The cell count refers to the number of "honey comb"-like substrates that exist in a 1" square area of the catalytic converter material. The less cells per square inch, the less restrictive the exhaust flow..hence improvement in power.
Poor designs or cheap converter substrate materials can lead to the inability to detoxify combustion pollutants, and in the worst case senario, melt and clog up the exhaust system: I have personally seen the results on a customer's car on the dyno...from a loss of power to finally an engine that would not rev past 2000 RPMs. He was lucky that he did not burn up an exhaust valve in the process...the culprit? A cheap China made catalytic converter from ebay! BTW, this car was supercharged.
In regard to a CEL, that can be rectified, since the removal of primary CATs and/or use of high flow, low cell count units cause the pre- and post- CAT O2 sensor to send similar voltages to the main EMS/ECU, resulting in a CEL. You can fix that, if you so desire, mechanically or electronically...but I cannot give up all of my secrets...yet.
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Bisimoto Engineering
2001 modified Boxster S, slate grey, red interior
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