New exhaust fitment with old cat

[Duff73]

Hey guys quick question about exhausts. I need to upgrade my stock exhaust as it has some rust and hole in the muffler. I'd like to keep some semblance of the original stock setup, so I was looking at the 3" ATR crossflow. I did some searching on the boards and didn't see too many negatives about it.

If I go and replace the stocker with the crossflow am I going to have issues with the old cat or should I just get a new low restrictive 3" cat. Then if I change the cat to the 3" am I going to have issues with the stock DP? As an fyi I'm trying to keep this car as close to stock as possible.

Any input would be appreciated, thx.

 

[TurboSlacker]

ATR is nice but kinda pricey. For the same $ you can have a custom exhaust installed by a local "exhaust expert." Ask around. Mine is custom built, mostly stainless steel, with an Ultraflow cross-flow muffler in the stock location.

As for the CAT...get rid of it. Put on a test pipe instead and you will truly feel the power increase! Test pipes are very inexpensive. Keep the CAT on the shelf for emission testing (if you have to test in your County). I even went a step further and just use an emissions chip when I have to see THE MAN.

I believe you will need a 2-1/2" test pipe to fit the stock DP. If you upgrade the downpipe later, it will come with a 3" test pipe.

 

[Zurn]

That would work...

I've never used the ATR kits, I've read mixed reviews on them. The cross flow would be as close as you could get to stock on the exhaust set up while still being aftermarket. You could get a high flow cat to use with the stock dp and exhaust setup. There are several vendors that sell them. If it was up to me, being an '86, I would gut the cat if you don't want to replace it, it's probably plugged somewhat, and port the stock elbow or buy a ported elbow for the dp. This would give you the best flow while keeping the car as stock as possible. If you are going for a stock look, but don't care if the parts are really stock, the hooker 2 1/2" dp is supposed to be a good upgrade for a mild build as well. You can get them used for pretty cheep. -Gabe

 

[Duff73]

Thx

Thx guys I really appreciate the responses. I'll take a look around and see what else I can find. Still have plenty of time to do some research as I'm sure winter will be around for a few more months.