dchi_t

iTrader: (1)

hey guys, im planning on buying some stock cats and gutting them. "poor-man's" cats. anyways, recently i helped my buddy gut his wrx's cats and it was a *****! question is, how difficult is it to gut our Z's? because i'll have to gut 2 of them.. thanks!

Enzo Driver

iTrader: (11)

OOhhh, so thats what you are doin with them.......

2003z

iTrader: (7)

its kinda difficult. plan on 4 or so hours.

done12many2

iTrader: (33)

They're kind of a pain in the ***! But you can get them done in a few hours including removal and installation.

dchi_t

iTrader: (1)

yea. im gutting them to slap them on, heard they are same as test pipes but w/ minimal to no rasp, so its ideal and cheap...so its perfect in my eyes! btw yea, i helped my friend gut his wrx's up pipe, and it took us 3 days! LOL it was a pain in the ***, but im in no rush really so its all good, just need the right tools actually

PhoenixINX

there are test pipes for sale all over here, and ebay for CHEAP... do that... trust me.

dchi_t

iTrader: (1)

yea i checked them out already, but they'll give rasp, its ok, a little hard work will pay off

RedShft

dont the WRX's have 3 cats? should be less time then im assuming.

Peking

iTrader: (2)

Seems that most of you condone gutting the cats?

I would have to say this is the first time I have seen this on many of the forums I visit.

I have never thought it to be a good idea, any idea on how much OEM cats go for? Also esp. since you are in cali is it really even worth doing?

I am new to this V6, but coming from 4 bangers it never seemed on a stock or even with basic bolt-ons that gutting a cat was even worth the minimal gains in WHP.

And even boosted rides went with stock cat, high flow cat, test pipe, and no cats (florida, also test pipe) straight pipe. No cat shows more positive numbers (more when boosted naturally) but even then a high flow cat would seem the best choice when considering emissions/laws, etc.

Also when comparing sounds, once agian new to this car. But from the numerous Honda's and Acura's having the OEM cat or a good high flow/test pipe sounds pretty good.

Much better than some riced out car that the owner thought it was cool and smart to gut the OEM Cat.

Not calling you a "ricer" but that idea has always struck me as such.

You drive such a nice and to me expensive ride to ghetto rig, but then again this is my opinion.


I think you mean "3 Resonators", not sure why the WRX would have more than one cat.

dchi_t

iTrader: (1)

peking, thanks for the input, but high flow cats that you buy from helix, etc..are basically straight thru pipes, same concept as gutting stock pipes. im just looking for the gains while staying away from the rasp that test pipess give out. simple as that. yea wrx's have 3, i helped gut the up pipe, he bought a cat back exhaust that consists of turbback, down pipe and all the to the muffler.

Z04

iTrader: (15)

hope you fail sniffing tests and get fined heavily for tampering with your cats like that. IMO doing something like that for such a minimal gain and to make your car louder is not only stupid, but just plain rice. some people have no business owning such a nice car as the Z, only to screw it up by doing such idiotic things to the car.

Tony@Performance

iTrader: (16)

I did the on my honda. I didn't gain anything in performance on that car, but honda's are different. You'll notice some gains, but the labor involved on these cars is a pain to do that. BEst bet would be to either buy high flow cats, straight test pipes, or if you are set on gutting them, use something like a big screwdriver, or crowbar, and hammer it in, and just break up the cattalyst, and pour the pieces little by little out.....

You'll gain more power by swapping them completely because the high flow cats out there as well as the test pipes are a lot lighter than stock cats....

dchi_t

iTrader: (1)

Z04, umm so does that statement go to ppl w/ test pipes which are basically empty pipes? oh yea, btw. i have a plenum, headers and the invidia exhaust on the way, so i think what im doing will be just a little benificial...btw...about the sniffer test, i wont have a problem w/ that because the pipes im gutting are a pair i bought off someone from this forum, so i can swap them when smog tests roll by. and be nice. its holiday season!

hey tony@performance, r u the new guy performance hired for that one position that they posted on this forum? congrats if so...

Z04

iTrader: (15)

having stuff like that outside of a track application to run on the street is just a total waste of money and leaves you open for fines and or problems with the law. i see absolutely nothing wrong with a fully functional high flow cat application if it does the job that it is designed to do or running test pipes for the track. serves no purpose on the street at all. sorry if my opinion is not a popular one