Pelican Parts Forums - Fab Speed System

Will depend on the car, so you should probably specify. I attempted to get a Fabspeed cat bypass for the '87 track car, but it was never delivered after many promises, so I cancelled with them and bought a Bursch plain steel bypass from our sponsor.

The car already had a "mild" chip in it: A Weltmeister put in by a PO. All I had previously noticed in that chip was a higher redline (up around 7k). When I installed the cat bypass, I also had my mechanic gut my stock muffler. Per my wrench, I also disconnected the O2 sensor. Sound is now great and there is much more flow through the bypass pipe/gutted muffler. Total cost: About $350 including new exhaust system gaskets.

I also continued my weight reduction program, doing a sunroof delete, pulling out the heavy sound deadening pad under the back seats, etc. Probably took another 150# off the car.

I did all of this after a DE at Laguna Seca in late June, where the car felt a little underpowered, even after its initial weight reduction program. Just finished a DE at Thunderhill on Monday of this week. BIG, BIG difference in the car's performance! I think that a lot of it was attributable to the cat bypass and gutted muffler. Although some benefit was gained by the further weight reduction, and T-Hill does not have as much of an elevation change as Laguna.

Conclusion: I believe that a cat bypass and a freer flowing muffler system can make a significant seat-of-the-pants difference, at least they did in my '87. Add to that a Steve Wong chip, and you may no longer recognize the car!

Good Luck,
Tom