Last weekend, after much dicking around with the guys who sold me my turbo, I got the damn thing 95% installed. The car is running with the wastegate sensor unhooked, so I gotta drive it really carefully given it essentially has no wastegate. Having said that, it sounds so much better and feels a bit more powerful.

However, I after we fired the car up again, we checked the exhaust, and given the smell, I'm sure when I spat the wheel (I ended up spitting the exhaust side wheel), it tore through my catalytic converter (cat) and completely destroyed it. So, I'm debating about getting my cat replaced (and get an exhaust upgrade, full 4" turbo back baby). That is the right thing to do - it will bring my car back up in line with emissions laws and make it less likely it will get a defect notice.

However, it's also relatively hard for police to catch you with a fucked cat (or no cat, cause some people remove them). They generally have to stop you, and know what the smell of your exhaust means.

I think it's a risk I'm not willing to take, so as soon as I've payed off the turbo, I'll get quotes on a new exhaust and a new catalytic converter.