What Is A Cat Grrrrrrrr

can some one explain to me what the diff between a reg exhaust and a cat back kuz ive heard so many diff things i dont know what to think anymore

By regular exhaust I assume you mean a rear section or just a muffler. A rear section/muffler is just that, it starts from around the rear LCA and produces no hp gain just sound. A cat back is just that . The larger piping starts from your cat converter all the way to the muffler which produces hp/trq gains.

so pretty much if u go out and buy some 5 inch muff. it dont do shit at all? lmfao there are some stupid stupid people in arizona..........and what other exhaust options are there?

the only thing it will do is add looks to your car, you will see no gains from it. another exhuast option would be to do the entire thing, from the header back.

buy a new header, a high-flow catalytic convertor, some mandrel bent oversize piping and a nice muffler can net you around 10hp or more.

eh, ive seen gains on a dyno from just a muffler...but those are minimal compared to a full cat-back exhaust, and i agree with crxlvr, do the whole thing. if youre doing it piece by piece (like most of us with limited money ;) ) the amount of gains you'll get in each area depend on the OEM system and which area is causing the most blockage. i did the catback first just because my old one rusted out and i needed to replace it anyway...

oh, and i still make fun of people who just get the muffler. especially that naaasty APC rolled tip...ugh.

as long as its not the LED tip with the flames.

Originally posted by B16EJ1
A rear section/muffler is just that, it starts from around the rear LCA and produces no hp gain just sound.

some show gains. the 2000+ celica shows gains with just about any brand of axle back exhaust, with tanabe and TRD topping the list. it really depends on the crappiness of the stock axleback.

I'd like to see exactly what hp gains you guys are talking about. I don't doubt the fact that there are gains but my definition of gains are not 1-2 hp. Most axelback piping are the same bends but bigger piping and straight flow mufflers but the main restictions are still at the manifold and cat so what exact numbers are gained with just the axelback? In other words, " SHOW ME THE MONEY ".

Originally posted by B16EJ1
I'd like to see exactly what hp gains you guys are talking about. I don't doubt the fact that there are gains but my definition of gains are not 1-2 hp. Most axelback piping are the same bends but bigger piping and straight flow mufflers but the main restictions are still at the manifold and cat so what exact numbers are gained with just the axelback? In other words, " SHOW ME THE MONEY ".

i dont remember. one of the import mags did a comparison on all the major brands that have axle backs for the celica. im pretty sure on cars where the exhaust doesnt have many bends that an axle back wont improve it much, but if you know what the bottom of the celica looks like, you'd understand why that section of the exhaust can be improved upon so much more than the other sections.

well you said you dont count 1-2 hp as gains, but thats exactly what i meant when i said "minimal compared to a catback." its not gonna be a lot, and there very little chance youll notice anything, but its been dynoed (i think like 1-3hp and 1-2 ft.lb of torque?) . i wouldnt recommend just getting a muffler...causes you more work in the long run if youre somewhat serious about performance. and re: the LED tip mufflers, youre right, thats about as bad as it gets.

I assume you mean at the flywheel because I highly doubt that you mean to the wheels. If so please provide proof. I am really having a hard time grasping the concept.

with just an axle back, you'll be lucky to see any improvement to the wheels, if at all. like i said just adding a muffler will do nothing but change the cars sound and the ass end look of the car, but do it right, get at least a cat-back exhuast and you might see a 2hp gain to the wheels.

Originally posted by crxlvr
with just an axle back, you'll be lucky to see any improvement to the wheels, if at all. like i said just adding a muffler will do nothing but change the cars sound and the ass end look of the car, but do it right, get at least a cat-back exhuast and you might see a 2hp gain to the wheels.

see on most cars i agree, but theres some cars where the stock design of the mid pipe is ok, mostly because theres no bends in it, and then from there it gets really bad. look at the 4th gen civic, it makes four 90 degree angles before it exits out the back, and two of them are on the mid pipe, and two are on the axle back. if you make the exhaust exit out the other side, like the 5zigen, you eliminate two of the 90s. i think that in this case, this would show a pretty big improvement, although going catback with a 5zigen would show a bit bigger. and although i havent tested it, its prolly better to have a 5zigen style axleback than to have a DC sports catback, simply because the DC sports still uses those 4 90 degree angles. and those murder flow.

i ended my exhuast on the passenger side also, i dont think i really gained to much from that. the dc sports, tanabe, and thermal units all exdit at the driver side, and are made specifically for your car to maximize performance, but if you dont wanna shell out 500+ for a cat back, go to your local muffler shop and just custom it like i did.

Originally posted by crxlvr
i ended my exhuast on the passenger side also, i dont think i really gained to much from that. the dc sports, tanabe, and thermal units all exdit at the driver side, and are made specifically for your car to maximize performance, but if you dont wanna shell out 500+ for a cat back, go to your local muffler shop and just custom it like i did.

eyah i know they are engineered to give the most gain, but i cant help but wonder how much better it would be if they coulda did without 2 of the 90s. either running it out the passenger side, or going out the drivers side but by passing under the drivers side lower control arm instead. we will see, cause thats what im doing

well they add those extra bends so it still comes out under the notch in your bumper, im sure it adds nothing more by that point.

if i get a cat-back system, and i dont like the sound, can i just change the rear muffler tip exhaust part or do i gotta buy a new one:biggrin:

You can buy a muffler that has a tunable silencer also. Personally I think that defeats the purpose of a "high flow" muffler but it will make it sound different. Of course this only applies if you get a custom made cat back, but I think that is the way to go anyway. With the money you save you can buy a performance header too.

thanx, i think u answered all my threads:icon16:

The only mufflers I can't stand are the ones that sound like stock after some guy took a power drill to them. High performance does not require a kazoo sound.

lol...man I haven't heard a kazoo in a long time and hearing you say that word made me laugh my ass off. I need to get like 20 of those fucking things and stuff them at the tip of my exhaust and see what it sounds like...Zooooooooooooooooo...Yeah i'm fuckin drunk. Anyways, what's with those dyno tests in Import turner...are they full of shit...cause I remember reading that an I/H/E set up for the accord said = 20+ hp and 15+ tq at the wheels. Is this bull shit?

Love my ExMag by RS*R. 2X10degree bends, big canister. can really hear that vtec. rrrrrrrr *POP* WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! sweet. about $500. yeah do what he said, open it up from the block to the tip. tanabe 4-2-1 going to a j's racing straight pipe, to my RS*R. I've heard crap that i need a certain amount of back pressure or i'll ruin my head. BS. i've been running this system for over a year now, eating RWD Eunos's (those are Miatas) and turbo 180SXs, turbo R32 skylines too (not GTRs tho) with no problems. i live in japan by the way. low end hp might not be as good, but once i get into the 4-5000 range, it's noticeable. i haven't dyno'd cuz i'll have to drop off my car...which wouldn't be a problem if i didn't have a JOB! sheesh. i've got my mods listed in another thread and i don't feel like regurgitating it here, but i realistically estimate somewhere just over 200 hp. my teg's no type r, but it does the job. oh and i spanked one one of those brand new dc5 type r's last week, so i guess what i have is enough. but anyway, a cat is not a cat. a cat is your catalytic converter. that's the hot thing under your car that was made to shut up those tree hugging liberals by burning off whatever putrid, bird-killing fuel and poisonous ozone-destroying gasses. if you take it off and look inside, it looks like a honeycomb tunnel. these things get hot and cook those evil gasses before they have a chance to escape and raise ocean levels. it's second job is to choke your horsepower. that's why you should "punch your cat." Meeoooo-ouch!