What to do about cats?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 280
Likes: 0
What to do about cats?
I installed Kooks Headers last year and removed the cats and replaced them with Dynomaxx Bullets. The car sounds great but the smell and the mess on the back of my car is awfull.(The car is white) You cannot drive the car withour smelling like exhaust. Are the aftermarket cats worth the money and will they eliminate the smell or should i just put the stock cats back on. I know i will loose some hp with the stock cats. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 4,829
Likes: 361
From: Albuquerque NM
The early 2 cat system really wasn't that restrictive. On my heads/cam Y2k I dyno'd open headers @ 425 rwhp, with the stock cats, x pipe, and Corsa Indys I made 413. Of that 12 hp loss how much is due to the cats? I'd guess 2/3, but don't know for sure. If so, and if after market cats will give most of that back, is it worth it HP/$? Either way, we aren't talking big losses here, on a car making less rwhp, the cats won't cost as much hp as mine did. Your call.
BTW beautiful car
BTW beautiful car
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,154
Likes: 25
From: Jasper GA
I don't understand what all the griping is about the smell of a catless car. Back in the era of the muscle car, nobody ever heard of a catalytic converter, and nobody complained about smelly exhaust. Besides, I love the smell of my catless 427 in the morning; it smells like victory!
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 43,084
Likes: 33
From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Random tech High flow cats works very well.
The smell may not be the cats, but the fuel that is used. High sulfer fuels tend to smell badly. Does not matter what brand. Shell fuels had high sulfer on the east coast last summer. So even though it was a high grade fuel, it still smelled.
Try changing the fuel that you are using for a few tank fulls and see ( smell ) if that makes a difference.
Good Luck
The smell may not be the cats, but the fuel that is used. High sulfer fuels tend to smell badly. Does not matter what brand. Shell fuels had high sulfer on the east coast last summer. So even though it was a high grade fuel, it still smelled.
Try changing the fuel that you are using for a few tank fulls and see ( smell ) if that makes a difference.
Good Luck
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 8,222
Likes: 0
From: Norfolk VA
Originally Posted by marco383
I don't understand what all the griping is about the smell of a catless car. Back in the era of the muscle car, nobody ever heard of a catalytic converter, and nobody complained about smelly exhaust. Besides, I love the smell of my catless 427 in the morning; it smells like victory!
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 3,558
Likes: 2
From: Cape Coral FL
I am running about the same exhaust you are, except I have high flow cats. I have very little smell. It is mostly when the car is cold. After it warms up, no smell. Also, the smell you are refering to is the unburnt fuel smell and NOT sulphur am I correct? If so, some of that can be tuned out.
Last edited by ArKay99; Feb 2, 2005 at 02:45 PM.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer