OK, unfortuantely im probably gonna end up taking my car to a shop to have my exhaust put on. My dad doesn't really feel up to doing it, and I want to have it put on soon so i'm probably just gonna take it somewhere. I'm gonna assume they would weld it...however i know the hooker kit comes with everything to clamp it together. I really dont have any plans to change the catback after its installed, so would i want to have it all welded up, or only certain sections?

 

I personally would'nt weld anything. Once really tight it will stay that way.

 

I would weld it, leaks are my worst enemy I dont know about urs

 

Look at all those clamps, after I installed it, they all leaked. So I had my buddy weld them up. Looks much better and no leaks = way better sound. I even had a leak from the high flow cat to the y pipe, so he welded that up to. So much better.

 

A one piece exhausted (i.e. when welded) must be a paint to install/remove.

 

Yes it is, the previous owner of my car had welded everthing behind the cat! I just removed it when I did my rear end swap. But if you didn't want to drop your rear, then cutting it off would be the easy way.

 

Weld everything. Clamps are just headaches. Even if you wanted to change the exhaust later you still can. Just get a sawzall or have a shop do it.