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I know a few members have a catless setup. Their reviews persuaded me to buy into it. I have moved to this from a phenomenal Europipe stage 2 and this is my conclusion.
I purchased a system that offers great flexibility as it has interchangeable options between cat and catless with straight pipes. With utmost honesty though, my system isn't as interchangeable as I anticipated.
The swap between setups is time consuming for me. I'm not sure why the manufacture would ever choose a curve pipe weld with clamp instead of a direct straight weld with bolts.
Regardless, Bumper, intercooler assemblies need to be removed to gain horizontal leverage in order to uninstall and install. (I've done this three times now.)
Aside from install and reinstall between both setups, here are my +/-.
Catless 3" straight X pipe
++Turbo spool is crazy and very noticeable.
+HP is increased and easily noticed by the stupid butt dyno.
-Cell light (fixed by tune though) 200mi's tells the ECU, no cats!
-Broken 4 banger Chevy sound. I was able to rev match a cavalier cruising next to me. Made the sound X2 in harmony! (This may be a plus on a Chevy thread.)
-Slight smell (I run E85.) This smell may be more pronounced with regular gas.
-Last but not least, no cats = pollution.
-/+ Shot gun sound at full throttle in first gear. You'll get attention from literally 3 blocks away. Question is, are you being annoying or just disturbing?
100cell cat setup with 3" straight X pipes
+Broken Chevy noise reduction.
+No smell
+Smog compliant.
-Barely sound of spool.
-Performance decrease.
-/+ no shotgun sound in first.
Look forward to anyone that can add to my experience.
I got speedtechs 3" X-pipe with 200 cell cats and it's as loud as my friends FVD with no cats. I do not have that Chevy sound that you describe. I have more of a GT-3 sound. Very happy that I got that system. John at speedtech even modified mine for a nicer tucked in look. Turbo spool very noticeable inside and outside. Decelerating you can hear it. Don't know how he did it but it sounds like a GT-3.
Last edited by Al Nunez; Apr 20, 2016 at 03:31 AM.
bbi 3" catless x-pipe here. As I get older, I am more easily annoyed by loud exhausts. I was a little on the fence on what type of exhaust to get as a lot of people are. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about going with what my friend did until he let me drive his car. I knew within the first 2-3 blocks what I wanted.
Almost a year has gone by and I still roll down the windows so I can get the full effect. I was pulled over a few months ago, and being no stranger to "fix it" tickets, I was sure I was about to receive one. He came by the window and said "do you have exhaust done to your car?" I replied with a nod and a yes.. he then gives me a thumbs up and says "It sounds good! Drive safe and have a good night".
It really depends on the system. Not all X systems are created equal and it's not always about size (lol). There is a proper set up for everyone that will work with your power set-up, budget and requirements most of the time. You would benefit from a good consult and support from whomever you feel comfortable with. Exhaust and opinions on them are so subjective it really comes down to individual taste and set-up requirements sometimes. Let me know if I can help out.
I got speedtechs 3" X-pipe with 200 cell cats and it's as loud as my friends FVD with no cats. I do not have that Chevy sound that you describe. I have more of a GT-3 sound. Very happy that I got that system. John at speedtech even modified mine for a nicer tucked in look. Turbo spool very noticeable inside and outside. Decelerating you can hear it. Don't know how he did it but it sounds like a GT-3.
Al, we do a lot of sound testing/R&D during our design phase and we spend the time to get it right. Not many aftermarket exhaust manufacturers spend the time or put in the effort that we do to insure quality of sound from our 2.5 quiet to our 3" competition loud systems and when you don't, you can easily end up with inferior or just plain bad sound characteristics. That GT3 type sound is our goal and over the years we have learned ways to bring it out. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying your exhaust!
I have a Kline 3" GT2 exhaust with the X and small titanium mufflers. When run with the 100cel cats, it is very mild and quiet. I have switched now to the decat pipes, and it is still nicely muffled, with just the good growls, burbles, and pops coming through. There is some volume at full load, but it is a deep roar, very pleasant. I am very surprised at the moderate sound level. Coming from a Cayman S with longtube headers and race mufflers, this is tame in comparison.
