One More stab at my car.....

So the Bird is still not running right.


I have a theory, but Im not sure if Im on the right track.



It will build 10PSI when revving ONCE in neutral. It shouldnt build but mabey 1 psi TOPS.

With the boost referance hooked directly to the wastegate, I can make 19 PSI while driving. The wategate is factory set to 10Lbs, factory. I can put 10 PSI directly to the wastegate line, and it moves (opens at around 10 PSI.

Its low on power almost until I hit that 19psi mark, and then it takes off with decent power. It doesnt steadily build power as teh boost goes up, its one big jump.

My air meter door flapps while cruising at normal Hwy speeds after a few seconds of cruising steady.....it starts flapping a tiny bit, and builds to the point of bucking the car around (changing the af ratio) and you have to downshift and build revvs a bit to keep it going.

HORRIBLE gas milage. I used to get 28 or so MPG on the highway, without beating on it wih very similar mods. Now i get 16.5 TOPS.


NOW, I was told by the previous owner years ago that they gutted the cat out. I think he lied to me. I looked at the DP/Cat assy, and there are no marks or other evidence of it being cut apart or gutted at any point. If the cat is plugged pretty good (if its still there) (after running race gas, running rich ect) could THAT be the cause of all my issues? I'm really greasping at straws here, but it seems to explain all my issues that Im seeing. Also, the car doesnt seem that loud, even with it straight piped without a muffler!


What do you guys think? Does anybody have any time available that I could get the ccar out to you, remove the DP/cat assy (4 bolts total) and gut the cat out? I guess it would be worth a try at this point!

Oh, and i got a nice Birthday present today! I just got a big check from the Military for being on Stoploss, so NOW i have some money to throw at the car! LETS DO THIS!

You dont need to cut the cat out. Just shove a pipe down there and hammer on it! Wouldnt be any evidence.

WELL.....



The problem with that is that the Downpipe and Cat are one piece. There are too many bends to get a pipe properly IN there to break the ceramic apart. So Either I need to cut the top out and remove it, and weld a piece back on, Cut the damn thing out and put a pipe in its place, or someone to get REAL creative on how to shove something around a bend to break it out.

have you thought about just buying a catless DP? if you had to cut it to get to the cat, it would be damn near impossible to weld it back together and still have shit line up right, without getting any leaks. or atleast that's what I observed in my days of blowing up mufflers on my Jeep. could be wrong, that's just my thought.

Well, one way to do it would be to drop the DP/Cat OUT of the car (Not hard, just 4 Bolts to loosen that have all been off the car in the last 6 months and 1 O2 sensor) use a cutoff wheel to open up the top of it, and smash the shit out of the top of it. After that, a piece of steel could be welded back over it to seal it up again. The problem is that a catless DP is close to 150 bucks. Along with that, Id have to buy a midpipe (the DP doesnt extend as far as the stock cat/dp combo does) and that costs another 100 bucks. After that, its a crapshoot as to weather my tialpipe/ muffler eliminator pipe would actually end up at the right distance to weld it or clamp it all up. I might end up with a total of 6 pieces in a single 2.5" exhaust system, and thats just straight piping it. It would be a cobbled together system at best.


The other option is to get the correct sized pipe to slip over either side of the cat, and just cut the thing right out, and connect a smaller piece of pipe there to take the place of the cat.



I'm really not good with exhaust, but thats where I see it.



Not only that, but it needs to be lifted in the air just to get the damn DP/car combo OFF the car in the first place.