Removing the Cat???

[Dodgeintheblood]

I have been wondering if it is possible to remove my cat on my 01 ram 1500, w/ 5.9l mag. i live in wyoming, and we don't have emisions testing, so i am not worried about that. just looking to get some power.

[slantsixness]

just removing the cat is a waste of your time. removing the exhaust, replacing it with headers and no cat would give you some performance improvement, but not enough to be worth the money, and you still have to use the o2 sensor.
just do the aftermarket chip upgrade, it's the best punch for the buck, and you can change it back!

Slantsixness

[911S_TARGA_RSR]

Straight pipe that Ram. Pull the exhaust off and replace it with two straight pipes and some chrome tips. You will have a lot of power and your truck will sound great.

[Dodgeintheblood]

i have already put a three inch cat-back system on and was just wondering if i could dump the cat for more power.

[BleedDodge]

It should give you more power and gas mileage, provided that you tap holes in the new pipes for the oxygen sensors. If you don't put them back in the exhaust, it will screw up your mileage.

[Dodgeintheblood]

BleedDodge, don't the o2 sensors have to have the cat in place to read right??? not shure???

[slantsixness]

The O2 sensors have to be there, but the cat doesn't.
Two straight pipes will sound like SH%%T. and you won't be able to go down the highway without the exhaust drone giving you a headache and drowning out your tunes. If you want to do duals and straight pipes, save you sanity and at least put some mufflers and a crosspipe. the sound will be more tolerable, and you'll still have better performance. There's a crapload of dodge trucks around here that the guys think "sound good". Without a crosspipe, they really sound like a worn out 4 cylinder with four burnt exaust valves.
lastly, not enough backpressure will turn on your engine light.

Slantsixness

[BleedDodge]

You don't need a crosspipe. Those are proven to add power but they certainly don't make the truck sound any better or worse. My advice would be to remove the cat(s) and put a couple of glasspacks on, then you basically have straightpipes, but a couple of "mufflers" to create that nice rapping sound.

The oxygen sensors don't need a cat to read right, all they need is a place in the exhaust path where it is nice and hot, like close to one of the manifolds or headers, so it can take an accurate reading. The only sensor that does any work is the one closer to the motor, it takes all the oxygen readings, and this is the one that is typically stuck inside the converter. The sensor behind the converter just tells the truck's computer if the converter is operative, so if you take this sensor out completely, or run the truck without a converter, this will throw a code and your check engine light will come on. This is nothing to be worried about, but you'll probably want that first oxygen sensor in place if you want to keep any good kind of gas mileage...

[pind]

the crossover pipe, placed properly, adds to the low end, more than the top. It is a torque generation idea, and it does help. As far as oxygen sensors, and so on, would it be a bad plan to go with a CARB legal setup that includes headers, cats pipes and sensors? Food for thought

[Dodgeintheblood]

if i remove the cat and leave the o2 sensors will it though codes, or is there a way to keep it from messing up the computer??

[BleedDodge]

The post cat sensor will throw a code to the computer telling it that the cat isn't working, since it's not there. This doesn't mean anything though.

[slantsixness]

That "rapping" sound is what sounds so bad. Makes a truck sound like a honda civic with a burnt valve and an idiot(Fast & Clueless) behind the wheel. Yeah everybody wants that...

The crosspipe will also change the "note" of the exhaust and eliminate that damn "sounds like it's missing" sound. Put the post cat sensor behind the crosspipe. Hmm... no codes... how'd that happen? Hey the low end torque increase is very noticeable too.

Try it. You'll like it.

Slantsixness

[BleedDodge]

The rapping is what dual exhaust is all about! I can't believe you think it's bad! It sounds awesome, and it's not burnt valves! I've never heard someone put down rapping before...

You'll get codes regardless of where you put the post cat sensor if there is no cat.

[tomc2]

If you remove the post cat sensor or the cat, it will throw a code. The pre-cat sensor monitors the mixture to determine the efficency rate. The post cat sensor makes sure that the cat is reducing the spent gases to an acceptable level. What you need is called a "Mil Eliminator" it will plug in where the O2 sensor was. This will send a constant signal to the computer telling it the cat is doing its job just fine. It's alot like the performance mod. you were talking about earlier, in that it is basically a resistor. The computer sends out a specific voltage to the o2 sensor, the level of oxygen available in the exhaust stream will cause the resistance through the sensor to change. The Mil Eliminator mimics an acceptable level of resistance, telling the computer that it's ok.
You can just use a cable tie to attach it to something under your truck, You might even tape the connection just to be sure.