cat back?
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2001
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cat back?
From a mechanical challenged member. What does the term cat back mean? And what is the advantage of this type exhaust system? I really hope someone else wanted to know this and was afraid to ask :crazy:
Team Owner
Joined: Nov 1999
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From: Former NCM Drag Racing coordinator, National director Corvette Challenge Spring Hill, Tennessee: Whiting, New Jersey
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Cruise-In VII Veteran
Re: cat back? (plastic thunder)
All a cat back is, is the exhaust system after the cat convertor.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 90,675
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From: SE NY
Cruise-In II Veteran
Re: cat back? (plastic thunder)
Take a look at your stock cat-back system; you'll notice how small the pipes are and the crimps at each bend.
A good aftermarket cat-back system (this is usually what we mean) is formed using larger tubing that is mandrel bent so that the bends are smooth and the same diameter as the straight sections. All this assures that no restrictions are introduced to create unwanted back pressure. Finally a good cat-back system has hi-flow muffflers which control sound levels to some extend but offer little resistance to gas flow.
Check out my site to see how much HP was gained by opening up my exhaust system.
BTW, never be afraid to ask a question here, that's how we all gain knowledge.
A good aftermarket cat-back system (this is usually what we mean) is formed using larger tubing that is mandrel bent so that the bends are smooth and the same diameter as the straight sections. All this assures that no restrictions are introduced to create unwanted back pressure. Finally a good cat-back system has hi-flow muffflers which control sound levels to some extend but offer little resistance to gas flow.
Check out my site to see how much HP was gained by opening up my exhaust system.
BTW, never be afraid to ask a question here, that's how we all gain knowledge.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 6,362
Likes: 30
From: Oak Harbor WA
Re: cat back? (65Z01)
Most of the cat back stuff stems from the law that states you cannot change a good exhaust system forward of the catalytic converter(s), but you can change the exhaust after the cat(s) as you please.
Seems the EPA doesn't want us moving the cats around because they are dependent upon exhaust heat to work effeciently. So, the sooner they get hot the sooner they work and the less pollution you get. Or so I have been told. :rolleyes:
Seems the EPA doesn't want us moving the cats around because they are dependent upon exhaust heat to work effeciently. So, the sooner they get hot the sooner they work and the less pollution you get. Or so I have been told. :rolleyes:
