...more "exhausting" questions.

[Meanmyz]

Originally Posted by Schrade

You adding the pipes there Meany? Or is Marc?

Sorry Schrade. I gave Marc everything so that once installed, I could get the best "tune".

[We Gone]

Long Tube with cats, I had Marc redo this setup back to a slip fit on collectors and a longer cat as these were about 6 years old and I still have to pass emissions in Ga. for a few more years.

[Meanmyz]

I'll add some thoughts on "why cats".

My point in this excercise of going to 500HP (other than it being fun ) is that when GM produced this car, they left a whole lot of "potential" on the table, and walked away (but not without having learned some things).

I have been a ZR-1 fan since its inception. The way it was introduced and the impression it had on me was it being the "be all, end all" Corvette.

So, without changing displacement ($$$$), I am going at it like "what if GM had done more"? What if other than the enthusiastic engineers, that the bean counters and higher management at GM too, would have all been on board, at making a truly, most badass statement (even more than so), and had taken the car closer to it's horsepower potential?

That is my dream of what I want my car to be. In all it's high tech, highly sofisticated (for the time) glory, cats and all, taking the car closer to the "nth degree" as an example of what it could have been.

Ok, I'll get off the soap box now. If I was a big drag racer, I would probably be looking for every edge (take off the cats, or ANY restrictions I could find) in my efforts or goals to go faster. Any car can usually be made faster (especially if you dump all of the emissions crap), but that is not what I wanted this car to be.

[Meanmyz]

Originally Posted by We Gone

Long Tube with cats, I had Marc redo this setup back to a slip fit on collectors and a longer cat as these were about 6 years old and I still have to pass emissions in Ga. for a few more years.

Thanks Steve. Those are definitely an example of "long tube" headers.

[mike100]

I suppose i could get 5 peak hp more if I ran without catalysts, all else being equal, but I chose to put them back on the car so my eyes wouldn't water every time i stopped at an intersection with my windows down.

observations seat-of-the-pants wise: Running headers without cats with my stock cat-back (no resonator) felt a good bet less powerful on top vs my 3" StainlessWorks system running the LS7 cats.
It is all in the mufflers and pipes. Properly sized catalysts have a smaller restriction on the overall picture. If i dyno out at 396 rwhp, I would not pull them off for the sake of round numbers or bragging rights.

[Meanmyz]

Geez, I must have been drunk when I wrote my last posts. I went back in and edited. Note to self: don't post if you don't have time!

[mike100]

Originally Posted by Meanmyz

Geez, I must have been drunk when I wrote my last posts. I went back in and edited. Note to self: don't post if you don't have time!

I was on the same page- I thought it was ok.

[ZR1North]

Very timely post (We Gone); that's just the set up I am looking for.

[Bob Eyres]

Originally Posted by WARP TEN

After a total of about 15 years with Corsas (and cats), which I liked the best, I have now gone back to a stock system with no cats and cutouts. --Bob

A good choice, (and cheap too). The best of both worlds at the flip of a switch.