yeah...Thanks again for the continued input

 

quick question... When I had my exhaust installed, they took out 2 of the cats (I think there are 4). I was told that removing the resonator would give me more sound, and maybe make the car run "smoother" (at least exhaust-wise). Is this true? I had the install done at smalltime shop, do you think they would've taken off the resonator already, without me asking? Also, I can get the other 2 cats removed, what difference could I expect in sound/performance? Let me know what you think plz.

 

the cats form a small restriction... check the current cats out. If they just cut off the rear 2 cats and welded to the pipes between the cats, then you won't actually solve much. The front cats were the same as the rear cats. If they put on aftermarket cats (like I did to my 88) then there's just one larger section on the level pipe which makes it easier to get at the bolts on the down-pipe from the headers. You can only remove the cats if you are in an area that does not do emission checks (or the engine runs clean enough to pass inspection without the cats) and it's not illegal to remove the cats in your area. No matter what you do, the less restriction you have on the exhaust, the better performance will be. This is why I have straight through mufflers (no baffles like flowmasters tend to have) to reduce back pressure as much as I could, but I'm still using an H pipe because I need to keep the torque envelope in the lower range of RPMs. If you have an engine that will rev high, full length headers and high flow pipes with straight through mufflers is pretty much the best performance you can get. However, to really get the performance out of anything larger than a stock set of dual exhaust, you really need to port the heads and get a more aggressive cam and high flow intake. The easier it is to move air in and out of an engine, the more efficient it will run. The more air you can get into the engine (with proper fuel mix mind you) the more powerful it will be (hence turbos and superchargers). And they're right about the resonator. It's just a larger section of pipe in the middle somewhere that creates a little disturbance in the flow of exhaust if I remember correctly. It may also help regulate back-pressure (keep it more balanced), but it really isn't needed.

 

a friend of mine at work told me that without the last cats on, that my car could run different, and not necessarily in a good way. He also told me that taking off he resonator would probably give it a more "throaty" (lol) sound..maybe like cherry bombs. I don't want it to sound like Cherry Bombs, that's why I bought Flowmaster's. What you think Slymer? Directed at you cuz you're the only one that seems to know about this on this whole forum

 

nah... I'm just the one that seems to answer the soonest (bored at home the most?).

If you have an H pipe or X pipe, there shouldn't be an issue as long as all the appropriate steps are taken to keep the EGR system intact. It's a 94 and shouldn't have the oxygen sensors after the cats. If it did have oxygen sensors after the cats, then it would cause issues with running. as far as sound goes, I don't have any clue what anything would sound like. I just know I want mine louder (as soon as it's a classic, the cats are coming off).

 

I can get the last 2 cats taken off for about $30 at a small-time place. I'm understanding that this would make it NOTICEABLY louder with my H-pipe config?.. And not make performance worse in your opinion? (wasting a lot more gas would be worse of course (if that would happen)) let me know what you think plz

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h5RQp7tQSg

This sounds almost as deep as mine, out the back, while mine is turndown. Could my dual Flowmaster setup out the back sound like this 2000 MGM?? or do you think there's other upgrades on this?

I like this

 

Only take the cats off if you don't have to worry about emissions in your area. Otherwise getting the car inspected will be a hassle. It should help performance a tiny bit for regular driving, but will show a little (maybe a tenth or 2 in a quarter mile) under full throttle. The wasting of gas is directly related to the amount of lead in your foot. If you drive like a bat out of hell, you will pay more for gas.

as for the sound, like I said before... I don't know anything about tweaking the tone, just the loudness. Basically if you remove all obstruction, it will be really loud (cats, baffled mufflers, etc) Tone is dictated by the size of tuning (if any) of the pipes and mufflers and the timing of the engine. I've known some guys to purposely turn their cars bad so the exhaust sounds better. I think this is royally stupid. Considering you have a 94, it's probably got coil packs and tunes itself. So it would be really hard to de-tune your car (good thing). This is about all I know on the subject though.

 

adding bigger (wider) turndowns shouldn't make a diff. in sound, as the outlet from my exhausts is only so wide, right?
as for emissions, no prob. I take my car to this dude that only wants to see insurance before he gives you the sticker

 

wider tails only make the sound louder (works like a megaphone) as far as I know.