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gutting cats???good idea???

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Old 12-05-2005, 12:59 AM
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Default gutting cats???good idea???

i allready have a flowmaster catback and i want more sound....i dont like how my car sounds with the cutout removed....i was thinking about just gutting the cats while i save up for headers....i dont need to worry about smog....has anybody done this???? what problems might i run into??? if i put o2 simulators on am i ok?? good idea or not??? i am also using nitrious and i hear that that is bad for the cats anyways???
Old 12-05-2005, 01:13 AM
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i ran with gutted cats for 15k miles i have lt headers and ory with borla 3 inch adj catback it sounded mean as hell.....but ya i didnt have any issues
Old 12-05-2005, 01:17 AM
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did you use o2 simulators?
Old 12-05-2005, 01:51 AM
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do it.
Old 12-05-2005, 05:38 AM
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Yes gutting the cats will make it louder. One of the many exhaust setups I had on my WS6 was a Flowmaster catback with gutted cats, sounded very nice.

This will not cause any issues, and if you get the O2 sims you won't even have an SES light.
Old 12-05-2005, 08:59 AM
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Mine is pretty loud with the cutout open. I have a turndown tip on the cutout so it's not as Godawful loud in the car anymore. It sounds a little throatier through the muffler now too.
Old 12-05-2005, 03:53 PM
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go with it make sure to put your o2 sims in though
Old 12-05-2005, 10:52 PM
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if o2 sims are not used for a while and i ignor the ses light will my car run ok untill i buy the sims??? also i see people using the term ORY??? whats that mean??
Old 12-05-2005, 11:12 PM
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Off Road Y-pipe. usually used with Lt headers. it connects the headers to the cat-back system. you can also get them with cats. but the ORY is the most popular choice.
Old 12-06-2005, 08:49 AM
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Did ya'll cut the pipe to gutt that passenger side cat? And if not what did you use to break it up?
Old 12-06-2005, 08:51 AM
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cant u just delete the ses light with tuning software and not get o2 sims?
Old 12-06-2005, 08:56 AM
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Originally Posted by CHEVYXTREME_00
Did ya'll cut the pipe to gutt that passenger side cat? And if not what did you use to break it up?
Yea, cut the pipe just below the cat. You can use a long screwdriver or prybar to break it all up.
Old 12-06-2005, 09:38 AM
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Then just weld it back together after cutting it?
Old 12-06-2005, 11:17 AM
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I gutted my cats and didnt do o2 sims. my ses light is on but I don't care... when I get lt's and such I'm going to delete it. You may actually lose a mile or two a gallon. I lost about 1. But its hard to tell cause whenever your exhaust is louder you tend to get on it more. (in my experience) I just used a long screwdriver for the passenger side cat. I think cutting it would be a pain in the ***. no negative effects, glad I did it.
Old 12-06-2005, 11:26 AM
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Originally Posted by CHEVYXTREME_00
Then just weld it back together after cutting it?
Yea, just weld it up and put some o2 sims on it and you're done.
Old 12-06-2005, 12:02 PM
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You do not have to cut any pipe on late model
cats. Get yourself a long, 1/4" drill bit (long as
in a foot or so, Home Depot) and use it with a
drill to bust yourself some "starter holes". Then
a long screwdriver or crowbar will fracture the
brick easily. Just keep busting on it until all the
chunks are small enough to fall out and then
get the wrapper mat out by scraping. You may
want to dress some of the sharp edges inside
the pipe collar to minimize rasp. I did that with a
carbide burr and die grinder. Sounds nice, and
cut plenty of backpressure. I programmed off the
rear O2 tests, no sims here. I left the sensors in
place but just ignore them. If you want to ditch
the wiring then you can get a pair of 18mm oil
pan drain plugs (Toyota etc. use these) at about
any auto parts store. But leaving things visually
stock, is usually the idea here. Doing this to a pair
of junkyard / used cats you get for cheap may be
better than munging a set of known good ones,
if you think there's a chance of needing to pass a
sniffer test anytime in the future.
Old 12-06-2005, 12:06 PM
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gutting cats = dumbest idea ever !

1) kick-*** 1 hp gain....pleasee...
2) Exhaust fumes smell bad
3) Loud and obnoxious sound with rasp and drone
Old 12-06-2005, 01:27 PM
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I just cut my pipe off below the cat, broke up the material, then welded the pipe back on.
Old 12-06-2005, 01:47 PM
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If your gonna get LT's don't even bother doing it b/c it would be a waste of time and effort, not to mention when you get your Lt's you can sell your stock cats for around $100.00(or at least I did).
If your not gonna get Lt's I would just keep get cats, ditch the flowmaster and get another catback. There are plenty of mean sounding catback's out there that flow well. I'd think you could accomplish two things by changing out the Catback: Meaner sound and more power. You can pick up some catbacks pretty cheap on the on parts for sale section too.
-just my 2 cents

Last edited by lgobraves; 12-06-2005 at 01:57 PM.
Old 12-07-2005, 12:33 AM
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ok just gutted mine.....did not have to cut anything it was easy just use a prybar...and Gutted cats= no rasp,no drone and no weird smells i dont know why people are against it.....unless they dont know what they are doing....i just did it for sound not for the hp gain....



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