I searched and i know the differences but i was unable to find a direct answer to my question.

I currently have a Agency Power Catback and love the sound. I want to get rid of my cat however i do not want to change the sound of the exhaust that much. I was planning on simply gutting the stock pipe because it seems like this will give me the extra performance (not as much as a mid-pipe), allow me to shoot some flames ;), and only barely increase the sound of the AP exhaust.

I have looked into the AP dual resonated mid-pipe but im worried its going to be to loud and raspy for my taste.

So will gutting the stock cat give me what im looking for?

Thanks in advance

I would get a dual res pipe like the RB pipe... I don't think it's a good idea to gut a cat and then have to buy a new one if you get in trouble or need an inspection. If you ever need the cat again it'll end up being a wash.

and I think it's the cat material itself, which you plan on removing, that muffles / creates the specific sound in the first place

I think my current cat is on the way out so i was going to take it to my buddy at the dealership and get a new one on warranty and gut the bad one. As far as noise level though you think a dual resonated would sound better than a gutted cat?

I had my cat gutted for a few weeks before I put my midpipe on. The gutted cat is a bit quieter than the midpipe, but I got an annoying buzzing at about 3000-4000 RPM, like a metal-on-metal type buzzing. I really like the sound of my AP midpipe, but it'll definitely make it louder. I just have a midpipe with stock muffler and it already sounds like I have a catback. I would recommend getting the midpipe. I've read on here that having a gutted cat disrupts the airflow, and can be counterproductive.

I would get a dual res pipe like the RB pipe... I don't think it's a good idea to gut a cat and then have to buy a new one if you get in trouble or need an inspection. If you ever need the cat again it'll end up being a wash.

this guy speaks the truth...i have my cat in the garage just in case i need it, dont gut it unless your cat is already gone, those things are expensive

im going to have my good brand new cat as backup. Im not going to gut my one and only cat so thats not the issue. I just want to make sure im not wasting my time by gutting and installing one and have it turn out to be overly loud.

so if you're going to get a new one as a spare, then what's left to question? you can find out what the gutted cat sounds like firsthand - nothing to lose. if you don't like it, you can then buy the resonated race pipe you mentioned.

The wider piping of the hollow cat body will cause flow issues, either with the pulse or it will add turbulence or both, which will affect the exhaust gas's scavenging ability. If it were me, I would try to find a high flow cat, which would give you a nice performance and sound change without interrupting the flow as severely or at all.

I think my current cat is on the way out so i was going to take it to my buddy at the dealership and get a new one on warranty and gut the bad one. As far as noise level though you think a dual resonated would sound better than a gutted cat?

This will work until someone reports you to Obama!

this guy speaks the truth...i have my cat in the garage just in case i need it, dont gut it unless your cat is already gone, those things are expensive

+1 I got the ap dr midpipe and love the sound can't wait to get the catback and shoot bigger flames!! Lol but the stock cat like dozer said is really expencive. If you still want a cat go with the rp supercat.

This will work until someone reports you to Obama!

You post some pretty stupid shit somtimes, don't ya?

you can flame with the stock cat installed.

you can flame with the stock cat installed.

May I ask how?

Drive around at 6500 for a little bit to heat up your exhaust system, then rev it.

Drive around at 6500 for a little bit to heat up your exhaust system, then rev it.

I shall try this on thursday.

Although being AT, that may make it more difficult.

I doubt you will be able to especially since you can only rev to 7???k. But worth a try I suppose

I doubt you will be able to especially since you can only rev to 7???k. But worth a try I suppose

Well, if I find out I can't or I can, I'll post here lol

Now I just gotta find a place where I can go 6500rpms for a while... I really don't want to do that in first gear :rofl:

Mine is gutted, and I like the sound. Still have stock exhaust. My performance is greatly improved too but that may be because my cat was shot anyway. I gutted it because upon removal, grey dust and chunks of honeycomb fell out. I have a high flow on backup in case I don't pass inspection next year, but for now, I am satisified with what I got.

To get a sweet backfire + bark into 2nd all at once:
1. heat exhause for 10 seconds or so by driving the shit out of it or just redlining.
2. Floor it in first gear to redline.
3. Timing is key here. Shift to second. Floor it and try to dump the clutch with the rpms just slightly higher than your rev-matched rmp for 2nd gear.
4. See if any pedestrians have fainted and call the proper rescue services...
5.Repeat steps 2-4 from second to third gear...

im going to have my good brand new cat as backup. Im not going to gut my one and only cat so thats not the issue. I just want to make sure im not wasting my time by gutting and installing one and have it turn out to be overly loud.

i Just gutted my cat recently and i love the sound. The only other thing performance wise that i have would be my simota intake. the gutted cat only amplified the sound by a certain amount. you really cant even tell the difference at idle. only when you step on the throttle then you hear a deeper/amplified sound. like i said the sound is great and the performance is the same, not sure if i have lost any hp but it feels the same.

I will try and take a video of the sound tonight if i can/can remember


Mine is gutted, and I like the sound. Still have stock exhaust. My performance is greatly improved too but that may be because my cat was shot anyway. I gutted it because upon removal, grey dust and chunks of honeycomb fell out. I have a high flow on backup in case I don't pass inspection next year, but for now, I am satisified with what I got.

To get a sweet backfire + bark into 2nd all at once:
1. heat exhause for 10 seconds or so by driving the shit out of it or just redlining.
2. Floor it in first gear to redline.
3. Timing is key here. Shift to second. Floor it and try to dump the clutch with the rpms just slightly higher than your rev-matched rmp for 2nd gear.
4. See if any pedestrians have fainted and call the proper rescue services...
5.Repeat steps 2-4 from second to third gear...


Like i said my cat is gutted, but you can do this with an AT?

I would get a dual res pipe like the RB pipe... I don't think it's a good idea to gut a cat and then have to buy a new one if you get in trouble or need an inspection. If you ever need the cat again it'll end up being a wash.

I agree with EMart 100%.

I have run several different replacements for the cat and might as well share my experiences just in case it may help you. My car has a Racing Beat dual exhaust and that has never changed to this point.

1. RacingBeat Mid-pipe: Louder than I care to drive around town as my daily driver. Had to be careful not to get on it too much. Wound up installing only for track events.

2. RP SuperCat: Sounded great. Loved it and drove it 100% of the time. It was nice to not have to change for track. The first track event however, the shrouds around my exhaust tips were melted. I found this interesting because the RB Mid-pipe didn't do that. So, I gutted the RP SuperCat. Sounded louder and was actually quite nice. The loudness was in between the RacingBeat and OEM. I eventually took a dremmel tool to the shrouds after the second set was burned out and just eliminated all the plastic in that area.

3. RP SuperCat - Gutted: This was a pipe that I was very satisfied with but it was too loud for daily use again and I was back to installing it for track events.

4. ExoticSpeed single resonated mid-pipe: Oh, I loved this pipe, got a great deal on it used from a friend. This mid-pipe was not a problem to drive to work on a daily basis however, I would change it out to my OEM for daily driving if I was not going to track for a couple months. The only reason I'm not using it now is because the support post that connects to the rubber hanger broke off at the weld, exposing a hole in the pipe about the size of a quarter.

5. RacingBeat Dual resonated mid-pipe: On order and will have next tuesday. I also ordered a RacingBeat single racing exhaust at the same time. I plan to run the mid-pipe with the dual exhaust and then try it with the single to compare. Guess I'll report back on that if you are interested.

you have it bad Don!
the pipe with the hole in it sounded good on the track vids.
OD