Do you think I should upgrade my cat the same time I get a ypipe. I can get a cat for an additonal $90 from warpspeed if I buy the ypipe from them, and I was wondering if there are any benefit to have an upgraded cat performance wise? Also will getting an aftermarket cat make my car sound any louder or are they designed to be quiet as well? I have an injen intake I just put on as well. Let me know your thoughts...

 

I would save that $90 and invest it on b pipe

 

Ok that is an idea, but can you tell me why???

 

b pipe will give you more gain than cat

 

i think it will make your car louder, and an aftermarket cat will def make u fail emissions

 

That was my main concern I thought the aftermarket cat was actually good for emissions. So what about he bpipe then... mine does look like it will rust through in a few years so you are saying the bpipe would be a better upgrade then the cat. I want the most efficent free flowing system and I thought are system was pretty much free flowing except for the ypipe...

 

you wont notice the difference after putting in aftermarket cat. i think its pointless. i have spent 200 dollars on random tech. and i didnt feel no gain. stick
with stock, save little more money and buy b-pipe like what ammi said.

 

I would save your money. The stock cat is pretty free flowing. The only thing an aftermarket cat will do is make your car louder. I have had after market cats on all three of my maxs and never have I failed my emissions in the last 6 years.

 

Just get the y-pipe, that will be loud enough and give you the best bang for your buck in performacne gains.. No need for an aftermarket cat, or an aftermarket b-pipe. Save your money on that stuff. They will only add more noise than what will be acceptable to you, at least judging from your posts in your Injen intake thread.

 

May be my suggestion is different. I change my cat without changing Y pipe up to now. The Cat is racing pipe which is straight through with resonator. Both i and my brother seriously can tell the power difference on high RPM. Sound is a bit louder which i like it a lot.
Can not wait to instal Y pipe on this friday.

 

A racing pipe only produces hp if you have a forced induced car or a car with a lot of work done to the engine and exhaust. I borrowed one from a friend on my 97 and all it did was give my car a droning bee sound and no extra hp. Oh and they are illegal as hell unless you live in an area with no emissions. Its like a $1500 dollar fine to have one where I live.

 

did you dyno to test it? i agree that a testpipe is a small gain but the cat is still a restriction no matter how well it flows. i only replaced my cat with a testpipe after doing headers and b pipe. i should be dynoing soon but i have a few other things done that not give a direct comparison from stock cat to testpipe. it is illegal to remove a working cat but who is going to get under your car to look for it? sounds like something they might try in CA.

 

thank you for all the posts... im not going to get the cat, because I do want my car as quiet as possible and I do have to have a yearly emission test which i am worried enough about putting the ypipe on. I have a generic stock muffler I just put on (bosal) which I think is more restrictive that the one that came with the car but it rusted off. I hope that with my injen and the ypipe my exhaust will be pretty free flowing.

So a bpipe won't help either right?

 

It will give you very little, unless you have a y pipe and/or headers.

 

I have the WSP y-pipe, I also replaced the smashed areas before and after the resonator. But what I did to to get the end result we all seek "more HP" was to buy a exhaust cut-out and a electronic opener(power plate). How much Hp it makes, I really don't know but I do not think a b-pipe will ever make more Hp. I have OEM sound until I filp the switch.

 

I've seen a VQ30 with POP, headers, Bpipe, and no rear section lose power with an aftermarket cat.

I'd get a straight pipe or leave it alone.

 

I just put a Budget straight pipe on my car last week before installing their ypipe and the car ran and sounded great! The noise difference at WOT was negligible and the sound at idle was such a low smooth tone that you could not tell a difference there either. I was very happy with how it sounded (untill I installed the leaking Budget y, lol).

 

S00NR1, what is wrong with your Budget Y? is your leak due to installation or defect? I will install mine tomorrow with $120 for instalation labor fee. Hix....

 

I have confirmed that the leak is due to poor fabrication on Budget's part....this was the diagnosis by the local award-winning Performance Muffler here in Norman. I am calling Budget tomorrow and will be asking for a full refund or a properly fitting ypipe.

Geez, $120, someone is taking you for a ride. Performance will do it for about $60. Personally, I would save the 120 and do it myself.....in fact, in retrospect, I wouldve spent that 120 and put it toward a Cattman ypipe instead of Budget.