I had to weld a piece of my stock exhaust that is rusted and falling apart this weekend, so I decided its time to upgrade. Im doing alot of reading and it seems the more I read, the less I understand.

I am thinking of getting the custommaxima.com GReddy imitation catback setup. I want to get the most out of this so I am thinking of a high flow cat as well.

I just dont understand what is the Ypipe/bpipe and do I need those if I get catback? or does the catback setup replace all those pieces?

Please dont tell me to read the FAQ I have and still cant make sense of all this. This is the first car that I am doing all the work myself and I need your help.

Thanks to anybody with experience in this area, I am lost right now...

 

y pipe comes off the exhaust manifolds(headers) and combine into 1 pipe that goes into the cat (for single outlets) the b pipe is the section of exhaust that comes from the cat the the rear axle.

 

y-pipe is in front of the cat. b-pipe is behind the cat, and it is included in a cat-back setup

 

B-pipe is the piping right after your catalytic convertor that leads to your axle back... if you are a 5.5 gen then i would suggest upgrading the whole header system as replacing the Y-pipe wouldnt remove any pre cats and will have minimal gains... for your best sound with that catback i would suggest using the B-pipe and have a shop weld your stock axleback to that B-pipe...

 

I plan on getting cattman headers, but I cant afford to do this all at once, so Im doing the exhaust first.

So I should get the catback system + ypipe/catalytic converter?
I dont think I can keep the stock muffler because it is pretty rusty...

 

if you will be getting cattman's header then you dont need to buy a Y-pipe unless u wanna go through the trouble of selling and shipping???

 

okay, sounds good, ty
Phase 1- Catback
Phase 2- Headers
Phase 3- Profit

 

is the stock Y-pipe gone bad???

 

well... im not exactly sure. From working on it yesterday it looks like the whole setup is rusted to **** - I live in AB (canada) and we have like 9months of winter... lots of salt and gravel on the roads...

 

A high flow cat is a very big expense, for very minimal gain. Of course, words like "expense" and "gain" seem to be relative here, so I may need to duck after making that statement.

Anyway, I'm assuming it's reasonable advice not to swap the cat unless yours was damaged or rusted through.

Also, check with your shop on the street legality of headers for your car in your state. Personally, I've always been confused about that one, but just went with the Cattman y-pipe and called it a day.

 

headers are illegal in 50 states of the US IIRC (if you read most fine prints they say "for off road use only") not really doing it for a matter of legality moreso performance reasons and its way less than the stock one from the dealership

 

heh heh. Exhaust gnomes.

 

yeah... I live in Canada so its not really an issue for me. We dont do emissions testing or anything so no worries

I wondered if anybody would pick up on that

 

<--So THATS why those Canadians are so fast

*

 

Well not so in all provinces, In Ontario an emissions test is mandatory every two years, mind you there are a number of guys here running cattman headers and Y pipes and they have been able to pass the emissions testing ... but there are probably an equal number that have had epic failure.

 

hehe good old alberta. the only testing required is a safety if your car is 12+ yrs when you get insurance. Once you have the insurance you never have to get tested again.

I just hope I don't have to move to ontario or US and have to worry about testing... Even then I would just temporarily remove headers for the test then put em back on afterwards.. lol

 

Nice sig

Technically headers are illegal, yes. But in reality, there are people who have passed emissions test using headers. And even better for places where emissions laws are not enforced.

 

I'm sure there are folks that do exactly that.

However, swapping headers for your exhaust manifold and back again, well it's not quite as simple as changing your underpants.

 

or you could just get an o2 simulator instead of going through all that trouble ---- IF you ever make that move

 

Yeah I guess an 02 sim would work if they don't look under the car or hood. I bet that engine roar would be a bit of a giveaway though.

I have never swapped headers, but some people on these forums have done it plenty of times and they can just take an afternoon in their backyard so that could be an option. Otherwise its a bit expensive to have someone else do. This is mostly why I lean towards a y-pipe only.

I would say you start at the other end of the engine, but since your catback needs to be replaced anyways its your choice. Cattman headers will come with a y-pipe so don't buy the pipe seperately if you plan on headers. (Like GH said) I wouldn't replace the cat unless you have to but also your option.

 

Yea, so basically whoever is in Cali is screwed.

 

hmmm.... thats a tough decision. My exhaust is pretty rusty... its not falling apart YET (minus the bracked I welded yesterday: the one right above the cross beam brace). Everything else is still in tact it just looks like ****. I know headers yeild bigger gains... its also $150+shipping for custommaxima evo2 replica... $1000 for cattmans shipped to me... Not to mention I dont know how much those bastards at customs are going to tack on the price...

 

lol Thats a decision for you. I would do the safe option of just regular maintaince (muffler or catback) before extra performance (headers/y-pipe).

 

How can they be bastards if you don't know?

Both are USA origin, so just the taxes are payable.
Worry more about how they're being shipped, because UPS will take a nice chunk for "brokerage".

 

Im just sayin they're bastards because I have heard of people having to pay alot of money shipping stuff across the border... Maybe its not customs but the shipping company i guess.

What would you recommend? Fedex better or regular postal service?

 

I'd say Fedex, since UPS breaks everything.

 

no CEL= passed emissions so it really doesnt matter get the headers instead of the Y, u will feel and see more gains

 

Or find someone who does inpsection? lol, Or just offer to slip them a 10-20 under the table. Worked a few times.............

 

^^^ really does

 

Never had any emission problems on any of my rides that have headers...not even my 332,000 miled D21 hardbody with is also running a performance cam and has to do the dyno style load test to pass emissions, 2 more years and it's back to that OLD SCHOOL inspection. That truck will be 25 yrs old if I still have her....

 

excellent... thats well

 

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