● Manufacturers designed your engine to meet both emissions requirements and maintain low production costs. These factors can limit the ability of your stock exhaust manifolds to move air as efficiently as possible. This makes aftermarket exhaust headers a good place to find extra horsepower and increase torque. Both long tube and shorty headers boost your vehicle’s performance by moving air faster and more effectively. Long tube headers do the best job of building torque and HP from mid-range to top-end RPMs and are ideal for high-revving super rides. Shorty headers deliver more HP and torque in the lower RPM range making them perfect for your daily driver. It’s important to note that shorty headers will typically not affect your vehicle’s emissions, while installing long tube headers may involve some legal hurdles to overcome regarding emissions, not to mention frequent check engine lights to handle. Which is a price most car guys don't mind paying.
● High-flow catalytic converters don’t function too differently from your stock unit. A high-flow cat is responsible for the same task of reducing emissions – only faster. They achieve this by using a less dense internal cell count and increased volume surrounding the catalyst itself. Along with your other exhaust mods, a high-flow cat is focused on increasing the flow capability of your engine to help it make more power. High-flow cats increase power across the RPM range, though most noticeably in the lower RPM range, and deliver a boost of both torque and HP. A common concern regarding high flow cats is their ability to clean exhaust gases enough to pass emissions testing. With advancing technology, many aftermarket manufacturers are able to offer high flow cats that are street-legal and 49-state approved (unfortunately, high-flow catalytic converters are not yet legal in the state of California).
●So called for its placement behind your catalytic converter, a cat-back exhaust system replaces your restrictive stock muffler and factory exhaust pipe. Paired with an aftermarket high-flow catalytic converter, this supreme system yields a definitive increase in airflow to improve HP and increase torque. Look for systems with large diameter, mandrel-bent pipes to see the most impressive gains. Cat-back systems also feature straight-flow mufflers to further contribute to the freedom of airflow through the exhausts for even more power.