may have been designed to improve exhaust emissions by improving the efficiency of the engine, but that certainly isn't a catalytic converter, nor could it ever hope to do enough to eliminate the need for one.

From dictionary.com, a catalytic converter is: A reaction chamber typically containing a finely divided platinum-iridium catalyst into which exhaust gases from an automotive engine are passed together with excess air so that carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon pollutants are oxidized to carbon dioxide and water.

Check out this site to learn more about converters. Won't be long until they're on 4 stroke dirt bikes anyway. Catalytic converter link

 

[Studboy]

Doug, you're right. They are already on a lot of 4-Stroke street bikes. In a dirtbike application the weight and size of the cat are both bad characteristics.

 

[dbrace]

"The weight and size of the cat" What are you talking about?

DougRoost, Test were done that showed the iCAT burnt the fuel so much better that the converter could be removed and emissions were still much less with just the iCAT.

Marcusgunby Are you trying to tell me that there are lots of independent tests (yours i assume)that show the iCAT makes less and not more power? Any tuner worth his salt should know that dynos dont always translate into what happens on the track.
In Australia the Yamaha team use them.
Team technician Gary Benn, who as you probably know worked in europe for years on the GP scene dyno'd the iCAT and noticed no real improvement. He even said that he's been around long enough to know that you can't totally trust the dyno 100% in a situation like this.
Once they hit the test track the riders were very impressed and they are now using them.

It amazes me how some of you guys seem to just agree with what others on this sight think without even having any experience with the product yourselves. Stay open minded and don't just play follow the leader.

Bring it on :worship:

The iCAT works, on some bikes more than others and just like everything else it suits some riders more than others.

 

[DougRoost]

The weight and size of the cat" What are you talking about?

He's talking about once catalytic converters are installed on dirt bikes it'll be a shame (not the iCAT). Guarantee that's coming, though, since dirt bike technology is just tracking street bikes due to the greenies. Think about it, 4 stroke street bikes is all we've had here for 30 years so that's where all this R&D is coming from.

DougRoost, Test were done that showed the iCAT burnt the fuel so much better that the converter could be removed and emissions were still much less with just the iCAT.

Would sure love to see that test. Point us to the data. I'm an engineer by degree and have seen lots of high tech ignitions having been in the auto restoration and hotrodding area for over 20 years. I seriously doubt the iCAT is more efficient than some of the high end microprocessor-based multiple spark and high energy ignitions run on high performance auto engines. And even the latest cars with the best computer-mapped, coil-on-plug ignitions tied directly into the electronic fuel management system still need a catalytic converter to pass emission tests. This is way, way beyond the iCAT technology.

Think about it, if an automaker could save over $300 per car, they'd have jumped at it. Further, if this technology were that great the EPA would have mandated it and tightened emission laws even more.

 

[dbrace]

DougRoost, Have a look at this www.inventandpresent.com under the SBC section and you will find some tests on emissions.

 

[marcusgunby]

dbrace the original ICAT literature showed a graph with a 5hp gain by using time vs hp-this was a con trick as any dyno operator knows, so we have a product that doesnt give the hp it says, it isnt a cat like its called and for all i know is a empty box-it maybe it just has a few resistors and caps inside, i dont trust the company at all. The 2 tests were, once on my bike and once on a cr-both showed no gains, both done by people who have zero vested interest in the product.The dyno isnt pefect but then if its not got any hp gains and its not a cat are we being fed BS or not? i trust the dyno more than the claims made by ICAT.It may ride different with it fitted but then so does my bike when i adjust the airscrew corectly and it costs nothing. Interested in your reply.

 

[JTT]

dbrace the original ICAT literature showed a graph with a 5hp gain by using time vs hp-this was a con trick as any dyno operator knows

Not to stray too far off subject, but having no dyno experience myself, can you explain this to me Marcus? What's the normal method and why is this way different...and most important, how can we, as consumers, be on the look out for it?

 

[holeshot]

Would sure love to see that test. Point us to the data. I'm an engineer by degree and have seen lots of high tech ignitions having been in the auto restoration and hotrodding area for over 20 years. I seriously doubt the iCAT is more efficient than some of the high end microprocessor-based multiple spark and high energy ignitions run on high performance auto engines. And even the latest cars with the best computer-mapped, coil-on-plug ignitions tied directly into the electronic fuel management system still need a catalytic converter to pass emission tests. This is way, way beyond the iCAT technology.

Think about it, if an automaker could save over $300 per car, they'd have jumped at it. Further, if this technology were that great the EPA would have mandated it and tightened emission laws even more.

Careful - you might be using too much logic and commom sense. :eek:

Manufacturers wouldn't have spent thousands of hours testing porting and pipes just to eek out a horsepower or two when all they had to do was change the ignition and gain 5 horsepower. Imagine the ten of thousands of hours that have gone into development of ignitions of all kinds over the past 100 (or so) years. You'd think that someone would have stumbled across something during that time. :think:

The Icat magic bullet is a bit hard to swallow.

 

[marcusgunby]

Joe the time scale isnt generally used, the way it works is this, the operator gets the bike upto speed in the given gear(4th or 5th) then he presses a capture button, this starts the dyno taking readings, normally at this point he also winds the throttle on to simulate power out of a corner and this then leads to a full throttle run.If he wants he can press the button and leave the throttle on low revs and get a really long time to get to peak revs, this appears to show the bike taking a long time to build power-it isnt its just the operator, you put this graph against the identical engine(operated normally) and you see a big difference between the curves-totally false readings.

 

[marcusgunby]

heres the ICAT con trick
this is my bike with a std and 2c pipe-the 2c pipe appears to have nearly 18hp more than the std-so its 18hp for $200

 

[dbrace]

One important thing to remember is that the iCAT is not an ignition as some of you seem to be thinking. The iCAT's job is to change the spark on its way to the plug.
And no it's not a cat either and isn't claimed to be one but hopefully it can do the job better while producing other benefits as well.

I agree that the dyno graph they advertise looks misleading. When i first looked at it i thought ok more advertising bs as im sure we all did and this is where iCAT probably blew it. It was an insult to our intelligence.

I also agree that most magazine tests are a joke and only cater to brown nose to the companys who advertise in that particular magazine. Although at this stage i've seen no iCAT ads which may be worth something.

When i was given one to try i didn't even put it on my bike as i thought it would be a waste of time, i put it on my mates bike instead! I was skeptical as i spend a lot of time testing with local riders and know that most bolt on products are a trade -off and mostly just move the power around.
I will admit i was impressed with the iCAT and on some bikes it worked better than on others.
I think over time the iCAT will gain some respect.