Cats
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Joined: May 2004
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From: cedar rapids iowa
Cats
Am getting ready to buy some long tubes for 98 C5 and would like to hear from those who have removed Cats altogether. What are the pro's and con's of not having cats? thanks mm
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 16,477
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From: Gone
CI 6-7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03
Pros:
Car becomes much louder.
Exhaust has the sweet smell of an old musclecar.
You'll pick up a few hp if tuned properly.
Cons:
Car becomes much louder.
Exhaust smells like an old musclecar.
You need to buy 02 sims or use a programmer like LS1-Edit to eliminate throwing codes from the rear 02 sensors.
It's illegal, and you'll have a tough time passing emissions if you have to test in your area.
Car becomes much louder.
Exhaust has the sweet smell of an old musclecar.
You'll pick up a few hp if tuned properly.
Cons:
Car becomes much louder.
Exhaust smells like an old musclecar.
You need to buy 02 sims or use a programmer like LS1-Edit to eliminate throwing codes from the rear 02 sensors.
It's illegal, and you'll have a tough time passing emissions if you have to test in your area.
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Advanced
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 60
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From: cedar rapids iowa
Y2Kvert4me
thanks for the feedback and actually where i'm going with this is why do people rush out to buy low flow cats. my exhaust people tell me that there is little difference between stock and low flow cats and they contunue to be surpised that people continue to buy the low flows. If there's not much difference between the two, then seems like staying with stock ones or just eliminating altogether are the two best options. but what do i know.
Safety Car
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 4,693
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From: Carefree, Arizona
2017 C7 of Year Finalist
Originally Posted by madmustang
thanks for the feedback and actually where i'm going with this is why do people rush out to buy low flow cats. my exhaust people tell me that there is little difference between stock and low flow cats and they contunue to be surpised that people continue to buy the low flows. If there's not much difference between the two, then seems like staying with stock ones or just eliminating altogether are the two best options. but what do i know.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 16,477
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From: Gone
CI 6-7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03
I'd say the choice mainly comes down to which header system you decide to go with. There's so many options and choices out there now
Some headers like the TPIS or Stainlessworks will mate to the stock cats.
Others such as LG and FLP are complete systems, that come with either hi-flow cats/no cats or both...but neither are compatible with the stock cats.
Just simply replacing stock cats with hi-flow cats on a given system is probably not worth the effort. I'd suggest researchng the many header options out there, and decide what's best for you, as they do vary quite a bit in pricing. I personally have the FLP system, and can switch out my cats and straight pipes in a matter of a half hour...plus I have my entire stock system uncut and intact should I decide to return the car to stock one day. These were the key factors in why I chose this system. A little more expensive, but worth it to me.
If you just want to put headers on as cheap as possible, I'd probably retian the stock cats and get headers that connect to them...you should be able to do that for under a grand. If you don't want the cats, you can always get an off-road X-pipe that will replace the cats.
Some headers like the TPIS or Stainlessworks will mate to the stock cats.
Others such as LG and FLP are complete systems, that come with either hi-flow cats/no cats or both...but neither are compatible with the stock cats.
Just simply replacing stock cats with hi-flow cats on a given system is probably not worth the effort. I'd suggest researchng the many header options out there, and decide what's best for you, as they do vary quite a bit in pricing. I personally have the FLP system, and can switch out my cats and straight pipes in a matter of a half hour...plus I have my entire stock system uncut and intact should I decide to return the car to stock one day. These were the key factors in why I chose this system. A little more expensive, but worth it to me.
If you just want to put headers on as cheap as possible, I'd probably retian the stock cats and get headers that connect to them...you should be able to do that for under a grand. If you don't want the cats, you can always get an off-road X-pipe that will replace the cats.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 7,076
Likes: 26
From: Nevada and Florida
Originally Posted by madmustang
thanks for the feedback and actually where i'm going with this is why do people rush out to buy low flow cats. my exhaust people tell me that there is little difference between stock and low flow cats and they contunue to be surpised that people continue to buy the low flows. If there's not much difference between the two, then seems like staying with stock ones or just eliminating altogether are the two best options. but what do i know.
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