Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

I got my Tri-Y Y-pipe finally put in today...thx SLP for Fu**kin them up years ago!........

anways, I dont have the money right now for a CAT BACK system so my exhaust will consist of Headers to stock piping which I think is 2 3/4 mandrel bent tubing til you get the axels then it does its own thing til you get to the 80 series muffler.

Will puting a straight pipe inplace of where the cat used to be sound ok?....does anyone have any sound files of this? I did my search but there are so many different opinions and they are old...whats the freash scoop on this? torque loss or not?...

Cat or straight pipe?

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

A high flow cat will not hold you back power wise at all. Plus they halep to mellow out the sound and make an exhaust sound good if you ask me. You won't see any torque loss with or without one and they are good if you ask me.

80smetalfan

i'd say it depends entirely on where you live, how much $$$ you have, and what your overall setup is. i live in missouri (no smog laws to worry about), don't currently have money i want to spend on it, and currently have an exhaust setup which isn't too spectacular (stock headers, stock y pipe, flowmaster 40 with dual outs, and obviously dual pipes) and is on it's way off soon (getting true duals ), and i found it to be a good mod in terms of power and sound. i mean, it's nothing spectacular, compareable to going from the stock aircleaner to an aftermarket one. i also have a muffler shop in town that will pass you on inspections regardless of whether you have a cat or not, so i don't worry a lot at the moment.

i guess my opinion on it would be that if you've just got headers with the stock piping, it would be worth it, unless you live somewhere where they're very particular about how loud your car is. here in small town USA, half the farmers simply have straightpipes all the way back from the headers on their trucks, and the cops don't even bother them at all, so i'm in no danger of being considered 'excessively loud'. if you live in a city, this might be different. it will certainly make your car louder. but you might run a little rich, too.

MdFormula350

i say straight pipe if u can get away with it, i can pass with out them.

ksrammstein

I agree with shifty....if you don't loose any power and it does help tone and helping the enviroment shouldn't be that bad.....

80smetalfan

"helping the enviroment shouldn't be that bad"



sorry, but if you want to help the environment, plant trees. it remains to be proven that catalytic converters actually help the environment, and that car exhaust actually does any significant damage to the environment or ozone. the ideas behind all the worthless emissions crap on our vehicles is almost entirely speculation, not fact :lala: .

CaptPicardsZ28

I have hooker super comps to my y pipe. Three inch exhaust all the way back to my 80 series FM muffler. Three in and three out. No cat. Took it out and put straight pipe there. It is much louder but not untolerable. Everyone likes it including myself. Its a kick azz setup. Go with the straight pipe if emissions isnt a problem where you are.

ksrammstein

Ever been to LA....I don't want to live in a cloud of crap. Speculation or not, it doesn't hurt. But for most of the other emissions stuff....oh yeah its crap.

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

I dont want my car to sound to loud....I just like that header sound, you know the header crackle!.........Is the sound difference that drastic when replacing the cat with a piece of straight pipe? I will still be using my 80 series Flowmaster muffler.

80smetalfan

it will be a little louder at idle.....it will really be a lot louder after 2500 RPMs, though.

CaptPicardsZ28

Thats correct...but it sounds soooooo good!!!

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

WEll Im going with the straight ppe in place of the CAT...already got it. I hope it sounds good going thru thr FLOW...and not to loud!...give me that nice header tone.

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

pipe is on. Sounds good!.....dont really know what the sound would have been like with the cat but im happy with the sound of the pipe inplace of it.

Chris89GTA

iTrader: (2)

I have heard both and the cats do mellow out the sound a little bit. Either you use the car and help attribute to the Greenhouse effect w/ ozone gasses, or you run it w/o the car and help attribute to smog. Either way works for me... LoL

Like already stated there is nothing to really prove that cats help out that much in terms of helping the enviroment, except that they do give off greenhouse gasses.

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

I live up here north of Winston Salem and there is no smog up here so I figure I would add my share. well what little I do have ...LOL..I dont think anyone will notice. acutally I may still pas the sniffer but I doubt it!...

Droptop_Z

I got a high flow cat welded up to my 3" cat back system, and was wondering if anyone would know whay my cat smells like eggs every time it gets warmed up?

trans87

Did you also see the population of Los Angeles? Even if everyone was driving Honda Hybrids smog would be forming here. There is just too many people for such a condensed area.

Nate86

Hmm... it seems like oxydizing harmful hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, reduces nitrous oxides into nitrogen, and burning those pollutants into water and carbon dioxide would help pollution problems at least a bit. I was under the impression that a catalytic converter performs all these operations. Plus, an aftermarket "high-flow" catalytic converter allows the car to lose almost nil torque/horsepower while still doing the aforementioned operations.

From what I have read, there doesn't seem to be any advantage of running straight pipes versus a catalytic converter.

I'm not trying to be a wise *** or anything, I would just like to know why it is advantageous to run straight pipes versus a cat.

92RSZ

iTrader: (6)

just thought i would chime in on cats costing power. if you have a dual cat car you will be fine. i run a single cat. with the cat in, best 1/4 mile time was 14.1. cat out and no other changes netted me a 13.9. i would say a single cat does eat some power.

Nate86

Was it a stock cat or an aftermarket one?

92RSZ

iTrader: (6)

It was a brand new (5,000 mi.) random technology cat. one cat is definitely restrictive if youre making any real power. im still running the stock heads and bone stock tpi and still picked up .2.

Kontrax

wooohh wait a sec. i lived in LA for a year. now im living back in boston and boston is much worse then LA is, in most parts. and a cat does restrict. hell, when i had my z i got a new cat on it an when i punched it the car went no place, wasnt like that before i got that lousy cat. cats also backup your exaust and if it gets stuffed, now you got engine problems. i agree with cats dont help the environment. they just had this special on the news about how cars can pass without cats and they want to tighten the emo up here. friggin worthless if you ask me. thank the lord i have someone who can just give me a sticker. but im still going to run a cat so i dont get fined if a statie happens to notice....

Kontrax

dude where do you think those carbons go? a cat is nothing more then screens...it all sits in there and gets blown out over a period of time. or it gets clogged and backs up the exaust causing your car to run like S__T. i dont know what your reading but i know for a fact its wrong from experience. ive had cars with and without cats and with no cat or a hollow car you can feel the difference

gta_88_kicks

all it is is just screens? hmm, a catalytic converter has catalysts in it that speed up chemical reactions. These chemical reactions convert hydrocarbons and stuff into less harmful substances. so much for just screens.

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

screens hell!....you mean a big chunk of screen...you cant even look thru it and barely see light at the other end. ITs gotta clog, if not at least slow the exhaust down. Which in itself is a restriction.

Kontrax

scientific blabber. its a bunch of screens that do nothing except clog up your exaust like hair in a pipe. if they really did clean the air and la de da, then every place in the US would require them. its all nonsense

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

after looking at it after I took if off, I couldnt agree more that all it does is clog up the exhaust. I mean come on....if that big clump of screens doesnt affect the flow of exhaust going thru the pipes then I dont know what would...

Kontrax

and yet again wishmaster you are correct

IROCThe5.7L

Wishmaster, your exhaust dosent sound raspy now does it (Esp when you rev it)? I really can't stand to hear raspy flowmasters. Thats why I dont know what I should do with my cat....

gta_88_kicks

my exhaust sounded raspy, i had to punch out the cat temporarily cuz it melted and wouldn't let any exhaust through, hahaha. When i put the new cat on the raspiness was much more subdued.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

FYI: its not a screen, its a comb. Its a catalytic-converter. It uses catalysts to burn and convert harmful chemicals, into non harmful ones. And they work great!

Besides the simple science behind them, that every well educated 5th grader can understand - it is the law to not tamper with them. Its a felony, and a $2500.00 fine.

Every place in the US does require cats on cars. Are you the numbskull that thought the federal clean air act didn't apply to New Hampshire a few months ago?


