All automobiles produce several noxious and harmful gases during the combustion process.  These gases, such as unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxides can have negative consequences on health and on the environment.  Some of these gases can accumulate to dangerous or lethal levels (CO) and others burn the eyes and mucus membranes(NOX, HC)  Catalytic converters were adapted for automotive use to reduce the harmful emissions of automobiles.  They contain various precious metals and convert these harmful gases into water and carbon dioxide.  They have since become a very important and critical component of todays vehicles. 

     Catalytic converters have changed over the years, from the old style 2 way bead types to todays modern 3 way ceramic substrate and steel mesh.  Various emission control devices have been in use to assist the converters in their critical functions and to help improve the tailpipe emissions.  These methods include, air injection, EGR valves, and oxygen cycling.  Each method may be used in conjuction with other methods  For more information regarding catalytic converters, please read "Catalytic Converter Theory, Operation, and Testing"

     While you could always replace your catalytic converter with new dealer parts, this is often cost prohibitive and there are viable alternatives to new OEM parts. There are increasing reasons as to why dealer parts may not be the best choice either.  There are some converters that failed due to defects in the original design, defects often still found in the new parts, defects that some aftermarket designs may resolve.

    Contrary to popular belief, cataytic converters are not commoditites, there are enourmous differences in quality between brands that result from different materials that are used, manufacturing techniques, coating technologies, and various other factors.  It is generally safe to assume that low cost converters are of lower quality, but that does not mean the the most expensive parts are the best.

Bear River Converters	Other Brands
Quality We make quality one of our primary goals.  We want to make and sell converters that we can stand behind.  We are knowledgeable about our products and we take any design flaws seriously.  We design our products to last for many years, we do not consider it to be normal to replace the converter every couple years.	Quality Most companies are in this business just to make a quick buck.  They are often difficult to deal with when problems occur.  Their knowledge of converters may be limited, and reports of design defects often go ignored, allowing these companies to continue to make and sell flawed designs for years.
Catalyst Technology The heart of a converter is the catalyst, and if the catayst is substandard and fails, the rest of the converters quality is irrelevant.  Thats why we use the most adavanced catalyst technology in the industry.  We source our products from the worlds finest manufacturers.  We are knowledgeable about the problems faced by the industry, and we are positioned to tackle the toughest jobs.  We offer more different types of catalyst to the consumer than any other brand, including application specific formulas, and this means getting the right unit for your car.	Catalyst Technology Most company focus their technology around reducing manufacturing costs.  As a result, the converters tend to be loaded with minimum amounts of material.  The coatings are often applied with antiquated equipment, resulting in inconsistent coatings.  Some companies attempt to bring the entire process in house to reduce costs, but this approach prevents them from using the latest and greatest advancements in coating technologies.  Most brands only carry two or three types of catalyst, many falling short of the actual application requirements.
Failure Rate We do not consider failure to be an option.  We attempt to build our products so that we can have a minimal return rate.  We do not take no for an answer, if a particular application proves to be difficult or troublesome, we will develop solutions to the problem.	Failure Rate Many companys we do a cost assesment and determine that it is more cost effective to have a certain number of returns and failures rather than to increase manufacturing costs to fix the problem.  This mentality seems to be the normal approach, especially if the company is not sure why their units are failing.
Sound We carry a wide variety of converters, ranging from units specifically designed to reduce sound levels on luxury cars and other situations where minimal sound is desired, to true high performance converters that optimize airflow and sound output.	Sound Most companies sell only basic type converters.  Because their units are almost always smaller than OEM, they often have only one sound level, and that is slightly louder than stock.  Choices are limited.
Performance Most of our converters use the industry standard 400 cpi ceramic substrate, which will perform about the same as OEM, but we do carry true high flow converters to optimize performance.  We carry both 300 CPI ceramic substrates and 200 CPI metal substrates that can offer flow advantages over OEM and rival converters by up to 50%, and offer increased sound levels over stock.  Our performance converters have dramatically increased loadings to prevent converter codes from being set.	Performance Many companies simply capitalize on performance brand names to lead the public to belive that their converters are high flow.  Most of these converters are ordinary 400 CPI ceramic converters that offer little or no gains over stock.  Some may be louder due to thier smaller size, but this actually reduces performance.  Don't be fooled by performance brand names, check the product to see what type of substrate it has.  Most brands that do use high flow substrates do not increase the loadings resulting in converter related codes being set.
Price Our units are often competitively priced, but sometimes cost more because of the higher quality and loadings.  We still feel that our units offer a better value because you get a higher quality longer lasting product.	Price Often prices are low because the units are cheaply constructed.  You tend to get less converter for your money.
Proper Fitment We try to make sure that our direct fit converters fit the cars properly, and that each unit is designed to be as close to the factory fitment as possible.  If we find out product does not fit correctly we attempt to find out why it didn't work and correct the issue.  Many of our parts have undergone fitment checks on real vehicles to make sure that everything lines up and fits correctly.  All parts are built using factory units are samples, we do not copy other aftermarket companies designs.	Proper Fitment Many companies make alterations to the design to reduce costs.  These alterations often introduce fitment problems.  Some are made with low quality fixture that allow incorrect alignemnt of compoents.  Many companies allow products with known fitment problems to be sold to the public because they know that many muffler shops can correct any minor issues.  This means the consumer has to spend more money to have a professional fix a problem that should not have been present in the first place.  Some companies even make the mistake of copying each others designs, and fitment issues can actually be compounded.
Warranty Most of our products carry a full 5 year/ 50,000 mile warranty on both the catalyst substrate and the shell and pipes.  Our warranty covers the entire converter against manufacturer defects and premature failure.	Warranty The industry standard warranty is a 2 year/25,000 mile warranty on the substrate and 5 years/ 50,000 miles on the shell and pipes.  Some companies are offering warranties that cover the units for as little as 90 days.  Some warranties do not cover the entire assembly, and many are provisional based upon whether the vehicle meets Federal(EPA) or California(CARB) emissions requirements.
Environment Catalytic converters are designed to protect the environement.  Contrary to popular belief, this is not the natural environment, but the human environment that is being protected.  Nature can absorb and neutralize many harmful emissions over time.  But cars emit many harmful gases that are harmful to human health.  These gases include Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrous Oxides (NOX), and Hydrocarbons (HC).  These gases affect the quality of the air we breath and can hae an adverse effect on thos ethat are sick, elderly, or have respiratory conditions.  Our converters are designed to function cleanly and effectively.	Environment Catalytic converters are designed to protect the environement.  Contrary to popular belief, this is not the natural environment, but the human environment that is being protected.  Nature can absorb and neutralize many harmful emissions over time.  But cars emit many harmful gases that are harmful to human health.  These gases include Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrous Oxides (NOX), and Hydrocarbons (HC).  These gases affect the quality of the air we breath and can hae an adverse effect on thos ethat are sick, elderly, or have respiratory conditions.  Many aftermarket converters do not function effectively, resulting in increased emissions.

      For more information regarding catalytic converters, testing, and for information about remanufactured converters, aftermarket converters, and the requirements, please read the following document. 

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/factshts/catcvrts.pdf

     We also recommend reading this guide on replacing converters on OBD-II applications when the converter is being replaced due to a P420 or catalyst inefficiency code.

 Tech Sheet (top reasons a catalytic converter will fail)