Is it worth it??
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
From: OOOOHIO
Is it worth it?? Hey guys im about to do afew free mods and things. I've decided not to de-screen the MAF, heard bad things about it, maybe you all know differently? Anyways my question is my 94 bird has single cat and all, I'm thinking about straight piping it and taking it off, acouple of my buddies tell me I'd lose alot of torque and that it just isnt worth taking off. But i've also heard differently. Does anyone have any thoughts? All I have is SLP intake and wide open borla exhaust. just looking for alittle extra before i get some money this summer. Thanks for taking the time to read and it'd be much appreciated if you left alittle of your knowledge here about past experiences or results power gains etc.., just basic opinions even. Thanks alot guys.
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 177
Likes: 0
If you paid the money for a nice borla exhaust it would be a shame to cut it off for straight pipes, just buy a cutout then you can control when you want the extra horsepower and noise. As for de-screening the MAF i dont think you would be able to tell a difference, then again free is free. I have a 93 so i dont even have a MAF so i am not sure. You could hollow out your cat, that is free but the sound quality might not be very good.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 595
Likes: 0
From: Clarksville,Tn
If it's the original cat I'd say take it off and put a straight pipe in place of it. From what I hear gutting the cat will hurt you, it upsets the exhaust flow.Descreening the MAF, I have no clue. I did mine but at the same time I put on the cold air so I dont know if it helps or hurts.
its not worth the effort really. if you have plans to do future mods, just save your pennies for that. yeah im sure gutting the cat could help, but its just not worth it. then again im not one to waste my money on simple crap mods just to make my signature longer.
You don't lose a "whole lotta" torque.
Going to a wide open setup from a back-pressure stuffed setup will lose a little bit of torque, but it shouldn't really be noticable in the already very torquey LT1 motor. It will be louder and you will pick up some HP.
IMHO, stick a high flow cat on there and put a cutout just before it, after the Y-Pipe. Best of both worlds.
The screen in our MAF's is incredibly thick and bulky. Just take out your MAF and look at it. I read somewhere (unsure of accuracy) that it holds back some 180 CFM of flow. It's probably alright on a stock car, but once you get past that just take the screen out - I have yet to read of anyone suffering consequences from it.
I took mine out (already had some bolt-ons - no they aren't all in my sig - I'm lazy) and felt it pulled a little better in the upper RPM band. Nothing down low. Needs to build up RPMs to suck in more air - that's where the increased CFM flow will help.
Hope that was helpful.
Going to a wide open setup from a back-pressure stuffed setup will lose a little bit of torque, but it shouldn't really be noticable in the already very torquey LT1 motor. It will be louder and you will pick up some HP.
IMHO, stick a high flow cat on there and put a cutout just before it, after the Y-Pipe. Best of both worlds.
The screen in our MAF's is incredibly thick and bulky. Just take out your MAF and look at it. I read somewhere (unsure of accuracy) that it holds back some 180 CFM of flow. It's probably alright on a stock car, but once you get past that just take the screen out - I have yet to read of anyone suffering consequences from it.
I took mine out (already had some bolt-ons - no they aren't all in my sig - I'm lazy) and felt it pulled a little better in the upper RPM band. Nothing down low. Needs to build up RPMs to suck in more air - that's where the increased CFM flow will help.
Hope that was helpful.
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TECH Enthusiast
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 549
Likes: 0
From: St. Peters, MO
DONT DESCREEN YOUR MAF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For a few reasons...it makes it very finicky to tune if you planned big bolt-ons....it doesnt restrict any airflow..not enough to make a significant increase in power...AT ALL! As far as exhaust goes.....Keep the CAT!!! Borla sounds super raspy with no cat...especially with stock manifolds. Save your money...get some LT headers...catted Y.....and then converter if your an auto, or gears if youre an M6. Then you can tear into the motor...cam, heads, intake...etc.
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My opinion is ditch the cat when you get into big stuff. Otherwise, with pretty much stock, probably not worth it. Like running 4 inch exhaust--you don't need that til you get to like 800 horse.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 315
Likes: 2
Leave the cat along until you do an aftermarket y-pipe with a better flowing cat or no cat at all. Ditch the screen. I have never had any problems since ditching mine. Never had any tuning issues and my dyno graph is smoother than any others I have seen with my mods. I run the Hotcam with ported heads.
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 10,023
Likes: 6
From: LT1 land...the "409" of the 90s!
FYI removing stock cat is 10-12 RWHP on the dyno and a good cat(Random Tech) is worth 6-8 removed 
94-95 cars like the MAF descreened and 96-97 can be finiky....But once it is tuned all is well. I run both computers with MBA MAF ends and STOCK electronics. I came up with the calibration tables back in 2000. Never had any of the issues people whine about. I have seen more trouble with Hacked up stock units and after market replacments.
BTW I run 4in exhaust just fine thank you
94-95 cars like the MAF descreened and 96-97 can be finiky....But once it is tuned all is well. I run both computers with MBA MAF ends and STOCK electronics. I came up with the calibration tables back in 2000. Never had any of the issues people whine about. I have seen more trouble with Hacked up stock units and after market replacments.
BTW I run 4in exhaust just fine thank you
