100% You gain very little without them and the smell sucks/
View Poll Results: When purchasing an aftermarket header do you prefer:
NO Catalytic Converters
12
28.57%
High Efficiency Catalytic Converters
30
71.43%
Voters: 42. You may not vote on this poll
Header Poll: Cats vs. No Cats
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,724
Likes: 9
Header Poll: Cats vs. No Cats
Just curious what kinds of header systems that folks are installing.
When upgrading to a new set of headers, do you prefer to purchase them with Catalytic Converters or without?
Thoughts and opinions appreciated!
When upgrading to a new set of headers, do you prefer to purchase them with Catalytic Converters or without?
Thoughts and opinions appreciated!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 10,367
Likes: 1,272
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
i have always ran no cats if upgrading the headers/exhaust... it will be a tad bit louder without them... the smell shouldn't be bad at all after the car is tuned properly, mine isn't anyway
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 43,084
Likes: 33
From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,809
Likes: 3
From: Yorktown Virginia
As long as I dont have trouble with inspection I wont run cats, I like the way sounds a lot better otherwise its too quiet for me. And I dont have much if any smell at all once the car is warmed up and I havent even tuned the car yet.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 842
Likes: 45
From: St Paul, MN; Orlando, FL
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 5,284
Likes: 235
From: Rockledge FL
I have the TSP headers with no cats. when they were first installed they stunk bad, A simple mail in tune from ECS cleared it right up. Now they have no smell at all. If your catless system is smelling like fuel you need a tune.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 24,652
Likes: 298
From: NJ
St. Jude Donor '05-'08
For a track car I would say no cats. after some heavy duty use I noticed the car was off some. Looked for the reason and found the cats were clogged. A friend of mine had the exact same thing happen with his car. I feel cats are just another problem waiting to happen.
