Catalytic converters are a required piece of equipment in your fuel system used mainly for environmental protection. This vital component not only entraps dangerous gases but also assists in helping your vehicle have the best fuel economy and horsepower your engine can achieve. Before you visit your Mazda dealer, this list will explain how the device works and the signs you need an upgrade.
Do You Need to Visit Your Mazda Dealer for a New Catalytic Converter?
1. What Does a Converter Do?
Converters are used to intake harmful emissions from your engine and break them apart chemically into less harmful molecules. The device contains a ceramic base and layers of metal honeycomb inside with openings at both ends for intaking and releasing exhaust gases.
Bonded to the filtering layers is a precious metal that can be rhodium, gold, palladium, or any other appropriately reactive element. When exhaust gases pass through and make contact with these layers they are chemically broken into more manageable forms. Hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide are all broken apart and released as things like oxygen and water.
2. Signs Your Converter Needs Replacing
Usually, the first sign your converter needs replacing is seeing an increase in trips to the gas station. If fuel is being used inefficiently, you will waste more gas during things like acceleration and will empty your tank more quickly. Another early sign is hearing a rattling noise from beneath the vehicle. If the filtering mesh has worn away to the point of breaking, the metal will bounce around within the casing and create sound.
If the noise you hear is more similar to a roar than a rattling, you may have lost your entire converter. Without this piece, the engine will be much louder in volume even when idling. Issues like this are also combined with an unpleasant sulfur smell since the fuel-air mixture will be incorrect and unused gas particles will be released out the tailpipe.
3. What You Can Gain from an Upgrade
Converters naturally become blocked as they age from increasing levels of deposits. When air is unable to pass through correctly, new air will have no room to enter the engine, resulting in an incorrect fuel-to-air ratio. Without the proper combustion of fuel, you will find it difficult to accelerate on top of spending more money to keep your tank full.
After an upgrade, air will easily move through the device, and fuel will be utilized to your benefit. With fresh air, it is much easier to accelerate and you will not need to press on the gas as often to maintain speed.
There are more reasons than passing an emissions test to want your converter new and spotless. Visit Rochester Mazda to upgrade your converter and know you are receiving the best performance your fuel system can offer.
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