Whosdaddy can now say, "I told you so!" He was right. As was Danny at Techosquare.

My symptoms were different than the others that would just fail.

I was getting rich codes in bank 2 every other day and fouled plugs. I also had black soot exhaust tips and was pig rich and new it. I was tiring of the CEL clearing routine too.

I also was bogging in 1st when I went WOT. It just wasn't there it bogged. Other times it ran perfect! The bog is like a sluggish delay rather than the expected burn out launch.

Today I spent 25 bucks per side, yes a mere 50 bucks and 30 minutes to take out the dark and ugly *CRAP* RT Cats and the Stillen's fit right in in seconds, an exact fit. They now sit in between my Borla headers and Borla True Dual.

After install I did the famous 3-5-7-10-10 ECU reset and took it for a 100 mile test drive.

Verdict:

it's like a new car. The torque was incredible and the sound, oh man I am in love with the rumble at WOT and the boom boom boom when slowing. I use my manual mode pretty much all day today because it just screams.

The RT CAT had that ugly peice of CHEAP CRAP METAL just bouncing around inside it. So at times it was blocking the exhust from leaving at other times it was allowing enough to let it run semi normal. This explains the every other what I thought was a good run. It wasn't. Until you get your car dialed with my setup (which many have) then remove those cats and put a straight pipe in there you honestly do not know what sound (mmmmm) and torque you are missing. My car is once again perfect , just when I was getting ready to give up on it sure enough all of these symptoms, the CEL, the fouled plugs, the black exhaust tips, the bogged embarrasing half burn outs. All were becuase of that fricken over priced peice of crap CAT.

Peas!

 

Hey Max... I am glad to hear you got rid of those things. I can't tell you how mad they mad me. I'm a little jealous of the straight pipes Any changes in boost? The only downside that I have heard is during normal driving around 2800-3200rpm. (The slight rasp) Do you have this?

I guess it is time to go to the track again. I also want to see a dyno with the converter. Mine looked a little funky. Because of the converter, the torque curve was a little inverted

 

Your problem just didnt seem like it would be the cats . But glad to hear you found out what it was . I got rid of my gutted RT's and put on La Bree R test pipes . Still got some rasp , not as bad though . May call and see if they will take them back

 

I know rasp I ran MAC headers before with an off road pipe and had the 2800 rpm drone. I am well aware of it's resonance and anoying sound in the cabin.

I do not have any rasp or drone at all. ZERO.

Peace!

 

No rasp and your car is faster... Now I'm really jealous

 

Hey Scott jealousy is a deadly sin. I'm sure you jest.

How is your Beast coming along?

The cats are by far the biggest bottle neck I have found in the entire exhaust system and mine has been redone from one end to the other 3 different times. Flow Master, MagnaFlow, RT/Borla and now these Stillen Straight Pipes.

People like to hate on Stillen but I haven't had the problems they have had. My body kit is still uncracked, my brakes still don't fade and these pipes are the best!

They have a larger diameter (at one point) then any other on the market (or so I was told.)

They may drone on an N/A car but on a car with what I have pushing 10 PSI wide open with the Crawford Plenum there is not even a hint of a drone.

I wouldn't say my car is faster than yours, you have those Crawford Headers that are the best on the market design wise.

I just think the straight through pipes compliment the verter. It's more of a torque gain than a HP gain but I am sorta talking symantecs now. I'm just happy took it for a long run today and left this modded Z28 behind by about 4 car lengths from a red light dead stop that was a 2 lane squeeze into one lane (notoriuos for kills) and I never even left 2nd in manual mode. I looked at my boost guage and I was only at 3 lbs and dropping of course I had let off at this point but still I was never over 4 pounds to kill this modded V8.

I think what I best like about it is it feels like when I had the Injen Intake on it N/A that snappy torque feeling with a louder exhuast note. When I went FI I lost that torque feeling and now it is back. I think like Daniel said it is my ECU 9 pound flash finally running where it was meant to be at (optimum) where as before this mod it was too fat with the RT's.

Plus I switched to those NGK Irrads at a higher gap and removed 2 bottles worth of anti freeze and replaced it with Redline Water Wetter. Perhaps it's a combo of it all just coming together.

I tried to get some Bay Area people to GTG but didn't get any calls while I was there. I go back there for 4 days from Sat till Wed morning if smeone wants to cruise.

Of course usually after 12 hours of work I go straight to bed and don't hit the city much, it's a mess up the hill from where I am at.

 

The Borla headers and dual has to be the reason for no rasp . Its mind racking how most get the rasp and only a few dont .And it seems the few that dont get it have Borla . The Stillen pipes are straight thru ...right ?

 

I havent heard a supercharged or N/A 350Z that doesn't sound raspy with straight pipes. How did you do it?


Does the supercharger make the car less raspy with straight pipes? I know the turbo would kill the raspyness, but I am interested in how the SC effects the rasp.

 

I was told when considering them that to not even worry about raspiness with my setup. "It just wouldn't happen. The Borla is very quiet, more quiet than stock as far as "rapiness" it is just a deeper note. So I imagine my straight throughs are amplyfying the original noise of my exhaust much like a good amp will cleanly amplify the clarity of a head unit. I do not know why I do not have drone or rasp to be honest I wouldn't mind drone I learned to stay out of that range as much as possible but it truly is not raspy and it doesn't have any drone. Anyone is welcome to come for a ride I am quite proud/happy with it. I will be in Sac until Saturday morning and then I will be in San Francisco for 4 days and then back in Sac on Wednesday.

There is a difference between raspiness and drone, I don't have either. I have called 3 people now to come take a ride and feel/ hear it including one local (Electrojug) but I guess they all have lives. I had drone when my cutout was open at 2800 rpm's on two cars and hated it but closing the QTP electric cut-out stopped it. I do not know why but I am happy about it!! It could be because of the 3 inch size in places of the pipe??
http://www.stillen.com/news_select.asp?id=47

See how they start at 3 inches lining up perfectly with my headers and then going smaller to size up perfectly with the true dual?


I'm pretty unhappy with the 5k mile failure of the RT's though!!!!