Thoughts on this cat bypass pipe

khamul02 · khamul02's Garage

I picked this up because it was SS and about $100 less than any of the others I've seen.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320066346969

I shot an email to the seller who told me the pipes were manufactured for his company.

Any thoughts, experience with these guys?

khamul02 · khamul02's Garage

They ussally list them at a starting bid of $220. I saw one go for
$159 a couple months ago. Seems like if they are overstocked they reduce the stating price.

real550A · real550A's Garage

Similar to a Fabspeed, a little thinner chamber is all. It will be
louder than the stock cat, but may not add h.p.

sirhc37 · 01-06-2007, 12:45 AM

I've seen those as well, I'd be curious to hear your opinions after you install it. Subscribed!

fiz140 · 01-06-2007, 06:16 AM

I bought one of these off ebay for $149.00 before shipping. It fit well, and the quality seems good. Unfortunately I did not notice much if any difference in sound or performance.

xpensivewino · 01-06-2007, 06:46 AM

I ran one for years on my SC before going to headers. They produce a much nicer sound than the cat, but no performance up grade that I could feel. I believe it ran a bit cooler and perhaps reved a bit quicker than with a cat, but never quite as smooth as a factory set up.

Mattcamp · 01-06-2007, 07:22 AM

I bought one for my '84; $175 delivered.....Quality is very good......although mine had a small dent close to the large flange......less than 1/8" deep and about as big around as a quarter.(cosmetic only; but still bugged me.)
My friend bought one for his SC and the same thing with his, small cosmetic dent/scratch.........
Everything lines up perfect; not much louder, but is is a little louder.
It definately revs up quicker. But I do get a very small random backfire every once in a while. (my friend saw fire shoot out my tailpipe)

khamul02 · khamul02's Garage

The idea of gaining a bit more audio and a tad HP is nice. But I really wanted it to make my life easier when it comes to valve adjustments.

There have been several threads about adding an additional pipe to the other side of the stock muffler for a more aggressive sound. I don't want anything ridiculously loud so I'll go with a small port. Anyho, I thought I would add the cat bypass before I ported the muffler. Again, I don't want it to sound too much different than a stock setup.

One other note, several on this board recommend the set up I'm talking about over spending $1500+ on an aftermarket exhaust. Those threads suggest the performance gains are equal (if you want to keep your heat).

I'll reply to this post with my thoughts about this bypass pipe. Of course it will just be a comparison between it and the stock cat.

sammyg2 · 01-06-2007, 08:59 AM

They are a little lighter than the cat, but that is the only advantage as far as how they work.
I put one on my car before I installed the turbo because I got it for $50. It was OK but didn't really make much difference. At first I thought it did , but it was prolly just in my mind.

khamul02 · khamul02's Garage

I'm a newbie but can you really "feel" a 10 hp gain?

Mattcamp · 01-06-2007, 10:31 AM

Tom,
I really doubt there is 10 hp gain.......It's really tough to say how much gain there is but definately not 10 hp; IMO.....It is 10 pounds lighter than the stock cat.

khamul02 · khamul02's Garage

fiz140, I agree. I didn't feel or hear much difference. I did notice a very slight increase in volume and a tad bit of a deeper tone. But not much. Nothing in way of HP but I really find it hard to believe you could feel a 10 or less HP gain.
It is a ton lighter than the stock cat. And there is a ton more room to do that next vavle adjustment. Oh and it looks damn good. Flawless production.