New Car, New CAT?

ok, im kind of lost here, i searched around the forum and couldnt find what i was looking for. what are the advantages to a CAT vs. just a new muffler. Keep in mind my car is a 2002. what kind of horsepower differences do you get between the two? and is the CAT back worth it on a brand new car? i want a nice sound but i would like to get more power than 5 horses from just a muffler, but i dont necessarily want to drop 600 on a CAT back...let me know what you think i should do

Your post confuses me. You want a high flow muffler and you also want more performance than a muffler can provide. Put your thoughts in order. If you want performance upgrades you can start with a CAT back. If you want looks and a different sound then go with the muffler. Notice that both of these options have different intent in mind. The usual start to tuning you motor and staying with NA (Natural Asperated) is to upgrade with a header, Cold Air Intake, and CAT-Back. Forced induction can be different. It's all your choice and what you want to do with the car you drive. It really doesn't matter how new or old the car is, you can tune it at any time.

HP gains from a muffler or a CAT-Back. Hmmm if you increase the flow of the exhaust then your motor will push out better hense you get a power shift from pushing the exhaust gases out to spinning the wheels. Your making it easier for the motor to do one function and displacing it for another. In this case putting that power to the road. So you will get better performance with a CAT-Back and you will not be able to have the same performance from a muffler swap out.

If you use the search function and read most of the links you will be able to make this decision yourself.

Regards,
Spotovi

i did use the search function and could come to no conclusion, that is why i posted. basically what i was asking was, is the horsepower gain from a cat back worth the money.

Basically no , the money for a cat back and the HP it will increase i.e. 5-10 HP for $450 plus isn't really worth it. But here's the kicker, if you don't open up the exhaust it will become the weakest link so to speak as you make more mod's and you won't get your money's worth out of them either. So it really depends where you intend to go with your mod's and what you want , show or go....russtang, 2002 RSX Type S:
Thermal R&D cat back, Injen intake with Ractive filter, 64mm throttle body, neuspeed short shifter.....next mod,Comptech header, and maybe a ram-air or cowl induction hood.

thank you!....im thinking for my needs a muffler will do just fine, cause i am more show, cause my civic is never going to be fast...so i figure, better look good!