Well, I've been wanting to get rid of the catalytic converter in the stock exhaust since I got the thing, and I finally got some sort of info on it, (take it off and look, its right there) I decided to give it a go. My first surprise was that the cat is metal, not ceramic like my car's was. That made it a lot harder. After 5-6 hours (seriously, I should have just drilled out the rivets) I finally got it done. Can't wait to see the shrapnel that flies out when I fire it up! Heres some pics- not worth much, but here they are: Starting out- looking through the pipe into the entrace, towards the exit- A little bit of shredding done (drill with the longest bit, screwdriver, chisel, punch) All said and done- bad picture, but theres not much to focus on. I really hope this pays off- I may try making a power up plug and seeing how it goes.
Thanks for the pics. Now I know what I'm looking for - it's not what I expected. How does the removal change the sound?
When I first started it up, I didn't think it had changed the sound at all. Of course I was wearing my standard ear plugs, but I took a lower speed route back to the house so I didn't put in my plugs, and I think it definitely made it a bit louder. Not very much, but it seems to make that thumper sound a bit more pronounced now. Exhaust is still too hot to touch the guards with bare skin (duh) but it didn't give me a huge burn like it did with the cat on there. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out- wish I would have just drilled out the rivets, but it goes to show that it can be done without it.
I was trying to come up with a joke about how little weight I lost, but I'm comin up empty. Not enough to count. HP, I may have gained a bit, but I'm horrible at estimating that sort of stuff. So to answer your question, I have no idea. Several other people have done this, so they might chime in. It did seem to pop a bit more, but thats probably just because it is less muffled.
I guess what I was trying to ask is, in your opinion does it worth the effort? Five to six hours is a long time to be drilling and banging but if now it does two third the work of a $350 slip-on then maybe it’s something to think about?
Well, it was worth the effort for me for sure. It did give it some more oomph.. did about 150 miles of interstate today and I think it opened up the top end a decent amount- I had power where as before it would kinda go fluffy. Unfortunately, I have much more time than money as of late, so it worked out. Where can you get a slip on for $350? I really didn't think I had removed that much restriction, but I don't know what the rest of the insides look like.
I have the stock can off my 08 610 that I removed the cat. then drilled five small holes in the exit end baffle.(forgot to drill the entry baffle) you gain about a fourth the power gain of a aftermarket (my Barret) pipe.
