Does a pre-muffler really make sense?

[supchg911]

Has anyone experienced a reasonable performance improvement when replacing the cat with a premuffler? Obviously in most parts of the US this is a no no for a street car, so has anyone had their car tested and still passed without the cat? Was there much of a noise level increase along with the change? I have a 3.2 and would like to make this changeover if I could figure out which one to buy. For the price, it seems like it would be worth it.
I appreciate your thoughts.

[livi]

Being located where I am, I donīt need the cat and I have the standard Euro 'pre muffler'.

I am not competent enough giving good advice on this and you will surely wake up the experts soon. But in the mean time - try the search button. I know for a fact this has been discussed several times so there are many pages of very useful info.

Good luck! (Glad I am European in this case )

[jester911]

I don't know how strict your area is but I passed my emission for the last five years with premuffler. I never had a cat on mine so I can't say about how loud but mine is not bad.

It has a lot to do with the muffler you use as well. I have a sport exhaust and it has a good throaty sound but not too loud.

[vanwyk4257]

A friend replaced the stock cat and muffler with a Euro Pre-muffler and M&K 2-out muffler and felt a substantial difference in performance vs. the stock setup. Another friend with a bone-stock SC said it felt much stronger than his car FWIW.

[supchg911]

Thanks guys. It sounds like its worth the time and money. I'll let you know my results in the near future.....as soon as I get my supercharger fixed!

[ben parrish]

Supercharger? What supercharger?

[JBO]

Definitely worth it, if only for the reduced weight, better exhaust tone and reduced heat on that side of the engine.

[JeremyD]

www.911chips.com

[JeremyD]

in other words - a premuffler and a sport muffler will do little - those coupled with an appropriate chip will yield more postive results.

[KNS]

The fact that you lose some weight and reduce the heat on that side was enough for me, I'm glad I got one.

[NY65912]

It worked for me.

[widgeon13]

Is there a difference in pre muffler and by-pass pipe or are they one in the same. I have the Fabspeed cat by-pass and it certainly lets the engine breath better and seems to rev more freely. I'm wondering if I need to switch back to the cat converter for annual inspection in NY, they don't emmision test but do visually inspect. Don't think the person that inspects has advanced degree in cat pipe recognition.

[Decolliber]

I felt that a Steve W chip and Dansk premuffler together made a big difference to my Carrera's responsiveness and acceleration, but I have always been vulnerable to placebo effect, especially when I spend money ...

[movin]

I have an '87 Carrera and tried both premuffler and cat. test pipe (straight pipe). I felt the straight pipe slightly outperformed the more expensive premuffler, at least in my case.

[Rick V]

Originally posted by widgeon13
Don't think the person that inspects has advanced degree in cat pipe recognition.

You would be suprised what your local safty inspector knows. WE arn't all dumbasses. I live in Va not NY but I am an inspector and I can tell you aftermarket exhause stands out like a sore thumb when your car is 6 feet in the air and being scrutenised.

[widgeon13]

Originally posted by Rick V
WE arn't all dumbasses. I live in Va not NY but I am an inspector and I can tell you aftermarket exhause stands out like a sore thumb when your car is 6 feet in the air and being scrutenised.

Sorry for the generalization, very poor judgement on my part.

Guess I better put the cat converter back on when I go for inspection. When I lived in CT, I had to tell them if it was front wheel drive or rear. So I guess I've been influenced in a negative fashion.
Regards

[supchg911]

While I think that a straight pipe might produce more power than a pre muffler, at least the premuffler looks like a cat. Guys like RickV are on the job!

[Nine9six]

Originally posted by Rick V
You would be suprised what your local safty inspector knows. WE arn't all dumbasses. I live in Va not NY but I am an inspector and I can tell you aftermarket exhause stands out like a sore thumb when your car is 6 feet in the air and being scrutenised.

Hmmm,
One thing for sure...Thay dontz no how to spell very gud

[widgeon13]

Originally posted by Nine9six
Hmmm,
One thing for sure...Thay dontz no how to spell very gud

Knot very gud with the punkuasion ether.


I'm just avery bad boy!

[Rick V]

Picking on me about my spelling is kind of like tripping a blind man, it is only funny for about the first 100 times