leperboy

Finally had my X-pipe and new cats installed today. I don't know... I sort of was getting used to the loose, rattly, rumble of the old setup. Plus, I could get a good sense of how the left bank of the engine was doing since the downpipe was rusted through.



The hole in the exhaust was so bad I couldn't hear the radio. The exhaust crumbled once it was unbolted from the manifold.

The new set up is SLC Motorsports X with Thunderbolt 300-cpi steel substrate cats, new O2 sensor. The cats were a smidgen too wide for the downpipe and mid-exhaust, so a little welding had to be done (not by me). The old flange bolts were so rusted that it took impact wrench, Sawzall and cutting torch to get them undone, then chisel and hammer to drive the old bolts through the flange. The old air pump pipe is dummied up to look like it's working for any cursory visual inspection.

Holy crap does it sound sweet. And after driving around with a huge hole in the exhaust, I have no idea why people say an X-pipe is loud. There is a noticeable improvement in power too.




Matt

leperboy

A question regarding the air pump set up: Would be value in routing the air pump pipes up over the cats and under the heat shield and pump air in that cavity? Does anyone thing that would help keep the cabin cool by keeping the exhaust heat out? I haven't felt heat there, but have heard others complain about it.

Matt

Jim M.

Your old cats needed the air pump for correct operation. The new cats don't need aux air. I'd dump the air pump! It's robbing horsepower, adding weight and currently serves no purpose. If you don't have a heat problem then your insulation foam in the tunnel and shifter area is still okay. Don't try to fix a problem you don't have.

Jim mayzurk
93 GTS 5-spd

leperboy

Well, that's the long-term plan, but living in a state with emissions testing, I have to be conservative until it is tested. Then I can see if they inspect the air pump, and if not, remove it. In some states, they definitely look for the air pump, so my suggestion was for those who may need to leave it there and looking like it works.

Matt

Mike Frye

Well, there's yer problem!

Matt,

Congrats and welcome to the club.

Do you have the cats welded to the crossovers in the front? I haven't seen that before. Mine have the clamps in the front and rear. Supposedly for removal if I'm at a track, but I imagine that would be a major PITA. That's a good idea.

Interesting idea for the air pump. I don't know about your state, but mine only does the sniff test and the cats brought me down to passing, so the smog pump is soon to be history!

leperboy

I'm not convinced it's a good idea, but it was necessary because of the diameter of the cats. I think having them clamped front and back gives you more freedom and the ability to put a straight pipe in whenever you want to. I guess if I get serious about DEs and track days, I can get a dedicated x-pipe for it, but that's $$$.

Matt

Imo000

Why not just disconnect the air tube at the passenger side, where the factory connector is and leave the tube open? If you must have the tube hooked up to the exhaust, use CO ports on each side as a connection point.