-- Joe

Kontrax

numbskull? lol where did you pick that up from? and for your INFO everyplace does not require them. how the hell are you going to tell me cars that were made without them years back need them? you obviously dont know the laws, especialy in your own state. 83 and lower do not require emo testing in MA, just safty inspection. i know this for a fact. i know everybody at the inspection station down the street, been going there for years. so if your going to start directing your rude comments tword me when you have no idea what your talking about

gixxer9

Catalytic convertors are required by federal law to remain functional on all vehicles that came equipped with them from the factory. All states do not perform emission testing, but that doesn't mean you can take the cat off legally. Basically, if you don't want to run a catalytic convertor, that's your choice, but unless you are going to pay the fines for the less knowledgable site members, don't tell people to disregard the law, and remove their cats. I am a tech in Madison, and we don't have emission inspection, but another shop in town got a $25,000 fine for doing a custom exhaust without a cat on an originally equipped vehicle.

Cats clog if your car is out of tune, or there is a fuel problem, therefore you're running rich. If you are running lean, you will melt the catalyst, and clog it that way.

With that being said, if you are willing to pay the $2,500 fine IF you get caught, that's cool with me, as I'm the farthest from a tree hugger that one can be. Just don't offer your uninformed advice to a newbie, or unexperienced member, when it could be as financially devastating as it is.

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

I am a Police Officer in Mass. Cat's are required on ALL VEHICLES THAT GOT THEM FROM THE FACTORY. Does your prior to '83 car have to pass emissions? NO! Can you be fined for removing the cat? YES!

Wan't to debate this? Do it in court! This isn't a threat - believe it or not we dont like writing citations. Get educated, follow the law, live well.

Some guy was arguing with us a few months ago about his dads new car. He said he bought it in new hampshire were new cars don't have cats cuz they don't have emissions. Even after the trouble of posting direct links to the text of the laws (federal), he still didn't believe it.


-- Joe

Kontrax

1st off i dont believe your a cop at all. 2nd if you are, you were trained in basic MA law, not the law of any other state. you can quote all you want from whatever you want but im not/never going to listen to what you have to say. ive had experience with this topic in life, not the boards. like you have stated in past posts on other boards. 83 and lower do not have to pass. yes 84 and newer must have cats for visual, but how are you going to tell if its hollow or just a case welded to a pipe? you cant. all my cars never had a working cat. all you have to do to pass emo up here is run the car up and down the highway till its hot and then go for the sticker, youll pass no problem. i have never failed the emo. since your a so called police officer, i suppose your going to tell me i need a front plate for my 88 gta too right? lol been ticketed 4 times for that and beat everyone. and if you live in MA you must have seen the whole business with the new emo crap they are using for testing. no? well let me fill you in. the head honcho of the testing up here was fired because the machines were passing beat boxes and failing new cars. the system doesnt work at all. cats still havent been proven to do a damn thing for the environtment. thats why some states dont do emission testing. but your going to tell me im wrong anyways, correct? lol i hope you are a cop and pull me over someday and try to ticket me for something lame like noise polution or tell me my tires are to wide, then we can argue it in court.

Kontrax

oh and BTW buddy, i never said they didnt have cats up there. i said the truck, not car, didnt come with one. get your facts stright before you try to make me look bad. for a cop you sure have a bad memory huh? sure you dont have your laws confused?

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

For some people, there is just no hope.

I don't think its worth my time explaining any more to you. Besides your blatant ignorance of the law your theory's on how these things work (and don't) are so far off its not even worth trying to set you straight.

Enjoy your hollow cat, lack of front license plate, wide tires, or whatever else your doing in protest. You wanna take time out of work (if your employed) to fight citations, go right ahead.

I guess you think seatbelt laws are lame too? I think its lame that I have to stand around outside for 5 hours when you lose control of your vehicle and die on the scene.

-- Joe

Kontrax

since my last post made you uncomfortable then ill bump it for you. whaala! amazing what a "numbskull" like me can do? ae copper? pfff...

anesthes

iTrader: (12)

Once the ticket is entered into the system, its a felony to delete it.

I'm very uncomfortable with that statement. I hope your just trying to be cool.

