I've got a pretty limited budget at this time and am trying to decide what would give my car a little more omph for a small amount of money. I have enough for a cat-back or a Random Tech bolt on metal substrate high flow cat. From what I can gather, the stock cat seems to be pretty restrictive, so I'm wondering if there's any benefit to a cat-back all by itself. And if the stock cat is that restrictive, then maybe the Random Tech metal substrate cat might be a better choice for a minimal budget power mod instead of a cat-back. A test pipe is not an option. Any opinions or data that can help me choose which to get?

 

I was steard in the direction of a test pipe but you said thats not an option

 

buy a used exhaust then you can get a whole turbo back

 

More flow = more power with a right tune.

I believe the stock cat-back is more of a restriction than the stock cat.
Save up and get the whole turbo back with HF cat.
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You would get more bang for the buck with a reflash compared to the other options. What are your overall plans?

 

Where did you find the Random Tech bolt on metal substrate cat? Is it bolt on for a Evo 9?

Since the Evo 9 has the O2 sensor in the cat, if you just get a cat and its not made for the Evo 9, it will not bolt on and you will have to custom weld an O2 bung to fit.

Whats your budget? A cat-back would add some power, but you would be better of just getting a turbo-back exhaust. Just a hf cat may still be too restrictive to add any noticeable gain.

 

Yeah, if you get a dynoflash, its possibly cheaper than the random tech cat and cb exhaust. Only costs $199.

 

i agree, go with a flash for bang-for-the-buck. if it's between a HFC and cat-back, i'd choose cat-back since i too believe the stock muffler and piping is more restrictive than the stock cat.

 

Exactly, but If you plan on doing the bolt-on thing then hold off on the flash and troll the used parts forum and you sould be good to go in no time. Then flash up when you're done.