The catalytic converter in a car plays a crucial role in reducing harmful emissions that are released into the atmosphere. Without this exhaust device attached to the undercarriage of your vehicle, the result is a cloud of toxic gases that surround your car when idling and while you commute. Harmful gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons are products of the engine's combustion process.
Why You Shouldn't Drive Without a Catalytic Converter
These gases contribute to atmospheric pollution, that has been plaguing the skies for the last one hundred years. If your car's exhaust is expelled without a catalytic converter, the gases can end up making drivers and their passenger's sick. Gas-powered vehicles require a catalytic converter to clean these harmful gases, transforming the engine exhaust into water vapor and Co2. The device is the connection between the front and back end of your exhaust pipes as it meets in the middle of your car's undercarriage. The pressurized exhaust passes through the catalytic converter where non-corrosive and expensive metals purify the exhaust fumes.
Not only can driving without a catalytic converter be detrimental to human health, but it hurts the environment. It is estimated that a single vehicle without a catalytic converter can emit up to 20 times more pollutants than a vehicle that has a functioning catalytic converter. Without a catalytic converter the unclean exhaust from your car is likely to add sulfuric dioxide to the cycle of acid rain. Also, the unnecessary pollutants can float to the ozone layer. If these pollutants linger at ground level, the harm wildlife and plant life.
Does Driving without My Catalytic Converter Damage my Car?
With the catalytic converter attached to the car, it cleans up to 90% of the hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides that are created from the combustion process. For this reason, driving a car without a catalytic converter is illegal in the states. Not only will you pollute the environment and risk your health, but drivers can face penalties for doing so. The reason for this is the severe impact it has on the environment and human health.
Driving with a missing catalytic converter can also be bad for your car's health. Without it, your engine will run abnormally rough, and you risk long term damage to your engine and exhaust manifold. Drivers decrease fuel efficiency too with an unattached converter body. Your car will also sound extremely loud and your pipes and muffler may even drag the road, causing sparks and dangerous driving conditions.