Far be it for me to be a stickler for the law, but since no one is mentioning it I thought I would. Even if you live somewhere that does not require regular inspections, tampering with the emissions control equipment (of which the cat is a part) on any car is a federal crime that can be punishable by law. It may not ever become an issue for you, but if you get pulled over by a savvy cop or trooper and he wants to bust your *****...look out.

That's why gutting the cat and keeping at least the look of stock is better than what you are considering doing.

 

gotta feed the horses: you are going to need your o2 or your computer in your truck will not know the air/fuel ratio and make your truck run like s***. but if i am wrong please let me know.

 

The front 02 sensor controls the air/fuel ratio once the truck has reached operating temperature.

The rear 02 sensor only verifies if the catalytic converter is functioning properly. It serves no purpose in the way the truck runs.

 

how exactly do they test to make sure the cat is working? is it a combination of the heat test and the emissions pipe thing they put on ur pipe or what. i mean, i was going to gut my cat, but unfortunetly, i really dont feel like spending a sh*t ton of money for a new one 2 more years down the road lol.

 

The only real way to test is with an Exhaust Gas Analyzer (EGA), which most shops here have. We in CA have to get smog inspections every 2 years and that includes a sniffer (EGA) test to verify proper operation of all emissions components. Some vehicles can still pass with a gutted cat, but any detected tampering will cause a fail. The penalties for emissions tampering here are steep. I have Borla headers on my V10 and the previous owner had the CARB-exempt tag welded onto the pipe so inspectors would easily see that they are legal.

 

i f*cking hate emissions inspections. as if our planet isn't already screwed over already. f*cking eco-maniacs

 

I ordered a y pipe from a website called anythingauto. It's a Magnaflow and cost $26. I really don't care about the emission laws. It's not like that little cat is going to stop a V10 from putting holes in the ozone. I live in Georgia and I am not even required to get any type of emissions because of some weight thing that my truck exceeds. About the o2 thing.... I need to have the o2 sensor that is in the cat in the new y pipe? I am not even going to touch the o2 sensor that is after the cat but I have no idea what to do with the one that is on the cat. I guess I can just put a hole in the y pipe and insert the o2 into the y pipe which will be exactly where the cat was. I am getting an SCT tuner too so maybe there is some way I can get the computer tuned so I don't have any issues with the o2s. I will have the y pipe within the week so I guess time will tell how well this will work. I don't even know what the advantage of removing the cat is other than there is better flow which means..... better mpg? power?

 

you said it...better flow=better sound=more power

 

That "transmission mount" that I thought was missing is just a mount for an exhaust. That's why there isn't one on the left side because I don't have dual exhaust. Live and learn......

 

you should invest in a haynes manual or something...tells you everything you'll ever need to know about anything on your truck lol