So with the help of j's350z and a set of cat replacement pipes, I have successfully removed my cats.

I have to say that the sound is amazing. Throatier under WOT but not offensive by any means. I have the stock exhaust on there as of yet. My car gives off a bit of a stench but that should subside in a week or so, hopefully. No check engine light either.

I'm headed to the dyno wednesday so I'll post my sheets then. My baseline is 242.1. If I gain anything I'll be happy. The sound is good enough for me. Hopefully I'll have a clip for you guys soon.

-Dan

 

Oh I would also estimate that I cut about 30 lbs. from the weight of the car. The stock cats are like lead bricks.

 

Cool, weight loss, better sound, maybe some more power. Sounds like a good deal...

 

Yea that's what I thought. And in the event that I need engine service, Nissan dealers won't even bother me about it.

I also don't have to go for emissions testing till 2007! The only downside (if this is even a dowside), is that there is a lateral brace that bolts to each cat shield and the chassis on the stock cats. That had to be elminated.

My next project is finding out if the brace makes a difference, and if it does, welding clamps to the end of it so it can clamp onto the test pipes and bolt to the chassis.

 

I think I saw the brace your talking about while I was laying under my Z last night while taking a quick nap. :-)

Can't you just bolt it to the chasis without worrying about the cat brace bolts? I can't remember for sure but I was thinking you could, maybe not.

 

yea you could do that if you want, but then it's not bracing anything and it's just extra weight and extra weight belongs in the parts bin in my garage, not bolted to my car

I don't notice any ill effects from it not being there. And that smell i was talking about is starting to subside a little.

 

Dan,

Glad you are happy with the sound. The brace we removed only bolted to the transmission and was there to support the weight of the stock cat pipes which were quite heavy. I don't see any need to weld the brace to the catless replacement pipes since they are so much lighter. But we could always weld on a tab to the new pipes if you would like so you can reinstall the brace. Keep us up to date on the pipes, and let me know if you experience any problems, we like to make sure our friends are happy.

Thanks again,
Mike
MRC Motorsports

 

DYNO HURRY!! Can't wait to see the results...

 

Oh, you WILL gain on the dyno. And that stench may not go away. The cats are there for that "stench". Good mod though, you will have to let us know how it turns out.

 

Mike,

Thanks again for the help. I'm very happy with the product as I've already driven over 100 miles just to hear the sound! I think you're right about the brace not being necessary since the pipes must have shaved at least 30 lbs over the stock cats. I'll keep in touch. Thanks again for the great product and great service.

Peptid,

Yea, I saw your post on the other test pipe thread. I think alot of the stench has to do with how rich the car is running right now. Hopefully it will be partially taken care of with a little tuning. It has gotten a little better since Mike installed the pipes at about 2:00 PM this afternoon. It is definitely still noticable though.
It's alright though, I don't have to emissions test until 2007 and I'm not currently on any campaigns to save the rain forest.
Wicked,

Wednesday at 3:00 PM is my dyno appointment. It's the earliest I could get and the guy is doing me a favor and coming in on his day off to even do that! I'll post dynos shortly there after.

-Dan

 

Can't wait.

 

Question...
Do you have the stock resonator installed? What I mean is if you had earlier removed the stock resonator as many of us have done it. I ask because I too have installed the cat pipes and I had removed the resonator and man this sucker is really loud now!!
I'm seriously thinking of installing a resonator so it gets a little bit quieter.

Also, I have noticed that there is a rattle at WOT, I' haven't checked with the muffler guy (I will tomorrow) but I'm thinking that the “flexibles” (those things that bend and still serve as exhaust pipes) that the stock Y pipe has are helping the exhaust to rub against the chassis when the engine moves, I think that is why there was the brace in the first place.. Ill find out tomorrow... but the exhaust is rubbing somewhere…

 

Glad everything worked out. I'm sorry I couldn't stick around to hear it. I will keep you updated with the ecu as well as everything else. Where are you dynoing it on weds, maybe I could meet up!
Jason
MRC Motorsports

 

Javi -

I still have the resonator installed as of now. However, it is noticably louder. A couple acquaintances of mine actually asked if I had an exhaust put on. It's a good sound though IMO. Sounds a bit more exotic. One of the cars at the CT meet had headers, straight pipes, and the Injen exhaust. It was LOUD!

Jason -

I go to dyno at Kaztech Motorsports in Hackensack. If you want to come along let me know and I'll pick you up. It's a bit of a ride. I'm headed up there today to talk to the owner and discuss how we're going to do this. I want to dyno with just the test pipe, then test pipe + AEM, then test pipe + AEM + HKS circle earth grounds. So hopefully by Wednesday I have 3 dyno'd configurations for everyone. I'll let you know what time we decide on later. It might have to be changed since the installs will take about 1-2 hours.

Dan

 

Give me a call today to discuss. I know thats where you probably got your base dyno done, but their are a couple of good local shops that do it to. Larocca on englishtown road or my computer shop in morganville. If you want to wait a week or two, then you can do it at the shop my car will be at and if you want our ecu, we can tune it to your car... Call me and let me know....