U misunderstood my original post. I was trying to point out that if you go with a good cat like the Apexi it would flow just as good as a test pipe.
(u get what u pay for)

 

I love polluting the earth! Test pipe FTW! You bought an evo lets be real here! Why spend more money when ya already got a test pipe? Just keep what you got and throw on a catback!

 

If you smell like sh*t from a mile back it's going to get you in trouble in california.. the same trouble a HF cat will get you..haha
i have a cat to deter cops still

 

gotcha. from your post, I thought you went from HFC to test pipe and kept the test pipe.

at any rate, running a test pipe on a DD is

why spend money on a catback when you can just cut everything off after the DP, weld on a downturn tip, and call it a day? sure it's a little loud but when you're polluting the air, what's a little noise pollution, too?

 

DIAF
Have you ever smelled fresh air? Maybe you just think you've never smelled polluted air.

 

I run a Perrin HFC and make great power. No issues at all, the cat flows very well and the construction is very, very good.

 

I'll not install a Random bolt on cat... they don't fit right. The flanges are not canted like the OE cat, or the better aftermarket ones. If you stand the OE cat on end, it is leaning to one side. Kinda like the leaning tower of Pisa. The Random offering has flanges 90 degrees perpendicular from the pipe and will stand straight up. This will cause fitment issues with some of the popular manufacturers products. The OE unit is canted this way for clearance purposes.

Stick with metal substrate cores... the lower the cell count the better for performance. I think someone is selling a 100 cell (my favorite) metal cat in the private Evo classifieds.

 

I saw the 100 cell, but I wanted something with flanges on it already. Thanks for the heads up on the canted nature of the flanges. I wonder if the downpipe I have and the catback I want to get follow that trend. I think the canted nature of the flanges is another reason I would like a fit and finish product.

At this point things look like they are all in favor of the Perrin. I'll take some comparison pictures for you guys to check out comparing it to stock and the Megan RTP when I get it.

 

Some information on the cobb piece from the fabricator that welds them for Cobb:

It is very similar to the Perrin HFC and is about $50 more expensive. I would debate if the extra $50 is worth it but i havent made a decision yet.

 

Consider that $50 dollars paying for the "Cobb" name.....

 

Ok, Rant time:

I guess I will not be ordering the Perrin unit from lancershop. I was interested in purchasing a few parts from this company, but just put in my order for the HFC today. After ordering this morning I get a call from an unkown number about 5 hours later looking for "Karen". I say they "must have the wrong number, have a good one" and the lady stops me asking if I'm Jon (I am). She says thats strange and confirms my address and says everything is ok.

Minutes later I get another call leaving a message. I go through lancershop's crazy callback system (that takes forever) because they are asking for a copy of my license, credit card, and some other information faxed over. If it was even possible for me to send a copy of the credit card (I used a virtual account number as I always do with online transactions to prevent identity theft) or a copy of my license (I live in an apartment, I've lived in 5 different places over the last 6 years and I'll probably be moving again in a couple of months... my address is correct with SOS but not on the license) let alone I don't know how I would even stuff those into a feed fax machine if I had access to one.....I wouldn't do it in the first place. What better way to have someone steal my identity then to have all of it put on paper for who knows how long, sent over an unencrypted line, and copied on my side with no idea whether the person who sent it for me is going to be able to reproduce it.

So I finally get a hold of lancershop and amazingly I'm connected to the same rep who called me. She informs me that they need to do this to protect themselves. I'm not sure how doing a reverse lookup on an address through an obviously outdated system (I've gotten 2 pieces of junk mail for "Karen" in the last 2 years that I have lived there. A japanese man lived in my place for the 2 years before that) protects them at all, but the item was being shipped to the same address that it was being billed to. If my credit card company can confirm I live there, that should be all the protection they need to get their money from the credit card company if something goes wrong. I informed them of this, but she insisted it was necessary to ship my order. I said I would have to order from somewhere else since I wouldn't be able to provide that information, and wouldn't do it even if I could. She said "Ok, I'll refund your money and cancel the order". I hadn't seen this hit my credit card yet online, but I'm surprised they would charge before verifying they could deliver the part.

They call operator was very nice, but whoever is running this business is probably pouring money down the drain with whatever cracked up system they are using to reverse look up addresses.

I've heard mixed reviews of the shop, usually great or horrible.... but asking me to send that kind of information like that is out of the question if you ask me.

Now I guess its off to find another vendor that sells this. Anyone have any recommendations?

 

"Most" catbacks/downpipes are fabbed up where as the OE cat location/orientation are retained. Megan downpipes and catbacks for example will allow the user to use the OE cat if desired. However, my experience with the afore mentioned bolt on cat was that not only on Megan, but on a few other vendor's offerings, things did not fit well. This was due to the thing being straight as an arrow... unlike the OE unit. I'm by no means bashing their quality. Just the fit.

I'll probably buy a cheap test pipe, and a metallic substrate 100 cell core and do my own. Someday when I have time

 

Yeah, just another time that I wish I had a welder and a garage... and a handful of time

 

http://www.perrinperformance.com/pro...gory=6&model=3

you can order it here.

 

I'm currently using a 3" Ultimate Racing downpipe with flex section (creamic coated and designed to clear ACD equiped EVOs), Random Tech HFC and Fujitsubo RM01A catback. The Fujitsubo is a wonderful catback, the only thing to watch out for is it tapers down to 2.5" to mate with the stock cat. I had all ends of HFC, DP and Catback cut and welded with V-band clamps and made full 3". No need for gaskets and no leaks. The whole exhaust system is VERY quiet. The gentleman who did the work for me couldn't believe how quiet my car was as I drove off after the work was done.

The car doesn't have the stinky smell you get from running catless and you don't have to turn up the stereo just to drown out the outside noise. The turbo definately spools faster and there is more power after boost hits.

Alas, I'm now thinking about selling my entire TBE setup due to stupid SCCA rule updates.