Running with No cats?

I WANNA GO FAST said:

. . . . I know im gonna fail emissions . . .
Im guessing most of us here are running with no cats. . . . .

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If you fail emissions, you can't drive the car, until you get it fixed and pass, right? Probably better learn up on that. I'm pretty sure they are fairly strict about that stuff in New Jersey, typical liberal northeast state.

And No, I would venture a guess that at least 90% of the cars on here are legal, meaning they still have their catalytic converters.

Well here in Florida we don't have emissions or any inspections for that matter... running without cats is still illegal here but they have never checked my car for anything HERE (I do have cats). That being said I would imagine that if you have emissions tests that the police would be more likely to check for those things, especially if your car is loud as all hell (and it probably would be).

The fines can be pretty bad in some places, $2000 isnt something I would doubt. Also if you do end up with a fine, you are usually required to fix the problem (install a cat) and then prove that it is fixed as well as paying them.

If it were me I would do it right the first time and not take a chance. The gains would be minimal if any. Also you can get "High Flow" cats that have... higher flow...

JBert said:

If you fail emissions, you can't drive the car, until you get it fixed and pass, right? Probably better learn up on that. I'm pretty sure they are fairly strict about that stuff in New Jersey, typical liberal northeast state.

And No, I would venture a guess that at least 90% of the cars on here are legal, meaning they still have their catalytic converters.

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Yeah i know that. Thats why i was gonna keep the stock exhaust and bolt in back on before emissions.

I WANNA GO FAST said:

Yeah i know that. Thats why i was gonna keep the stock exhaust and bolt in back on before emissions.

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Not worth the hassle, for me anyway. Turns inspection from a 15-minute errand into a 4 hour chore. Each to his own I guess . . .

Gains of removing the cats are minimal -- maybe something like 5 hp or so, at best. The only reason I would mess with the cats is if I was going with long tube headers, which means you must change the factory cats . . . and I'd go with the high flow cats, because I don't want to be driving around worrying all the time about when I am going to get caught.

Don't forget you will also need a tune if you delete the cats.

JBert said:

Not worth the hassle, for me anyway. Turns inspection from a 15-minute errand into a 4 hour chore. Each to his own I guess . . .

Gains of removing the cats are minimal -- maybe something like 5 hp or so, at best. The only reason I would mess with the cats is if I was going with long tube headers, which means you must change the factory cats . . . and I'd go with the high flow cats, because I don't want to be driving around worrying all the time about when I am going to get caught.

Don't forget you will also need a tune if you delete the cats.

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You got a good point about worrying all the time. I better go clutch in passing cops haha. Yeah but emissions is what? once every 3 years. I think its worth it!Its not loud enough! And I was thinking LT headers but don't feel like doing all that work haha and i know its a pretty penny to have em installed by a mechanic. And i got the bamA tuner already so imma use that with whatever exhaust i put on!

a cop is not going to wrie you a ticket for catless exhaust, most cops probably couldnt tell the difference between a muffler and a cat. the only time to worry about the cats is inspection time. a cop might cite you for being to loud but he isnt going to try and figure out why its too loud, hes just going to write the citation.

I'm in GA where it's mixed inspections. I currently run the Pypes X pipe to stock mufflers. It's actually a pretty good sound and I've been complemented on it many times, 2 of which were by cops who pulled me over in counties where cats are required. The sound is night and day. I kept my stock pipes in case I move somewhere where I DO have to pass emissions. For the people saying its a HUGE ordeal it's really not. It's all bolt and clamps. Now I had access to a lift when we did mine and it took 30 minutes. on your back I cant see it taking any longer than an hour to an hour and a half or toss 40 bucks to the local exhaust shop to swap it for you real quick. I say go for catless. More power(not much but more is MOAR) and I got great gas mileage when I wasnt dogging it listening to that great exhaust note.

In my state they are supposed to do visual inspections for cats at inspection time, but most places don't seem to care that much whether you have cats or not.

I personally went with cats because without them it's just too frickin' loud. I have to leave for work around 6:30 AM and I don't want murderous neighbors, plus I think it sounds amazing even with cats so why bother getting rid of them? (BTW it also helps I found a good deal on my catted shorty H pipe)

I bought my car slightly used in NJ, although I live in PA. After a few days of having it the check engine light came on. I took it to AutoZone where they ran the code for me. After seeing something about emissions or cat came up I thought that since it was extremely loud perhaps the prior owner removed the cats. I put her up on ramps and there were no cats. Technically it was illegal for the dealer to sell it w/o cats so they happily installed new cats free of charge. (Plus I couldn't get new stickers in PA w/o cats)

In Jersey I believe you have inspections every two years, for me, it would be more of hassle to keep installing/uninstalling cats if that's the route you want to go. Plus I'm pretty certain that your check engine light will stay on unless you keep disconnecting the battery.

And funkboy is right. Cops aren't going to try to look and see if you have cats or not.

Im pretty sure NJ has adopted California's CARB requirements which means they WILL look for the factory cats. Trading out your cats and not running long tubes is a waste of money. I wouldn't be concerned about noise if you are maintaining the factory exhaust manifolds. Long tubes add a noticeable amount of noise. If you are running a lot of power then long tubes would be the way to go. If you have something like a cold air intake and tune then just save your money and not get rid of your factory pipes.

I live in nj. And just installed Pypes shorty headers and pypes off road H pipe this past summer.

Literally, NJ sucks as it's pretty strict. I took the safe route; I passed emissions with the stock exhaust and then swapped it out immediately out myself. Because NJ requires testing every two years, right before my next inspection, I'm planning on just throwing back on the factory mid pipe with cats, since it'll bolt right up to the new shorties. I figured swapping back on the mid pipe every two years, was way easier than swapping out LT. Headers and the mid pipe as well.

Haven't had any trouble with cops yet. And like stated, I doubt cops would ticket for catless exhaust...probably more a sound violation than emissions. I've been pulled over for window tints and left the car running because it was cold..(stupid me) and the cop never ticketed me for exhaust or loudness. But I bet that's the discretion of the cop and location/town. So it's hard to say.

Performance, would only say that lower rpm throttle response is more sensitive. Maybe even a harder pull up top too. But nothing crazy IMO.

The car becomes freaking loud though. My buddy owns a pretty sweet Camaro and while driving behind me one day was wondering what I had done because it was absurdly loud. The exhaust to me also sounds like fluttering paper, but I've gotten used to it.

A mod well worth it though.




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Brianwu said:

. . . . I've been pulled over for window tints and left the car running because it was cold..(stupid me) and the cop never ticketed me for exhaust or loudness. . . .

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I'd be more concerned about the smell ; I can smell a catless muscle car at least a hundred yards away. Love that smell, by the way. Also love the smell of two stroke exhaust in the morning. Am I f'ed up?

JBert said:

I'd be more concerned about the smell ; I can smell a catless muscle car at least a hundred yards away. Love that smell, by the way. Also love the smell of two stroke exhaust in the morning. Am I f'ed up?

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Not at all hahaha. Well when I was pulled over in this case before I only had axlebacks. No catless exhaust just yet.

I love the smell too. Especially at idle the smell creeps into the cabin.

But! Saw an article last week were two teens died in their car from carbon monoxide poisoning. There was a small leak in the mid pipe and it fed straight up into the cabin. If they died from unintentional carbon monoxide exposure, just imagine the higher risk we are at, if we are encouraging it!
Made me partially regret going catless. At every red light I now subconsciously hold my breath, our of fear that I'm going to die of carbon monoxide. 😱


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