96 exhaust
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Joined: Jul 2007
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96 exhaust
i have a dual exhaust on my 96 f150 302 with a super 40 flowmaster muffler and i want to cut my cat off but first i was just wondering if i needed to worry about it causin any problems. also instead of cutting cat off should i just gut it out and how would i do this.... thanks
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,214
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From: Rio Rancho USA
This gets talked about at least once a week.
Cutting your cat off breaks all kinds of laws. Regardless of what your local laws are, there are FEDERAL ones also.
DONT gut your cat. This makes an expansion chamber and ruins flow. Not that your worried about flow much with the muffler you have.
Get under your truck. If there is a O2 sensor AFTER the cat ( I doubt it with a '96 but check anyway ) you will need a MIL elininator to keep your check engine light from coming on.
Do some searching, there is TONS of info on here to learn before you do anything.
Cutting your cat off breaks all kinds of laws. Regardless of what your local laws are, there are FEDERAL ones also.
DONT gut your cat. This makes an expansion chamber and ruins flow. Not that your worried about flow much with the muffler you have.
Get under your truck. If there is a O2 sensor AFTER the cat ( I doubt it with a '96 but check anyway ) you will need a MIL elininator to keep your check engine light from coming on.
Do some searching, there is TONS of info on here to learn before you do anything.
Former ******
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,901
Likes: 2
From: Salt Lake City, Utah
If your truck is made after '96 and is under 8500 GVW, it is OBD-II compliant and has downstream O2 sensors to monitor cat efficiency. Removing the cats or gutting them will trigger a CEL, and the potential benefits are outweighed by the problems you could encounter, and it is illegal. MIL eliminators are illegal in the US, and often cost more than high flow cats.
Actually Flowmasters do flow very well, lots of articles by shops and installers that found on some applications the power gains rivaled or exceeded those from straight through type designs. I have a similar type muffler and have found that the gains were very significant over stock. Seems to defy logic I know, but exhaust is a complicated thing sometimes. Just because one design can flow better doesn't meant that it translates to better performance. I just really depends.
Back to the cats, if they aren't broken, don't fix them, just leave them alone. If you want more noise and power, consider an intake kit or going with a good high flow cat.
Actually Flowmasters do flow very well, lots of articles by shops and installers that found on some applications the power gains rivaled or exceeded those from straight through type designs. I have a similar type muffler and have found that the gains were very significant over stock. Seems to defy logic I know, but exhaust is a complicated thing sometimes. Just because one design can flow better doesn't meant that it translates to better performance. I just really depends.
Back to the cats, if they aren't broken, don't fix them, just leave them alone. If you want more noise and power, consider an intake kit or going with a good high flow cat.
