bucknutt76

Hey guys thinking of getting headers and cant decide if i want cats or not. I was hoping to get some input, the headers im looking at are LG steets. Thanks Chadd

Blue Blood

When I was first considering my LG Pros I had the same thoughts, but when it came down to it, the decision was really very simple. As enthusiasts we seem to always be looking for the performance angle. Many times weighing economy vs horsepower. In this case I think it's also about social responsibility, horsepower vs environment. At the end of the day for this case I don't think there's really enough performance to be gained by running without cats. On the other hand the increased pollution as a result of this is not worth it. I doubt there's anyone running a car on the street that can really feel the difference.

Most around here are probably not old enough to remember the days when you couldn't see 100 yards because the air was so thick with smog. If you are it's my guess you'll not have to think very long before making your choice. My vote will always be to leave all smog equipment intact and performing as intended.

My $.02 FWIW

InSaNeKaMeL

if mostly stock get cats.. if very modified dont waste your money as they will not last long.

JETZ

Milan

If social responsibility a concern of yours, this is not the hobby for you.

If you actually emissions test a car running no cats it doesn't really put out a whole hell of a lot more emissions than one with cats. It's not like if you take off your cats baby seals around the world will randomly start dying.

If person A with cats drive 20,000 miles a year and person B w/o cats drives 5,000 miles a year, you better believe A is being a lot less socially responsible.

Obviously if everyone did it, it would have a significant impact, but with current laws in place, that will never happen.

The best way to be socially responsible is to stop driving altogether and live somewhere that is completely self sustainable, which is obviously not possible in the US.

22655td

I run the LG headers on my 402 at 548 rwhp and I am running cats. My opinion is if you spend money on HP buy some aftermarket cats and don't be a stink bomb!

bucknutt76

thanks for all of the input guys. But yes I do live in California. But Im in the military so my car is reg. in Ohio so we dont smog there. Anyways, intresting thoughts but one main question after all of them is does it sound so much different? I mean w/o cats is it really annoyingly loud?

jhelms

My C5 was running 12 psi of Procharged boost, Kooks headers, no cats, and a Z06 titanium exhaust and it was pretty quiet FWIW...

I'd say don't get cats.

stormrider

I think 'loud' is a matter of personal taste. Running without cats does make your exhaust smell like rotten eggs, tends to leave black residue all over your bumper but most important greatly increases the amount of pollution your car emits. Think of it this way, if you where on a spaceship would you want to do something that increases the toxicity of the air you breath? Well, this planet we all live on is a spaceship and we have no where to go if we f*@% up the air.

Okay, I am getting off my soap box. I just hope you do the right thing

bucknutt76

So many differnt oppinions on this matter, I will have to give this one some thought

ecoman

You have to think about what kind of air your leaving for your children and grandchildren to breath.If everyone said a little pollution won,t hurt we will have no good air left before you even realize it.get the cats.

Blue Blood

Based on your logic to stop driving, then we should also discuss how much methane gas is emitted by the local dairy and cattle farms..... I guess we should stop drinking milk.

0Andrew@MarylandSpeed

I'd have to agree with several people on here and say to go the high flow cats route. I couldn't imagine owning such a nice car as a late model Corvette and driving around creating such a smell without running cats. The power gain from running catless is not something that you're going to feel, as you're generally only talking a 3-5 horsepower gain at most, and that's all to be had on the top end mainly.

Keeping high flow cats will retain some low-end torque (which I prefer over 3-5 extra horsepower on the top-end, personally) and your inside of your car and your clothes won't smell like a '70 Chevelle.\

A good quality high-flow cat can also be more efficient in reducing emissions than your stock cats. If you don't want to risk failing emissions (if you have emissions inspections where you live) but want optimum performance then high flow cats is ultimately the way to go. If the car is strictly a drag car then I would recommend catless in that case, and only that case. Hope that helps!

Milan

That's EXACTLY my point!

If you are going to care about the INSIGNIFICANT amount of extra emissions from a few automotive enthusiasts, why stop there?

Has anyone ever seen how an emissions test is run or cared enough to look at the numbers? The parameters are so broad that often times newer vehicles can pass without catalytic converters at all.

I guess we should ban drag racing on this forum too because all the 9 and 10 second cars running race gas on here are ruining the air for our kids too, right?

Some of you need to use your brains and think about how big the planet is and realize that a few car guys running no cats is not the problem with air pollution.

I'd be willing to bet a significant amount of you complaining probably drive 50 miles to work every day too.

OhioC5

I love reading the responses regarding cats and the enviorment, so entertaining. One guy is going to club a baby seal and the other is hugging a tree. You guys are funny, thanks.

No cats will be louder and exhaust will smell.

jhelms

Wow... I thought we were on the Corvette board not the Prius board!

I've never noticed the rotten egg smell from any of my cat-less cars.

When I think about any extra emissions from a car without cats I think about the research that shows how many contaminants and harmful byproducts come from the manufacturing of catalytic converters!!!!

I also look at just one school bus next to me or an 18-wheeler pulling away from a stoplight pumping HUGE amounts of caustic dark black smoke into the air... I'm pretty sure my relatively small ~6 liter produces less over it's entire life than trucks like that in a month!

bucknutt76

But the exhaust is already going to be some what louder with just headers right?

BlackZ06

I haven't read as an elitest "excuse" since Nancy Pelosi argued it is OK for her to fly in a private jet between her California district and Washington DC.

You are absolutely full of

If the billions of people on this planet took your attitude .... we'd all be dead by tomorrow.

You are not some "elite" person allowed to pollute the planet because no one else can .... you are the problem .... not the solution.

Bottom line ... you're a freakin' moron.

k-mart

I bought my car with LG Streets and cat delete pipes. It also came with hi-flow cats.

In less than two weeks I was putting the cats in.

To me, it was all about the smell. I could fill up a room with exhaust stench after a 10 minute drive.

The sound difference was not noticable and I noticed no performance difference.

JimbeauZ06

I have the LG Pros with the hi-flo cats. One of the magazines tested both with and without and virtually no differences in HP. I'm not a tree hugger but if there's no diff in HP why wouldn't you and I don't have to change anything if I go for emissions testing which I had to do yearly in TN but not here in FL so far.