I was thinking about getting a test pipe are there any cons to having one?

[TypeX4Sho]

is there anything i am sacrifising by doing away with the cat? thanks

[ILikeMy240sx]

Performance wise no.

[sl87]

most likely lost of torque (not much), but more high end.

[SeanC]

BACKPRESSURE IS NOT NEEDED IN A FORCED INDUCTION SET-UP!!! nor is it needed in a n/a set-up. all that is needed in an n/a set-up is exhaust gas velocity... after the header collector all the exhaust does is quiet the resonance and move the gas to the rear

[rudee023]

Louder compared to running a catylytic onverter and more backfiring

[TypeX4Sho]

i put it in today and i love it nothin is wrong at all and deff a difference insound and a lil more power from the turbo i love it...thanks guys

[adrianfromthecastle]

if you live in cali... its definitely not worth it. the hp gain (probably like 1-4hp if any) can be probably compensated with just taking off 10 pounds off your car.
Modified by adrians_s13 at 4:07 PM 8/21/2006

[nzmoman]

do you have other restrictions on your car because test pipe will add 1-5 hp at the wheels and it will be more effective in creating power if the car is built up. cats are too restrictive. I dont use them on any of my vehicles anymore

[justmerging]

I run a test pipe on my car in cali, but i seldom drive it on the streets. If it is your daily driver i would consider getting a high flow cat from someone such as magnaflow. You can get quite a steep fine in cali (iirc it a minimum $2000 for running no cat, don't quote me though).

[aaronsnocker1]

Yeah I would say the biggest downside is the increase in tailpipe emmisions. Do your little part and buy a high flow cat from one of our sponsor sites. I don't think the difference between high flow and test pipe will be that much and the cat will decrease emmisions. Be a responsible enthusiast.

[TypeX4Sho]

haha nahh i live in South Carolina they really dont give a ****

[aaronsnocker1]

Yeah and I live in Nebraska and they don't give a crap either. I was just saying that the increase in power(negligable)isn't really worth the extra pollution being spewed out. That is what I meant by be responsible.

[240TweakerNewbee]

I live in Cali and I run a high flow 3in cat. The performance loss is more than what you guys are saying. I did a dyno before and after the cat, it was 25hp loss and 20tq; not to mention the power kicked in later even at the same boost level so there was more lag. Not only does the cat kill the power but it also reduces the life of the gaskets around the turbo and down pipe because of the back pressure. It's a huge sacrifice as far as performance.

[aaronsnocker1]

Sorry I should clarify. I am talking about a stock engine. Of course the gains and losses will be much different on a F/I engine. Ah well.

[kamikazestorm420]

if you live in cali... its definitely not worth it. the hp gain (probably like 1-4hp if any) can be probably compensated with just taking off 10 pounds off your car.

Modified by adrians_s13 at 4:07 PM 8/21/2006

if they look under the car and they see a test pipe its a hefty fine in CA.

so what i did was ... gut out the cat. if you take out my cat and look thru you wont see anything in the way. so when they do look underneath my car it will look like i have a cat. (i doubt they will since i have a hks downpipe to gutted cat to the stock exhaust, so they shouldnt have a reason to)

[180fan]

bleh minimal gains if any from running a test pipe. Biggest benefit I see in it is having one less thing that can screw up.

Lots of you guys will start feeling the pinch later when emissions laws follows CA's lead on the matter. It will just be a matter of time.

If not in fear of the police, run it for cleaner air that you will be breathing. It'll just be a matter of time before we all eff ourselves, might as well try to keep it to a minimum or make the air at least half decent for our kids.