Has anyone just kept the stock MCS exhaust and remove just the 2nd Cat?

I'm thinking about doing this cheapy mod (mortgage poor at the moment) and am looking for opinions on drone.

I drive mostly highway at a steady speed, so I don't want to be driven bonkers.

I think removing the cat will free it up a bit and possibly make a bit more sound.

I know a lot of people have removed the cat and the resonator and replaced the muffler, but I'm not looking for anything that radical.

 

I had the 2nd cat and resonator removed before I got my custom magnaflow exhaust.

There was no drone at all. It was just a little louder on the freeway and when you are on the gas.

You could also hear some pops when the car was still cold. IMO it is a great mod that only costs about $50-$60.

Here is a video of my Mini with them removed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEPT4...rl_4KdWCphU_Hg

 

Watched the vid, thanks. Hard to believe that there is no drone with the amount of noise you get.

I also watched the vid of your custom Magnaflow. I was thinking of doing a custom Magnaflow too, but couldn't find enough info on a good resonator match. Care to share your setup?

BTW: I like your mods - well thought out.

 

My setup is the follow: Magnaflow Muffler Part# 14218, Magnaflow Tips Part# 35121, and Magnaflow resonator Part# 10416. I bought all these parts from http://www.performancepeddler.com/catalog/ and they cost around $250-$275.

I then took the parts to a muffler shop and had them provide the 2.5" piping and do the install. The exhaust is from the flexpoint all the way back. I think the total cost for install and everything was around $450-$500.

Personally, I think my exhaust is just right. It's loud, but not too loud. It can get loud around the 2,500 to 3,000RPM range when you are doing around 75mph on the freeway, but it is more loud than drony.

If you have any other questions let me know.

 

Thanks for the info, that is exactly what I have been thinking about doing, and probably will when the money is there.

Will the chain muffler shops do an install like this, or do you have to take it to a custom shop?

 

I would take it to a custom muffler shop. Just make sure they don't rip you off.
The install with the provided piping should cost no more than $150-$225.
Also, the exhaust tips either need a sleeve or they need to be expanded. This is because they start at 2.25" and the exhaust is 2.5".
The exhaust shop should be able to do this for you. I had my tips expanded to 2.5" to fit on the end of the muffler.

 

@Davidoyo: I toyed with the 2nd cat / resonator removal, but found all of the shops in my area were reluctant to remove the 2nd cat.

I went to a Speed Shop who deals with Magnaflow exhaust and gave him your part numbers. He said he had everything in stock and could do the whole job for $400, so that's what I went with. He installed it from the 2nd cat back, which I figured was better than the hassle of signing a waiver promising that it was for off road use only and that they could not be held liable. Sounds like B.S., but they are the only ones who even entertained cutting the cat out.

I love the sound, but it is loud inside the car. You're right, it doesn't seem to be drony, just loud.

Does resonator placement make a difference? He installed it just after the 2nd cat, not further down where the original resonator was.

 

I left the 2nd cat on mine and went 2.5" from it, deleted the resonator and went with (of all things) a Flow master ..... single inlet and dual outlets. Surprisingly it gave the a really nice sound.

A couple of weeks ago I had it in for the recall and when it was pulled into the service bay several of the mechanic and a couple of the other customers came over wanting to know what cat back I had put on the car.....lol

 

As far as I am concerned, resonator placement can make a difference in the loudness and tone of the exhaust. The placement of your resonator is probably only about 8-12 inches back from where I put mine since I removed the 2nd cat, so I don't think there should be too much of a difference. If the exhaust is too loud for you, you could look into some sound deadening material or even switch the resonator out for a slightly quieter one. Let me know if you have any more questions

 

I'd also like to do something similar but my main goal is to open up the exhaust for performance purposes. From the start, where are the bottlenecks that may contribute to the most loss of power in the stock setup?

 

I think it was just a matter of getting used to it. It isn't bothering me that much on my hour commute now. It could get bothersome for an hours long drive, though. I don't think I'll make any changes.

I made some quick videos and posted them on YouTube.
The day I got the work done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1lJOQsHKGw
After it's had a chance to tone in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVWh...feature=relmfu
And a pretty lame driveby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Jv...feature=relmfu
I'll post a better driveby when I have someone to help me.

 

I would say that the most restrictions are from the catted downpipe and the 2nd unmonitored cat. Removing the catted downpipe and replacing it with a non-cat version is not recommended unless you are either tracking the car or have a crafty way to pass emissions testing. Removing the 2nd cat is what a lot of guys do, and I wanted to do it too, but after getting turned down by a dozen places, I figured it wasn't worth the hassle to do it.

I think what I did, plus removing the 2nd cat, will open your exhaust up for cheap money. Of course, that's just one way out of hundreds that you'll read about here.

Good luck.

 

After reading a bit about the MCS exhaust setup and the optimal setup for the most of the higher stages of tuning - it seems that a catless 3" downpipe and a 3" catless, resonatorless catback exhaust is the way to go.

With that being said, I think that I may purchase a nice 3" catback exhaust system and switch out a 3" catless downpipe but put back the stock one when I need to go in for inspection/warranty stuff since the 1st cat is the only one monitored.

Would I be able to do this or am I going to run into issues with fitting the stock DP AND the 3" DP on a 3" catback? Am I on the right track? Thanks for any input guys.