Catless Question (not sound related)

[RoGCobraRV]

See tons of people have catless setups. I'm looking to go FI down the road but I wanna plan for it now and not have the cats on when I do
How does one remove them? As far as I can tell shops can't
and wont remove em nowadays per the laws.
Is this something that I need to do on my own? Do i puchase a catless midpipe and install it then get a tune etc? Just a little confused on how some of you have had this done.

Sponsored

 

[Louk]

The cats are part of the headers now, one side Is a single piece the other is bolted I believe. If you buy just cat deletes cutting and clamps or preferably welding will be involved. Shops will do it, just have to find the right one.

 

[RoGCobraRV]

The cats are part of the headers now, one side Is a single piece the other is bolted I believe. If you buy just cat deletes cutting and clamps or preferably welding will be involved. Shops will do it, just have to find the right one.

I plan to do headers at the same time so I'd just need to puchase the catless variety and find a shop to do said install sounds like? Can it be driven for a couple days til a tune is done?

 

[Louk]

I plan to do headers at the same time so I'd just need to puchase the catless variety and find a shop to do said install sounds like? Can it be driven for a couple days til a tune is done?

you will throw a cel, won’t be detrimental As long as that’s the only mod. Not doing tune required intake exhaust and other combos. But if your car blows up the safe answer is to say tune it when you put parts on lol

 

[Mspider]

My friend who runs a catless boost 5.0L was running catted long tube headers. The shop doing the procharger install/tune also gutted the cats out at his request. You might have better luck going to a actual performance shop, not muffler type shop.

 

[Replicator]

Google "Mini Cat O2 Sensor" if you hate dash lights. I've had these on for about 8k Miles and no CEL. Make sure to buy through a reputable place. If you want to ditch the cats and plan to go FI get yourself some 1 7/8 LT.

 

[K4fxd]

Good luck finding a shop that will remove them. The fines are outrageous and many shops will think you are trying to trap them.

The last vehical I had a shop remove the cats I took off the tags and had the car towed to the shop and then towed back home.

 

[RoGCobraRV]

Yeah i just don't see how any shop would do it nowadays. My problem and plan was to have the work done and then dyno tuned at same time from one of the big name tuners.

I don't wanna nor do i really think im capable of doing the install myself.

Any shop I'd call im sure would say gtfoh so i don't know what options I have other then catted which I don't want since the plan is boost

 

[Replicator]

Yeah i just don't see how any shop would do it nowadays. My problem and plan was to have the work done and then dyno tuned at same time from one of the big name tuners.

I don't wanna nor do i really think im capable of doing the install myself.

Any shop I'd call im sure would say gtfoh so i don't know what options I have other then catted which I don't want since the plan is boost

When I bought my headers there were 2 options catted/offroad. You can buy the catted version and have them installed. The cats are their own sections so you can simply remove them and drop in the offroad test pipes. Keep the cats for future use or ebay them to someone who needs them more than you. I ended up creating my own drop in resonators that filled the spot btw because it was a perfect fit. It really helped derasp due to lack of cats.

 

[RoGCobraRV]

When I bought my headers there were 2 options catted/offroad. You can buy the catted version and have them installed. The cats are their own sections so you can simply remove them and drop in the offroad test pipes. Keep the cats for future use or ebay them to someone who needs them more than you. I ended up creating my own drop in resonators that filled the spot btw because it was a perfect fit. It really helped derasp due to lack of cats.

That sounds like a viable option thanks! I'd have to retune I'm assuming post cat removal?

 

[4V Mayhem]

Unless you are competing and every bit of power helps then it is not worth it. Not many shops are willing to break federal laws and pay hefty fines and face losing their shop or being shut down or imprisoned to illegally modify a stranger's car that will be used on public roads just to squeeze out a little extra power. The top name shops with good reputations will decline. That should be enough to sway you from doing it.

High flow cats are more efficient now. Some can support close to 900 to the wheels. Sure they cost more than open piping. But again, it isn't worth the risk. Plus if you get pulled over and the cop decides to do a road inspection then that will open a whole nother host of issues. Ask yourself if it really is worth it and why. If it is worth it then my suggestion is to not involve others. Buy the pipes and swap them in on your own in private. Don't post about it or mention it. Again, these are Federal laws you're talking about. And regardless of your stance on it the consequences for breaking those laws, especially these days with the march against ICE vehicles gaining more momentum, it might not be worth it.

 

[Replicator]

That sounds like a viable option thanks! I'd have to retune I'm assuming post cat removal?

