Anyone have an opinion on a hi-flow cat or test pipe? is it worth it? i'd be paying about 40 dollars for it. opinions?

 

A decent high flow cat doesn't sell for $40 and the OEM one does a decent job. If your current cat is ok, I would just leave it alone.

 

test pipe

 

I agree with TallTom, if your cat is fine, leave it. And for that price, it can't be good! If you want a GOOD performance cat, look into Random Technology converters. If your state has emissions, this is a great option.

 

I swapped my catalytic converter out for a resonated test-pipe.

From a performance aspect, it was a great mod for the price. My cat was old (had 170k miles on it) and was starting to slowly clog. I picked up a ton of mid-range torque from it...I'm assuming because my old cat was worn out and probably restricting my exhaust quite a bit.

On the downside, I'll have to re-install my cat every time I run through emissions (they slide a mirror under the car), but that's not a big deal..it takes five minutes tops. The other downfall: when I'm sitting at a red light, if the wind is blowing in the right direction, the inside of the car smells like a gas station from the uncatalyzed exhaust.

Other than that, I absolutely love my testpipe. Coupled with headers and my catback, it gave my car a huge performance gain.

 

I was told by Brian Catts that our stock cat flows better than the Random technology "high flow" cat but not as good as the FastCat....of course a test pipe has the best flow. However most people with headers and catback keep their stock or go with FastCat just to kill the rasp.

 

I agree. I would look into a fastCat if you plan on replacing. A decent cat for the money.

 

I wouldn't replace OEM with a $40 cat

 

Where did you pick up your test pipe from and for how much?
And thanks for the replies guys, i wont be buying that hi-flow cat.
I'm on a $200 budget if that helps anyone who can recommend anything.

 

FYI, test pipes will make your exhaust smell like ***, and not stripper *** either. I'm talking more like big sweaty man ***.

 

I recomend a test pipe. But just make sure you have a good muffler and/or resonator behind it. I gutted my stock cat and I deffinately felt a difference. I dont want a test pipe because cops down here will sometimes check for cats event though we dont have emmissions testing. I was surprised at how much material the cat has in it though. I get no bad smell from this either.

 

I think Cattman's FastCat is $225 but you may want to confirm with the guy.

 

They have testpipes on eBay that look like cats, it's essentially a catshell with a pipe running through it. I thought a gutted cat built up too much turbulence?

 

+1 for test pipe. Got mine off ebay for like 30 bucks. i never noticed a gas smell. When i gutted the precats...now i have the gas smell but i could care less about that. Just cant sit in a garage with it running to long

 

If you have other performance upgrades (headers, etc.), then go with either the Fastcat or a test pipe.

 

I dont think you wanna do that either way.

I should look into those when I get some cash. As far as turbulence goes, from my research, the cat is far enough downstream that whatever turbulance there might be wont affect power enough to be noticable. 1-2hp on the dyno if any (and we all know that +/- 1-2hp can be cause be just about anything). Either way, a little turbulance is better than having something sitting in the way off the exhaust stream blocking flow.

 

I have the Fastcat and when I took out the stock one it didn't have anything in it just a straight through pipe I was like WTF so at least my emission's would be a little lower this year!!

 

I got mine from Warpspeed. They only check for OBD codes in Texas and since the main cat isn't monitored, removing it doesn't throw a code. Definitely a worthwhile investment if you have a lot of miles on your car. On a new car, a test pipe probably won't make much of a difference since the cat is new enough it isn't beginning to clog.

 

im tempted to go with the fast cat, ct cops can be strict with checking for cats, i made one cop get under my old car to look, luckily it was a gutted cat, re welded with the OEM heat shield on it, the car only sat a few inches off the ground, and the only reason i did it was because of the turbo running pig rich before the tune we did. I was laughing when he let me go, left, and opened the dump pipe down the road at wot

i will be looking into the fast cat though for sure

 

Yeah, I think the (educated) consensus is to stick with the modern OEM catalytic converters. Apparently, most people's opinions is tainted by their experiences with 3+ decade old cat technology. While the haters and grumblers weren't paying attention, the car manufacturers continually updated them to be less and less restrictive to the exhaust.

Like Scottwax and Mr. B said, "fast" cats and test pipes are only beneficial to cars with cats that are disintegrating from old age. Besides, $675 for a new Nissan cat doesn't seem that outrageous to me, not with "high-flow" cats costing as much as they do and the fact that the new, quality cat will last you 8+ more years!

 

Yeah a Hiflow cat is worth it!!! You can have a clean running performance vehicle without cop paranoia or elimination of that last minute install b4 the state inspection episode of swapping out the testpipe for the legal cat.......done!!!!!!!!!!!! Obtaining a high flow cat is to easy compared to an actual Nissan OEM cat....I've ran this High flow Metallic substrate (WSP) for 7 yrs now and yes it's been well worth it IMO.....and legal as hell if someone was ever looking for something to hang you with such as a citation! It ain't that bad here...........yet! But during a Nissan meet awhile back, the cops were ready to harass and write citations for those illegal vehicle not having their paperwork together nor having cats/emission equipment......I felt no pressure to run and hide all my rides are highly modded and emissions
friendly as well as legal....just do it right and sleep tight....guys!!!!!!!!! For the OP^^^^ my highflow cat cost me $189 7 yrs ago......and Fastcat are about $225 from Cattman it's a Metallic substrate design as well but with a 2.75" inlet/outlet that I might need with my 3" catback.....way cheaper than Oem...