joe_5.0

im thinkin of hollowing out my cats and i was wondering:my car isa completely stock 1989 5.0 lx and will the lack of cats in my exhaust give me any extra horsepower or torque or could i lose some horsepower and torque from doin that?

tyler72

Well, it depends. How many miles are on the car??? Over time, cats can get clogged up, and if they are, then there will be excessive back pressure, and it will cause power loss. Generally speaking, cats should not effect power though (unless they are clogged). However, that being said, I personally like the sound of a cat-free exhaust better, and your car will run just fine without them. As long as you don't have to pass emissions, then removing them wont hurt anything.

joe_5.0

its got about 200k miles on it

PRO50SC

The only thing it's gonna hurt is if you have to go thru emissions. Otherwise, get rid of them.

raven_ghostwolf

Hollowed out the ones on my 87 didn't hurt a thing and with a good tune and good o2 sensors I was still able to pass the tail sniffer here in AZ. Makes a huge difference in the exhaust tone

bdptcob

Mine passed Texas emissions fine without cats.

camaroeater

Lose em' and throw on a O/R H or X.

HACKGT350

dont even bother gutting them get a nice off road h or x pipe and youll be all set. keep the stock pipe if you do need to go through emissions

joe_5.0

ok im gonna hollow mine out this weekend.im also wondering about taking the smog pump off of my car.where is it located and what do i have to do to remove it.does anyonehave a link to a website that gives instructions or have pictures detailing removing it?

OneFine89Mustang

get rid of the cats you will be happier that way