Ok so I've done some searching on here but I can't seem to find a solid answer. I'm leaning tword replacing the cat with a length of 3" pipe and I don't want to start a fight but I am curious if I can squeeze another 5hp (maybe more?) out of it. Reading threw the posts some say a gutted cat with cause a drop in low end power while others say it opens the truck up a bit. Anybody know which it is? And yes the little bump in power is worth it to me because I think even little bits eventually add up

 

Yes, it will free up a little bit of horsepower. I remember when I had the cat gutted last fall, and I was just really pleased with the results. Truck sounded an extra notch more aggressive, and it gave me a nice added kick in the butt of the line. So yes, in my view, its completely worth it. It's one of the cheapest mods you can do to free up a little bit of horsepower, and gain some extra bark in the exhaust note.

 

You havelong tubes,free flow cat and muffler and you want to dump the cat with hopes of hp gains? From the looks of your list, you appear to be done. From here on out I think you are talking upper engine stuff like cam and rockers etc. Why not an electric fan/water pump?

Why 5 more hp?

Indy will get in on this and tell you how many hp he got with his upper engine mods.

 

Putting a 3" pipe in place of the cat will be fine. Pounding a 3 inch pipe though the cat is even a better option (if you need to have one on for appearance sake). Simply gutting the cat is a bad idea. It creates a bottleneck in your exhaust, which is why some people feel they lose torque.

 

+1

I didn't even look at your mod list. You're well past dumb **** like this. Plus you already have a highflow cat, so gutting it would be pointless.

Cams, rockers, porting heads, fuel injectors...These are the things to focus on now.

 

Xskyline, personally I don't think it can hurt to do it. It's free horsepower lol. Like I said, when I had it gutted, it was really exciting what a differeance it did with the sound of the truck. No doubt it freed up some torque as well, you could feel it. Obviously not a lot, but it was impressive for something so simple. You and me pretty much have the same mods too, so I think it's a no brainer man, it's free horsepower, how can you beat that?[8D] You can still focus on the bigger and meaner mods most assuredly, but theres no harm in doing a fun mod like that.

 

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+1

I didn't even look at your mod list. You're well past dumb **** like this. Plus you already have a highflow cat, so gutting it would be pointless.

Cams, rockers, porting heads, fuel injectors...These are the things to focus on now.
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+1

I feel the same way, it now is time to get more into the engine. Either a cam or rockers and head work would be the next place to go. A gutted cat from a high flow cat wont yeild you any from what i have personally experienced.

 

LOL! I knew I was gonna get some of this. I'd really love a cam, rockers, heads (oh man i'd like some heads) but those cost money my friends. I just see it as a small bottleneck in my exhaust system that I'd like to free up for a couple of minor ponies. I just see 5hp here, 5hp there, and another 2hp from some other dumb thing and bingo; you've (mathmatically) added 12hp. LOL "You're well past dumb **** like this" I know man, I know.[sm=headbang.gif] For some reason I can't get past replacing the cat with a pipe unless it will cause a loss of power somewhere.

These kind of statements will weigh heavy on my decision. TY

 

when i gutted my cat my Dakota 5.2L was stockand was completely clogged. i cut my muffler off and hammered out the honey comb, i loved it. then i went down the road to extremes. i have been through approx. 6 complete different systems and lots of additional upgrades. all of the future exhaust systems included headers. 1st. cut-outs which gave me approximately 3 mph gain in the quarter mile from 99.5 ish to 102. ish. but actually reduced my et by .5 sec....!!! yeah there is that much difference in torque! so cut outs went in the trash literally! the best set-up i found was a shorty header ran ( for scavenging ) into a single 2.5" pipe then into ahigh flow muffler and out the side (before the unnecessary curve over the axle) a mod that have no scientific proof of actually helpingwas to cut off the end where the tip is flared inwardand meetsthe lead dough nut. I personally felt better about eliminating the restriction that measured about 1.5"s but i had the worst time getting the muffler shops to weld it well. (almost impossibleto get to) p.s. glass packs either forward or backward are not high flow. to much turbulence, went through 2 pair of those one pair 2" and one pair 2.5".... when bringing the pipes together for scavenging, i found it best tomeet before the muffler and no less than 10"s L x 2.5" W. the muffler ended up about where the cat was originally. i tried the muffler that had 2 inlets but it just didn't compare. PS the muffler that i ended up with was only $45.00.

 

If it makes it any easier for your decision, at the time, I was running a magnaflow cat when I had it gutted, so those respectable gains I told you about were even after the hi-flow cat. Really, I wish I had just never bought the darn magnaflow cat to begin with because I went and gutted it 3 months later. I mean if you can do it yourself, or if you can get it done for cheap, there really is no right or wrong answer here. You have the hi-flow as is, so your fine there. And if you want it gutted, you will free up a little bit more torque, and your exhaust will be a little more raspier, which is awesome. Either way, you will be quite alright my friend. Let us know what you decide to do!