Kontrax

i dont try to be anything. like i said i have my ways and you have yours. but i guess we'll never know will we?
to me its a felony to give someone a ticket because your pissed off at life, but that still happens. but why should you listen to me, im ignorent and not worth your time remember? so why do you even bother reading my responses? hey maybe im some 15 year old kid who doesnt even have a licence? maybe i dont even have a car? lol or maybe im just running my mouth because it upsets you? if i took everything everyone said to me online seriously, id be running around mad at the world all the time. im not going to fight with you on these boards again. its stupid. and as for calling me names? last time i called some one an "idiot" indirectly, a mod stepped in and edited my post, so i dont think you should direct your name calling in my direction. especially if you are a police officer

acid Burn

it IS FEDERAL LAW that on all vehicles equiped with cats from the factory, you cannot remove or make them so they are no longer functional. it doesnt matter if your state does emissions or not. here in indiana we dont have emissions (thank ***) but since its federal law on the cats, if your state has emissions or not doesnt matter. cats still gotta be there.

how do i know this? my uncle owns a muffler shop, if someone brings in a car with no cat and wants somthing done to the exhaust, he has to put a cat on it in order to do the other work, because he could be fined.

go to any one of the many gov sites to look it up if you dont believe me.

im not trying to flame you, hell i gutted my cat. if your going to put a straight pipe in place of your cat, put the pipe through the cat so that it still apprears that you have a working cat.

Kontrax

yes i understand this and i will have a cat on my car if i ever get it on the road again. i never said anything about dropping cats, i just said that some places you dont need to pass emissions. i know the law says you must have a cat and i will because i know its a big fine for not having one. but cars that are not equiped with them dont need them.

and your very lucky you dont have to pass emissions, im thinking about moving just to bypass that law

gixxer9

The problem is that you are giving misinformation to the group. You don't seem to be grasping the fact that state emission inspections, and the federal catalytic convertor mandate are two separate entities. You may, or may not pass emissions without a cat, but just because a state doesn't have emission inspections, it doesn't mean you can remove your convertor. You may be able to get away with it if no one is inspecting your car, but it can, and does, happen. In Madison we, like I said earlier, don't have emission testing, but Troopers, Sheriffs, and Police can inspect your vehicle at their request if they stop you, and if they elect to do so, they will take their telescopic mirror, and check to see if your convertor is still there. Of course, they have no idea of whether it is hollow or not (mine is presently hollow), so they just assume it is in working order if they see it. Before landing my dealership job, I put in my time at two muffler shops in Madison (Don's, and Midas), so I understand that the convertor law is a Federal law, not a state law.

One of the points of this board is to express, and share your opinion with others, but you are stating your opinion as fact, when in reality you are wrong. If someone were to believe what you have been saying, they could land themselves a hefty fine. I certainly am not trying to offend you, but out of respect for everyone, you really should get your information straight before you express it as factual.
Mike

gixxer9

Oops, I didn't see the last couple of posts... you do understand that, but just didn't communicate it well.. I like the "moving" in your avatar now instead of MA, lol.

Kontrax

yeah ive decided to move where there is no emission testing. and like i said before, i never said ANYTHING about removing your cat. people are putting words into my mouth here...


cant we argue peacefully? :lala:

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

WOW!.................LOL..come home from work and read all this...you guys been having fun huh?

flrtin1

Since this is going good I will put it on spin

If you read the federal regulations which is the EPA Clean Air Act Part A - Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards Here you will find that it is illegal for a person to remove any emissions for that year of car. Now if you read it, the fine is for the person that actually does the removing. It is against these regs to remove emissions or sell a car that has emissions removed it is not I repeat is not against these regs to buy own or operate a car with the emissions removed now your state laws may differ but a lot of states don’t. Bottom line and I will use Illinois as an example because I know what their law is (in most of the state) if you buy a car that has emissions removed and drive it that way you are not violating any state or federal laws

Kontrax

and yet again flrtin1
you come and put a twist to the story hey did you see my replies in the blower topic yet? im still waiting for an answer....