heres the deal, i already have a loudmouth and i was thinking of either gutting my cats or going with an ORY pipe w/ o2 sims set up. i would get some headers, but trying to save money and get something a little more bang for the buck.
things im taking into consideration:
1. how easy is it to gutt cats by myself?
2. will either of these set ups be CA emissions legal? (i doubt it)
3. what kind of sounds can i expect from either of these 2 set ups? (loudness, raspy, etc)
4. if i go with the ORY pipe set up, what is the best ORY for stock manifolds?
THANKS GUYS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO RESPOND/VIEW THIS MESSAGE!!!! <img border="0" alt="[hail]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_hail.gif" />
-anthony

 

1.) not too hard. just takes time. you'd have to cut off the cats to get to them and get all that crap out. *i think*

2.) emmissions legal? NO WAY <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="gr_tounge.gif" />

3.) with the loudmouth, it'sll be a bit louder and maybe a bit more rasp, but not gonna be near what headers will do to it.

4.) as for which one to get...i'd look at a MAC off road y-pipe. seems to be a few of them that pop up in the classifieds. my buddy still has his '98 one for stock manifolds i think. it worked well for him.

by gutting the cats, you remove that restriction, but there is still that flattened part of the y-pipe that will be the restriction. the off-road pipes don't have that.

Chris

 

The flat part of the stock Y-Pipe is the has the same amount of area inside as the round part. If you actually measure it the flat part is wider to make up for the short height of the pipe. With ORP's alone and the stock y-pipe I picked up a tenth and 1.5 mph so I highly doubt your going to do much better than that with stock manifolds. Im guessing that woud be around 10 rwhp and with mid length headers you pick up about 15 with orp's. Anyhow one of the more experienced members on this board said that you wont pick up more with an aftermarket y-pipe and from what Ive seen Im believing it. Also Ive heard that with gutted cats you wont get as much of a rasp as you do with the orp's. I had the mufflex orp's and sold them a few months ago and came across a good deal on a set of cats that im thinking about gutting so whenever I get time I will be able to see if they are a little less ignorant sounding.

 

straight from the mouth of someone who's did it. well i guess it isn't too much of a restriction then. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" /> i just went straight to LT headers, so i have no experience, just visuals of parts. I'd still say it's somewhat of a restriction when it necks down to that flat tubing, but you'd have to do back to back testing.

Chris

 

thanks for the helpful advice guys! i really think i wanna gutt my cats. im looking to add to the already ballsy sound of the LM and from what ive heard, gutting the cats will do this for me. but can anyone help me out with some info on how to gutt stock cats. also, i live in CA, anyone in CA running with gutted cats or ORY pipe got any good advice on what to do? thanks!

<small>[ May 13, 2002, 09:48 AM: Message edited by: adm408 ]</small>

 

Gutting the cats did wonders for my LM's sound. My cats were pretty clogged though and one night I could actually hear the exhaust getting quiet as I drove it. An offroad pipe will flow better but the gutted cat shells eliminated any rasp on my car.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Jake99SS:
<strong>Gutting the cats did wonders for my LM's sound. My cats were pretty clogged though and one night I could actually hear the exhaust getting quiet as I drove it. An offroad pipe will flow better but the gutted cat shells eliminated any rasp on my car.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">great to hear this!!! jake, how did you gutt them? i have no clue how to do this.

 

The driver's side just unbolted. I took a breaker bar and just started breaking up the brick inside. I had to use a screwdriver on some parts because the bar was too blunt. There was some kind of fiber lining on the inside of the shell that I scraped out. I had to cut the passenger side down because I have a '99 car. There were some really tough parts on this one so I used a drill and a long bit to break it up a little then went back to the breaker bar.

A tip: wear a dust mask.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Jake99SS:
<strong>The driver's side just unbolted. I took a breaker bar and just started breaking up the brick inside. I had to use a screwdriver on some parts because the bar was too blunt. There was some kind of fiber lining on the inside of the shell that I scraped out. I had to cut the passenger side down because I have a '99 car. There were some really tough parts on this one so I used a drill and a long bit to break it up a little then went back to the breaker bar.

A tip: wear a dust mask.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">thanks for the helpful info!

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Mike's 01WS6:
<strong>The flat part of the stock Y-Pipe is the has the same amount of area inside as the round part.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually...no. The flattened area is just that - a round pipe smashed flat. For a given circumference, a round shape has the most crossectional area. That said, I don't believe that the flattened section has much impact on flow.

Still, I would SERIOUSLY suggest that you get a complete ORP (such as MAC's) instead. That way if you ever need to switch back for warranty work, emissions, inspections, or sale, it is a simple matter. If you gut your cats you have no easy way to run cats again.

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" /> Steve

 

Just my opinion but if I lived in Cali I wouldn't do either,I'd save up for some high flow cats.But since I know you really don't care,I'd gut them,one because it's cheaper and two because if you get pulled there some cops are smart enough to look under the car for cats,if you have the gutted one's your good he can't fine you,but with the ORP you are screwed,and as far as emissions goes get another stock set up to bolt in it's place when it's time to get inspected.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Boykinmustang:
<strong>Just my opinion but if I lived in Cali I wouldn't do either,I'd save up for some high flow cats.But since I know you really don't care,I'd gut them,one because it's cheaper and two because if you get pulled there some cops are smart enough to look under the car for cats,if you have the gutted one's your good he can't fine you,but with the ORP you are screwed,and as far as emissions goes get another stock set up to bolt in it's place when it's time to get inspected.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">i appreciate the honesty. and i was actuall considering getting some high flow cats. do you guys feel that they are worth the money (performance/sound/etc)? thanks again!
-anthony

 

or better yet....does anyone have any sound clips of the LM with an ORY pipe or gutted cats???