can i cut my cat ? which muffler to get looking for power

[SC'92Explorer]

My friend cut his cat on his j....jeep cherokee we atlist it is not a wrangler so on my 92' x can i cut the can will it help me any ? also which mufflers should i get looking for great sound and more power mine x has 155000 miles on it. so what should i do looking for some good answers

thnks
chase

92xeb

 

[TheRookie]

I have never heard of "cutting" a cat. (thinks to self that sounds bad) Anyway i imagine you mean "GUT" the cat. As in to remove the insides to allow better flow. Well this is not realy as good an idea as you think. A "gutted" cat would create turbulence. this is no good. I recomend a high flow cat. you will get more power than a "gutted cat" And be emisions legal. As for exhausts there is much debate everywhere about who makes the best. I like the Gibson. Re reading your post I am thinking you are talking about cutting a slot in your cat. I have NO idea why someone would do that.

 

[SaleenEXP]

I'm confused also, what do you mean by "cutting" a cat? I wouldn't think thats a good idea.

I don't know about the 1s gens, but our 5.0 Mounty (along with 2nd gens) already has high flow cats. The 02's are high flow also, but I'm not sure about the 1st gen.

 

[Robb]

Now that is a run-on sentence if I have ever seen one!

Don't do anything to the cat. Remove it and replace with a high flow cat. As far as mufflers go, there are a bunch of opinions here.....try a search and you will finds gobs on info.

Robb

 

[SaleenEXP]

Originally posted by morrisey0
Now that is a run-on sentence if I have ever seen one!

Don't do anything to the cat. Remove it and replace with a high flow cat. As far as mufflers go, there are a bunch of opinions here.....try a search and you will finds gobs on info.

Robb

heh, I do run ons alot, my english professor would be pretty pissed if he saw that

 

[Alec]

My exhaust recommendations:

Dead Link Removed

 

[EliteConcept]

i wouldnt' remove or GUT the cat, from what i've gathered from folks on the board here, doing this will only take back pressure off the engine, meaning your actually loosing power. The sound may be louder, but whats the use of having a loud truck if its got no power?

muffler wise...if its loud your lookin for i would probably suggest a flowmaster NON DELTA 40 series, maybe duals, if you can afford it ...i have one exit stright out the back of my X, i love the sound, not to loud, but not too quite, you know its there when you punch it

 

[TheRookie]

from what i've gathered from folks on the board here, doing this will only take back pressure off the engine, meaning your actually loosing power.

Ah a common misconception. Backpressure is BAD. Flow is GOOD. Many people get the two confused. see here is how it works. The faster exhaust gasses travel out the better. This causes almost like a scavenging exhaust out of the motor. This is GOOD. Backpressure doesnt let exhaust out. If you dont get the exhaust out you will not have efficient combustion. If you look into this more closely you will understand what I mean. I am not good at describing this. The toughest thing is balancing the exhaust to the engine. While a huge pipe has little backpressure it also flows SLOWLY not aiding in the scavanging effect. Too small and you have got the dreaded Backpressure.

 

[aldive]

Simply put... its against the law to mess with a cat.

 

[Alec]

But as I understand it, a certain amount of backpressure is needed on certain engines to maintain low-end torque. The way it was explained to me is that some of the force of the exiting exaust gases actually helps push the piston down.

Of course, this could be horse-dookie. Your explanation does sound correct though.

 

[TheRookie]

horse-dookie indeed. I can see why that explanation could make sense. Hense I see why most people believe it. Needing back pressure is a myth.

 

[EliteConcept]

yea you maybe right, but its also just not good for the environment to elimanate you cat.....

 

[TheRookie]

Exactly, hense a High Flow Cat. Any performance junkie (my other car is a supra) will probably have gone the "test Pipe" route at some point. A good high flow will flow just about as well as a test pipe. Please, use a good cat.

 

[SaleenEXP]

Originally posted by TheRookie
horse-dookie indeed. I can see why that explanation could make sense. Hense I see why most people believe it. Needing back pressure is a myth.

Thankyou, thats what I've been trying to say in other threads where people were afraid of loosing back - pressure.

For example, some people think 2.25" dual pipes are the largest you cab go on a 5.0 without loosing backpressure. However I know two guys running dual 2.5" pipes and the other running dual 3" pipes and theres absolutley no lose of low end torque, if anything your clogging up the 5.0 with small pipes b/c of how fast it expells exhaust gasses.

Another kid at my high school 2 yrs ago ran dual 2.5" pipes on his 96' XLT with a 4.0 ohv, again no loss of torque. Mine is a single 2.5" pipe cause my trailer package was in the way for duals.

Loosing backpressure is good- as you said, thats what gives extra power and torque.

 

[Alec]

Except that the principle is still the same:

On some motors free up the exhaust too much and you slow the gases down, reducing the ease by which they can exit the motor. Fine, it's not backpressure, but in essence it's the same animal.