no cats vs. stock cats vs. high flow cats for my application?

[bigr1]

What do you guys think? I am putting a Belanger Cat-Back system on my 1994 Viper. I am also putting jet-caoted 2001 Viper headers on the 1994 Viper. I dont want the Viper to be horribly loud! So my question is:

Should i keep the stock cats for this application, go with no cats, or go with high flow cats? i drive this Viper 99.9% of this time cruising the local streets, so i dont want to make it too loud, i just want it to sound a little meaner than stock. Thanks guys!

[bigr1]

Also, now that i think of it. Will deleting the cats affect the O2 sensors? Will deleting the cats affect the computer? I thought i may have read that somewhere in an archived topic at one point, but i am not 100% sure.

[joe117]

I've got the stock cats and Belanger 3" mufflers on my 94. It's loud but not like an open straight pipe. It has a great rumble when I let off and coast in gear. I think you will like it. If you live in a quiet neighborhood you might be unpopular coming in late at night.
If you got the same kit that I got from JonB, be prepared to make up the brackets out of the rod stock that is provided in the kit. I was able to do it but it's a real pain with lots of room for error and no patterns or instructions of any kind. I expected more of a finished package for the price of the kit. All that being said, I'm not complaining.

[joe117]

Do you need cats to pass any emission testing?

[Anthony - 98 GTS]

I would recommend high flow cats for your situation. If your concerned about the sound level - I think no cats would be too loud.

[joe117]

If the high flow cats make it any louder than the stock ones, it's going to be VERY LOUD. Like I said, mine is loud with the stock cats.
I guess stock cats will negate some of the advantage of the headers but are you ever going to race the car?

[bigr1]

no ,i dont need the emisions thing, but after reading some of the archived posts, i am leary about the gas smell?

i also will be driving the call almost ALL the time on the street, so noise is a major concern of mine.

JOE117- can you offer me any installation tips, becuase i have the same exact system as you have, thanks! also, did you notice any power increase with the kit? do you have any other mods? also, how many hours installation should this cat-back take? thanks. how hard is it?

[joe117]

You need to have an acetylene torch to bend the 3/8" or 1/2" rods that need to be welded to the mufflers. These form the brackets that hold the mufflers to the rubber mounting points. You will need to be able to cut the old system apart, weld on the new mufflers to the old cats, weld the brackets, that you made, to the new mufflers, cut the bent, 3" turnouts and weld them to the new mufflers. All this has to be done just right in terms of length and angle in order to get the turnout to come out of the sidepipe cover hole. And remember, the sidepipe cover will be off, so you have to remember or mark somehow where the opening will be when it is in place. I was amazed when everything lined up on mine. It took all day.
As for performance, I'd say that good headers with a total high flow exhaust would probably only get you 35hp or so. Your installation, and mine, are somewhat less efficient than that and will probably give you less. Could you feel 20hp? I don't think so. At the drags it would probably give you .2 seconds. It's all for the sound in my opinion.
ps. I went to a Viper event one time and my car set off car alarms in two Vipers in the parking lot. Do you want to be louder than that?
I have no mods other than 3.55 gears.

[bigr1]

ha, no. i think that will be loud enough for me!

[99 R/T 10]

I've got Headers with 3" exhaust and no cats. I think the sound is great and roars when I step on it. No gas smell at all, great mod. I'm in AL, so no inspection.

Mike

[bigr1]

but you dont have the side pipes my friend.

[pjb]

bigr1 -> ive got the belanger cat-back w/stock cats on my 93 and its LOUD. Although LOUD is a subjective issue, if you will be driving it a lot and you are concerned about noise, then Id go with either the stock cats or the high-flows. I couldnt even imagine driving my car w/o cats. After driving it now, my ears ring for awhile. btw, its even a tiny bit louder now with the hardtop on (i think the exhaust note is reverberating in the cabin). sounds great though

[FrankBarba]

i have a 95. You need to come down to harrisburg and take a listen. high performance, high flow, no headers, you gotta believe.

[99 R/T 10]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
but you dont have the side pipes my friend.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
True, true......

[Makara]

I had 3" high flow cats and belanger cat back on my 94. The car was really loud. I couldn't have a conversation in it if I was moving at all. It sounded good, but really loud. I did a sound level test on it to see how illegal it was. By california law, the car must measure 95 dBA from 30" away from the pipe while the car slowly revs from 2,000 to 5,000 while out of gear. It hit 117 dBA before 4,000.