significance of Cats?

**Potchy** · 09-04-2006, 06:34 PM

Well, we all know that by emission standards we are "supposed" to have cats on our vehicles. I have heard several different opinions on this... My cats are totally shot on my truck, one of them you can rattle the exhaust tube around inside of the cat where it enters it, and the other is plugged. I am debating on whether to cut them out and put some pipe in their place, or replace them with a totally new bolt on piece from the manifold clear to the exhaust. I checked some muffler shops and the guys wanted 760 bucks just to put in new cats, and i say screw that when i can buy an entire new bolt on piece for 360. Anyone have any suggestions, would taking the guts out of the cats give me more power if i bought the bolt on piece? Or would it mess up the back pressure on my truck and it wouldnt run correctly? I also need new O2 sensors... any suggestions? I have heard so many different theories... give me some ideas, thanks.
Oh and i have a 97 x-cab k1500 5.7liter

**screamingjimmy** · 09-04-2006, 07:11 PM

If I were you I would get them cut off and have a pipe welded in place. Then go and get some O2 sensor simulators.

I did my truck and I got a decent power gain. Plus it sounds wicked!

**Potchy** · 09-04-2006, 07:31 PM

Yea, that is what i want done, but i dont have a welder or anyhting like that... not that ican't weld, i just dont have very many tools... And i dont think legally that a shop here in colorado can do that...
I already have a Flowmaster muffler and Gibson headers, just need to get them damn cats out of there...

**1fstrst** · 09-04-2006, 07:47 PM

The significance of cats are they taste like chicken

**bullet13** · 09-04-2006, 11:33 PM

where can i get o2 sensor simulators

**cedjunior** · 09-05-2006, 02:47 PM

Just get these cats and forget about it. If you gut your current cats you will lose power because of the large VOID area created by the cats, if you try to weld on straight pipes, you better know how to weld yourself because any muffler shop owner with a brain wont remove your cats and weld in straight pipes for you, its a federal crime. Straight pipes don't flow much better, if at all, than good high flow cats anyway. And by the time you pay for that and the O2 sims, you could have bought that replacement cat and bolted it in yourself. You could aways purchase some universal cats and just have a shop cut the old ones out and weld the new ones in place too.