Is my catalytic converter bad?

[AGMGTV]

Hi guys, I am not so experienced and need your guru expertise... Thanks in advance.

I bought a 99 TJ with 140k miles. Rebuild the whole engine (pistons, etc). I have 150 PSI compression and everything seems to be working fine. But I seriously think my jeep lacks of power. My engine is 2.5l, 31 tires, 5 SPD manual. Besides the tires the jeep is stock. With the 19 gallons fuel tank, I make 200 miles on flat road, mod traffic and not, never passed over the 2k RPM. I check the live data from car scanner and cannot find readings showing a faulty sensor...
I am thinking about the catalytic converter but it does not present any sign to be faulty, and I checked the temperatures before and after, and seems to be doing its job.
Any suggestions will be appropriated.

Good day and nice ride!

 

[aston4]

Is a catalytic converter required in MX? You could just straight pipe it for a while as a test to see if it helps. Maybe you are not used to how slow cars used to be because you are young? 0-60mph in 16 seconds was a normal acceleration not too long ago.

 

[Wildman]

Are you sure you have a 19 gallon fuel tank? The SE normally came with a 15 gallon tank & 200 miles on a tank isn't bad.
31" tires are 3" larger than stock so if you haven't regeared then that is part of the problem. Second thing is that you need to REV that engine up above 3K RPM's to get any power out of it. I used to REV mine above 5K RPM's for 10+ miles when climbing Snoqualmie Pass in WA. Don't be scared to make that little engine scream.

 

[AGMGTV]

Is a catalytic converter required in MX? You could just straight pipe it for a while as a test to see if it helps. Maybe you are not used to how slow cars used to be because you are young? 0-60mph in 16 seconds was a normal acceleration not too long ago.

Thanks Aston4. I have the Californian sotck jeep, so i am not confident to mess with the O2 sensors...

 

[AGMGTV]

Are you sure you have a 19 gallon fuel tank? The SE normally came with a 15 gallon tank & 200 miles on a tank isn't bad.
31" tires are 3" larger than stock so if you haven't regeared then that is part of the problem. Second thing is that you need to REV that engine up above 3K RPM's to get any power out of it. I used to REV mine above 5K RPM's for 10+ miles when climbing Snoqualmie Pass in WA. Don't be scared to make that little engine scream.

Thanks Wildman. I am sure, i empty it and refill with 70 liters, to avoid any doubts. You are rigt, my gear ratio will be part of the problem... i need to check if i have the 4.10 or the 3.73 gears...

 

[SSTJ]

Tell us more about what you mean in terms of lacking power. If you mean you can't accelerate from 50mph to 55mph in 5th gear, then that's just a 2.5L engine with stock gears and 31s.

Your comment about 19 gallons makes me wonder if you're actually asking about fuel economy, not power?

 

[Wildman]

Thanks Wildman. I am sure, i empty it and refill with 70 liters, to avoid any doubts. You are rigt, my gear ratio will be part of the problem... i need to check if i have the 4.10 or the 3.73 gears...

If it's a 5 speed manual transmission then it's got 4.10 gears but with 31" tires you need 4.56 or 4.88 gears.
I had 33" tires with my 4 angry squirrels when I bought it. I swapped in 4.88 gears and could barely use 5th again on level flat ground.
I'd guess gearing is your biggest issue.
But as I said before you've also got to drive it aggressively. Running around 3k RPM's with make a difference.
Also as @SSTJ said you can't expect it to accelerator quickly in 5th. You need to drop 1 or 2 gears and don't be scared to rap it up to 5k RPM's at times.