That depends on who you ask. When I installed mine (1 7/8 runners to 3" off road collectors) I was still on the regular Roush tune. The car ran and drove fine for the next month until I finished installing the rest of my mods. The Roush calibration is known to run rich which may have offset the improved airflow. I don't have personal experience with the stock tune but from what I've seen from reading around it seems to handle it ok short term.

Unless you are competing and every bit of power helps then it is not worth it. Not many shops are willing to break federal laws and pay hefty fines and face losing their shop or being shut down or imprisoned to illegally modify a stranger's car that will be used on public roads just to squeeze out a little extra power. The top name shops with good reputations will decline. That should be enough to sway you from doing it.

High flow cats are more efficient now. Some can support close to 900 to the wheels. Sure they cost more than open piping. But again, it isn't worth the risk. Plus if you get pulled over and the cop decides to do a road inspection then that will open a whole nother host of issues. Ask yourself if it really is worth it and why. If it is worth it then my suggestion is to not involve others. Buy the pipes and swap them in on your own in private. Don't post about it or mention it. Again, these are Federal laws you're talking about. And regardless of your stance on it the consequences for breaking those laws, especially these days with the march against ICE vehicles gaining more momentum, it might not be worth it.

Hey now who said these are road cars? Obviously if we're running without cats these are track cars. No dirty criminals on these forums.

 

[4V Mayhem]

Hey now who said these are road cars? Obviously if we're running without cats these are track cars. No dirty criminals on these forums.

Consider it a cautionary warning then. Police are able to inspect your vehicle on the side of the road. If they find something off then they can impound it and force you to take it to a place and provide documentation that the proper repairs have been made and then force you to go thru reinspection again. At least they used to be able to do that. Perhaps laws have changed. They also were able to remove your inspection sticker if they had just right to do so. And like I said, shops can face hefty fines etc. ANY shop would be unwise to perform such mods on any vehicle that is registered, has a plate, is insured, etc. I strongly advise against this IF that is the plan.

I mentioned current HF cats. They flow very well and can handle high boost applications and HP well into the 800s and higher. I believe some are even rated for 1200 RWHP. On a NA setup going catless is not even worth the headache. And now on high boost applications going catless has very minimal gains to offer. At best you'll save money. But in either situation I doubt a pair of HF cats is going to determine a race unless you're well into the triple digits of speed and almost maxed out. These aren't the old days where you could gain a lot of power going from HF to catless. So take into consideration if it is worth it and go from there. But it always helps to have good information and to be aware of the consequences.

 

[Replicator]

Consider it a cautionary warning then. Police are able to inspect your vehicle on the side of the road. If they find something off then they can impound it and force you to take it to a place and provide documentation that the proper repairs have been made and then force you to go thru reinspection again. At least they used to be able to do that. Perhaps laws have changed. They also were able to remove your inspection sticker if they had just right to do so. And like I said, shops can face hefty fines etc. ANY shop would be unwise to perform such mods on any vehicle that is registered, has a plate, is insured, etc. I strongly advise against this IF that is the plan.

I mentioned current HF cats. They flow very well and can handle high boost applications and HP well into the 800s and higher. I believe some are even rated for 1200 RWHP. On a NA setup going catless is not even worth the headache. And now on high boost applications going catless has very minimal gains to offer. At best you'll save money. But in either situation I doubt a pair of HF cats is going to determine a race unless you're well into the triple digits of speed and almost maxed out. These aren't the old days where you could gain a lot of power going from HF to catless. So take into consideration if it is worth it and go from there. But it always helps to have good information and to be aware of the consequences.

Of course, there's no argument there. At the end of the day we make our choices based off the information we are given. Some people are blessed enough to live places where emissions are not as strictly enforced as others. Others get pulled over at the first sign of something smelling off. Even with high-flow cats there is the possibility of failing inspection depending on where you live and what system you run. Furthermore, if a cat is rated for say, 1200HP, it could eventually reach a failure point depending on use and heat cycle. These are all things a person considers when making these purchases and some decide they don't want to have another potential failure point in their high horsepower systems. To each their own.

 

[Stephen@lethal]

See tons of people have catless setups. I'm looking to go FI down the road but I wanna plan for it now and not have the cats on when I do
How does one remove them? As far as I can tell shops can't
and wont remove em nowadays per the laws.
Is this something that I need to do on my own? Do i puchase a catless midpipe and install it then get a tune etc? Just a little confused on how some of you have had this done.

The best way to do it with how these cars are setup is to do long tubes that come with the mid pipes as well. We actually have a killer sale on Stainless Power headers that bolt right up to your factory style system in stock and ready to ship. Take a look and let me know if I can help you out with anything. https://www.lethalperformance.com/s...th-3-off-road-lead-pipes-factory-connect.html

Sponsored