How does Soul get such big gains (17HP/20lB.FT) from their cats when all other exhaust manufactures saw no gains in experimenting with high flow cats?
AWE,American Racing,LMR all gave up on the cats & stated the extra large flange 6 inch OEM cat is hard to improve upon?
https://soulpp.com/product/chevrolet...ic-converters/

 

heat soak the baseline

 

It looks like it is filled with corrugated cardboard. Maybe it burns out in the first few minutes of running. It is an interesting dyno graph. The torque gains at the bottom end of the range are a pretty good, almost the same as at peak. I don't see how the flow restriction could be that high at less than half of the peak airflow. Maybe someone can explain the physics of that.

 

Plus they charge just shy of $3000.00 ? WTF?

 

Interesting thread.
$3K price, 17 HP.... wow.
I for one would one would like to know more from other co-members who have tried these or other cat upgrades.

 

I Have A Set Of Fabspeed Cats And Exhaust Ordered...They Only Claim The Cats Are Gains 6.5 HP, 6.5 Torque And Weigh 9 lb less. Thought They Were The Same As The Soul Ones...Look Identical...Heard Both Come From Germany...

 

Why bother with that huge expense with liitle gains?

Headers alone can get 30 LB/FT/TRQ. & 17 HP

 

Im Worried That Headers Will Void My Warranty...

 

Have a look at the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. There's a ton of legal language, but the main thrust is that the burden is on the Dealer/Manufacturer to prove that the aftermarket part was the direct cause of an event to void the warranty. Example: If you install headers, and your left front shock starts weeping, you're covered. I can't think of a warrantable event that would be voided with headers - unless the aftermarket headers do not offer proper thermal management to meet or exceed OEM. When we installed a set of Kooks headers at our HQ, the headers come very close to a fuel line, so if you install them, make absolutely certain you have proper insulation to that line.

This is the same legislation that allows a consumer to service their car at an independent shop - rather than being unhappily married to a dealership. If the indy shop performs the same work at the same intervals as the dealer (and has the records to prove it), the vehicle owner can still take the car back to the dealer for a warranty event, and the dealer has absolutely no grounds to void the warranty.

 

In regard to the overall content of your thread, I'm uncertain how the Soul gains were achieved with Sport Cats alone. The figures seem extremely high - especially considering we use HJS Catalyst cores (direct from Germany) in our Fabspeed Sport Cats as well (can't say for certain if we're both using the same size). The Soul dyno graph was performed by Dynosty in Louisville, KY - not at Soul's facility - so maybe it's worth a shout to that shop.

For what it's worth, a well-known GM specialty shop (Complete Street Performance) documented combinations of Kooks Headers and Kooks Green Cats on YouTube. The Kooks headers alone gain nothing close to 17hp and 30tq you're referencing - in fact, with just Kooks headers, and OEM cats and OEM exhaust, the car actually lost a horsepower or two. Just Kooks Green cats alone gained very minimally, but the combo of Kooks Headers + Kooks cats gained close to 10hp and roughly 14 tq. You see all 5 pulls in each configuration.

ARH did a cool internal video on testing of 1 3/4", 1 7/8", and ultimately 2" primaries with varying results, finding 1 7/8" was the sweet spot.


They claim +17hp and +33tq to reach 456hp and 426tq. But I'm not so certain.
1.) They don't show the pulls.
2.) In the header testing in that video, they reference a baseline of only 439hp and only 393tq.

This is despite a previous baseline they posted of 446hp and 412tq


LMR did testing on the ARH headers. LMR Sport Cats + LMR catback netted 22hp and close to 30tq. When ARH headers were added to this set-up, the car only gained roughly 12hp and 14tq - for a total of 34hp and 44tq for a full header-back system. As a result, I find it a bit tough to go with the internal claims from ARH.

So if we use AMR's original baseline of 446hp and 412tq, isn't it a bit coincidental that it matches LMR's numbers almost identically when the 1 7/8" design put down 456hp and 426tq? +10hp and +14tq? Seems like some sandbagging a bit?

For our results, we ditch the highest and lowest dyno figures, and then average the remaining 3 pulls. So we don't go for absolute bragging rights - just clean, honest figures. We advertise 6.5hp and 6.5tq for Sport Cats. Will that set the world on fire as a stand-alone mod? Nope. However, when heads, cams, intakes, manifolds etc enter the mix, and the engine moves more air, these gains will go up as a critical ingredient to a larger recipe. Hope this helps!

 

We already have a poster that installed headers and broke an axle. They would not cover the axle breakage because of the headers. The implication is the increased horsepower caused the failure. Maybe there was some other factor that wasn't mentioned.

 

That's utterly ridiculous.

Unless there is additional information we're not being told (seems there must be), the owner should have recourse. A stickier tire (or stickier surface) would create more force on the axles than headers. I would be stunned that GM engineers would release an axle whose torsional failure ceiling is a mere 15ft lbs higher than OEM configuration. It's clever (and likely intended) to have the axles fail before grenading the transmission, but c'mon.

To put things into greater perspective, some of our ExperTune ECU software adds upwards of 125ft lbs of torque to some turbocharged applications, and I have not heard of a single axle failure as a consequence.

Of course, enthusiasm for the aftermarket will always vary dealer-to-dealer. We have some dealers who are Authorized Installers for our products and do quite well on the performance side. We also have dealers who don't want to touch the aftermarket, fearful of backlash or forfeited co-op money from big brother corporate. But the law is the law.

 

I was surprised as well, and perhaps this was the first position, and if they customer pushed back hard (letter from a lawyer). The result might have been different. After all, the stock configuration has tubular headers. Since the transmission is rated to 590 lb/ft of torque, you would think the axles would be good for close to that. Of course we know that even a stock car on stock tires can break an axle with sustained wheel hop(on previous models). It is not just torque, but G forces that can break axles. Or the axle could have been faulty. Without seeing the axle, you couldn't begin to make an informed diagnosis.

 

Indeed - there's likely a larger picture - and we don't have all the details! Very interesting either way - and thank you for sharing.

As an aftermarket manufacturer, it's important for us to keep our finger on the pulse of how dealers are responding. Then we have to educate and clear up a ton of misinformation. We've had several Chevrolet dealers install our systems, and get really excited about them, so it's all down to the individual store.

 

Yea, I agree it just marketing., I remember seeing the American racing youtube video saying cats only increase HP a few and the OEM are pretty good already. Then month later now everyone is saying their cats produce x amount of HP increase.

 

OEM has headers...also are you not worried CATs will void warranty?

 

Any independent dyno runs for the fabspeed or soul cats?

 

I've been told headers will void warranty because it's attached directly to the engine, but cats won't because they are not. But I guess the only way to find out is when you need service and/or warranty work.

 

Who told u that?

 

A buddy that put headers on his Mustang and Ford refused to do service.