Al, we do a lot of sound testing/R&D during our design phase and we spend the time to get it right. Not many aftermarket exhaust manufacturers spend the time or put in the effort that we do to insure quality of sound from our 2.5 quiet to our 3" competition loud systems and when you don't, you can easily end up with inferior or just plain bad sound characteristics. That GT3 type sound is our goal and over the years we have learned ways to bring it out. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying your exhaust!
Extremely happy with it and happier once I get the dual tips. Soon John.
I got speedtechs 3" X-pipe with 200 cell cats and it's as loud as my friends FVD with no cats. I do not have that Chevy sound that you describe. I have more of a GT-3 sound. Very happy that I got that system. John at speedtech even modified mine for a nicer tucked in look. Turbo spool very noticeable inside and outside. Decelerating you can hear it. Don't know how he did it but it sounds like a GT-3.
2nd that beautiful sound, but mine is castles and with John at Speedtech you would not be disappointed with his service.
So I don't repeat myself, here is my review on my Speedtech 3" castles race set up:
I have a Tubi Race System (catless) super easy to swap back to stock for smugging as well as swapping tips for sound at Laguna. Recently had this BBI Catless Race System built up...
++Turbo spool is crazy and very noticeable.
+HP is increased and easily noticed by the stupid butt dyno.
-Cell light (fixed by tune though) 200mi's tells the ECU, no cats!
-Broken 4 banger Chevy sound. I was able to rev match a cavalier cruising next to me. Made the sound X2 in harmony! (This may be a plus on a Chevy thread.)
-Slight smell (I run E85.) This smell may be more pronounced with regular gas.
-Last but not least, no cats = pollution.
-/+ Shot gun sound at full throttle in first gear. You'll get attention from literally 3 blocks away. Question is, are you being annoying or just disturbing?
Dude, I gotta hear this thing. Come by the track this weekend. I'll have my ear plugs handy!
I got speedtechs 3" X-pipe with 200 cell cats and it's as loud as my friends FVD with no cats. I do not have that Chevy sound that you describe. I have more of a GT-3 sound. Very happy that I got that system. John at speedtech even modified mine for a nicer tucked in look. Turbo spool very noticeable inside and outside. Decelerating you can hear it. Don't know how he did it but it sounds like a GT-3.
Al, was the only modification to your system the 200cell? I may want to try that. Other than this, I think we have the same setup.
bbi 3" catless x-pipe here. As I get older, I am more easily annoyed by loud exhausts. I was a little on the fence on what type of exhaust to get as a lot of people are. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about going with what my friend did until he let me drive his car. I knew within the first 2-3 blocks what I wanted.
Almost a year has gone by and I still roll down the windows so I can get the full effect. I was pulled over a few months ago, and being no stranger to "fix it" tickets, I was sure I was about to receive one. He came by the window and said "do you have exhaust done to your car?" I replied with a nod and a yes.. he then gives me a thumbs up and says "It sounds good! Drive safe and have a good night".
It really helps hearing them in person.
Your probably correct Rob. Tone of sound / volume of sound is subjective and videos just don't do justice. Glad to hear you found something in between.
Originally Posted by Webspoke
I have a Kline 3" GT2 exhaust with the X and small titanium mufflers. When run with the 100cel cats, it is very mild and quiet. I have switched now to the decat pipes, and it is still nicely muffled, with just the good growls, burbles, and pops coming through. There is some volume at full load, but it is a deep roar, very pleasant. I am very surprised at the moderate sound level. Coming from a Cayman S with longtube headers and race mufflers, this is tame in comparison.
Looks good, were your cats interchangeable with this setup?
Originally Posted by pwdrhound
Dude, I gotta hear this thing. Come by the track this weekend. I'll have my ear plugs handy!
I'm running the cats as of now. Have to resolve an issue with my accessport in order to swap back to Catless. May stop out Saturday though.
