Hello Everyone!

I have been reading posts in this forum for 6+ months now, however, this is my first post. After reading many different threads and posts, I have decided to pull the trigger on the VAP ECU tune and SC pulley upgrade for my 2017 F type R. I wanted to reach out to see if any other forum members have had issues with their cats plugging up or burning out after the tune, and whether I should be considering upgrading to the less restrictive 200cell cats as a preventative measure? I am really satisfied with the current exhaust note of the car and would really only consider the cats if there was a mechanical justification for them.

 

A V6 not a V8, but I have had the VAP pulley and tune (really a Eurotoys pulley but pretty much identical) for nearly three years now with zero problems or cat issues.
Lots of others here as well in the same boat and only a few with cat problems, most of which don't have a tune, so I suspect a tune (with or without pulley) is not the root cause of cat problems and something else is. A tune might exacerbate the problem but I doubt it causes it.
Maybe just maybe some preventative medicine helps, I have used Oxicat a couple of times now, Cataclean is a more well known alternative, and both claim to clean up the exhaust system from the manifolds back including the cats.

 

In addition to what Oz has said above...You do not need to update your Cats to accommodate the tune. Some have reported problems after hard driving for a period of time, but not all. I had no issues with my Cats after the tune, though it was not a very long time, before I chose to upgrade the Cats because I wanted to. I truly would have felt comfortable leaving them on as far as worrying about them failing. Another point of view is...If they do melt or become damaged, you would need to change them then anyway...So if you are happy as is, I would say just leave it. You will likely not have any issues, and if you do, then you are changing them anyway. It does nothing to preemptively change them.

Also, I just put the new Cats/Downpipes on my car and it is considerably louder. Just for awareness...I love it, but some may not.

Good luck,
DC

 

About a month after installing the pulley, one of my cats was starting to die. Was getting check engine light with Cat Efficiency codes... I do a lot “spirited driving”... You can wait and see. They may hold up. Enjoy! Cheers!

 

Thank you all, I will be keeping the OEM cats for the time being

 

OEM cats it is, thank you all

 

After close to five years and 30k miles on the tune/pulley, my OEM cats are holding up.

 

Not an expert, but my experience is that most cat problems are caused by bad injectors/ misfires. At least I believe my problems were. Don’t think that’s a problem with VAP or any other tuner.