soo i have a 02 max. i was planning on NOT modding it at all but the more and more i look at the 5.5s w/ a cattman exhaust it makes me want to buy one. soooo i was on cattmans site and there is a SS catback w/ rear section for like $595 which i think is a very fair price. Now ive read many archieved threads about the sound and that it has a nice low tone to it at idle then "mean" growl in the higher rpms. Now my two main questions are, do i have to remove/replace any of the emissions parts such as o2s or cats? and how much power will it put out with just that mod plus maybe a berk intake? also is their a possibility that a MIL or SES light might come on due to the catback system, if so ill leave it the hell alone. The only reason im cautious about these steps is because my max is at about 74k and the emissions warrently is almost up and i DONT want to have to pay for expensive *** cats and o2s and diagnostic due to my neglegence and try to mod my car. basically i dont want to have to spend more money that i have to.

edit: just tell me what i have to do properly and if i need to tune it and such and such...

 

Catback means the parts replaces OE system behind the catalytic converter. O2 sensor should be in front of the catalytic converter as well. The Cattman system should just replaces some piping and the mufflers.

 

correct...."catback" = everything behind the catalytic converter. No emissions systems are affected with a catback.

 

only if u get their headers, u will going to need the O2 sim, but it should be fine with catback

 

cool thats what i wanted to hear. any idea what kind of whp it should yield w/ just the catback ?

 

Not that much, probably in the range of 5-10 whp. The stock catback isn't really that restrictive.

 

are you serious ? 5-10whp from just a catback exhaust ? I remeber reading somewhere that we barley get any HP gains from ONLY a catback... i would think more like 2whp or some from a STOCK maxima with a exhaust only. Maybe if he had headers THEN threw on a catback he would see some numbers like that..

Lets say a stock 5.5 dynos at .. 200whp... with ONLY a exhaust youll proberly dyno at 202whp.
Now lets say you dyno another stock 5.5...200whp..throw on headers...lets say 220whp..THEN if you throw on a exhaust, you see it dyno at like 228whp.

These numbers are made up but im just trying to show what i mean .

 

So the pipe size doesnt do that much then? I figured you'd get somewhere from 5-12 crank HP from a cat back, going from 2.25" to 2.5" pipes, changing the muffler and eliminating the resonator. Cattman's resonator is a beast but its 2.5 all the way through.

I put the catt b-pipe and a flowmaster delta flow 50 series on with a WAI and it was enough for my friends who drive it to say "uhh did you do something to your car it feels more responsive etc"

 

Our stock exhaust are pretty Good, Yes cattman is better, but just a catback wont do much it needs supporting modifications.

 

The responsive feel you got it from the WAI not from the exhaust.

If you want more HP invest into the Cattman Headers and VAFCII for tuning to get the most out of the headers. With that you get a nice HP increase, and a great tone from the exhaust.

 

aren't the headers not street legal? Thought I read somewhere you won't pass state inspection and such...
And what about Y-pipe and mid-pipe?

 

Yea, but thats just a law, plus, your car has to WORK after the install before you can even make it to inspection. It eliminates both Pre-Cats which help convert some bad gases while the car is warming up... or something like that. They'll hear it, look at it, look at you, and say no. But that's just if you have emissions in your area.

Cops don't care enough generally.

Y-pipe is worthless by itself for a 2002.

My Suggestion is to move somewhere that doesn't have emission inspection and get Cattman headers/y-pipe, test pipe and whichever wide-open cattback you want.

 

It was a generous estimate, and it depends on the supporting mods you have, like you said.

 

Almost all mods technically aren't street legal, that's just the risk you take when you play this game. Many many people have passed state inspections heavily modded, so it just depends on how you go about it. Your local forums would probably have more detailed information.

 

Puppetmaster, I live in fairfax county area as well. Is it true even with 02 sims, that you will not pass emissions? I want cattman headers but am afraid of emissions. The 02s will pass the emissions but it will not pass the visual?

 

Headers are technically for off road use only. I thought I read somewhere in here, there people who has pass emission with headers wit O2Sim but with the stock Cat or an after market cat not a straight pipe. Being that the 02sim is hiding away from view. The car just needs to warm up and your set. Now can anyone verify this?

I myself put my headers after I pass my inspection, I'm due for another inspection on November. Currently I don't think I can pass inspection since I don't have the 02sim on and I'm throwing 4 codes. Hopefully I can fix that with the sim soon.

 

On my GLE the first two things I did was a greddy cat back and berk intake. When I took them off so I could transfer to new maxima I really felt a difference in how the car drove and throttle response. The little bit you get from that combo is enough to make most people happy as long as you dont think they will make it a racecar.

For inspections in MA atleast as long as your CEL aint on you are good. Technically you would fail for the visual but id say only like 1 percent even check that.

Good luck in your decision.