|
One weekend while I was visiting the parents in Fort Lauderdale, I drove around to about 10 different exhaust shops before finding one who would do exactly this for me.
I ended up finding a custom shop (with a mandrel bending machine), who made bypass pipes for me and installed them for $240. I even had him weld O2 bungs in them because my car is pre 03' and only had one pair of cats.
My suggestion if you're going this route is to spend an hour with your Yellow Pages and figure out a route (plan on making several stops before finding someone reputable who will get it done). When you get to each shop, talk directly to a Technician (preferably someone who is building a custom exhaust for some old muscle car! Offer to pay cash and not take a receipt, therefore any liability for removing cats is off their hands. If you go inside the office and speak to someone there, you are likely to be told that they will not do this for you.
Another FYI...I got a CEL shortly after leaving the shop because of the rear catalyst monitors (O2). I corrected this by purchasing (4) spark plug de-foulers, drilling out the bottom of (2) and threading them together. This takes the rear O2's out of the stream just enough to trick your DME into thinking that you have cats. It's been 1000 miles since, and no CEL.
In hindsight, I would probably go the route of high-flow cats rather than remove them completely. While the sound isn't obnoxious, it's also not too appealing either. Under normal driving conditions, and highway, it sounds pretty decent. If you floor it off the line, I think it sounds like crap personally. It sounds like something rattling in a tin can (from outside the car). Inside, the sound is smooth and without resonation. Maybe this is a personal preference, but I think a German sports car should have a nice throaty sound.
If you choose to go with high flow cats, I can tell you that I had pretty good luck with a pair I bought for my old Mustang some years ago off Ebay. I literally searched for the lowest price ones out there and was not disappointed.
Cheers!
|