I was just wondering.. do I need the catalytic converter? i ordered a flame thrower exhaust kit for my Iroc and was told that the catalytic converter will knock down some of the flame and i started thinking that maybe i could just knock out the catalytic converter.. i think i remember my brother saysing something about taking it out and just doing a custom straight pipe or something like that.. just wondering.. thanks for any input..

 

You only need it if you still need to have the car emissions tested, otherwise you can lose it.
And the third Gen's won't throw an error code either if you do remove it.

 

Does it help any as far as performance is concerned?

 

no. to a small degree it hinders performance

 

Those of us in California and other states that test emmisions really appriciate the effort you all do in keeping the air clean and making things harder for us.

 

Gee M.M. I kinda expected that type of response from you too!
Having a smoggier-than-abnormal day today?

 

Yeah the air was bit dirty [:'(]

 

so far as I know, the converters get used upoutover time anyway, so if its 16 yaers old its probubly gone anyway so why not. in ohio we dont have to install new ones but not sure about cali..

 

Well, early this summer, I was driving my 91, hit a small bump, and damn if the cat didn't fall off!
With 120k miles, the thing actually still looked real good inside. It also depends on what the cat is subjected to as far as the type of driving you do, heat, fuel richness, etc. I have seen them go bad and break up inside earlier than that.
And I'm sure MadMike can tell you all about the strict laws in Californi. If you drive through the Cali countryside, you might even see cows grazing with catalytic converters shoved up their butts to cut down on the methane gas emissions problem. [:@]

 

There are dairy farms that have equipment to draw in the cow farts and turn it into energy! I don't think they use exhaust hoses though.